Social Media over the last few years has bloomed and flourished. We have become a generation of tweeting, snapchatting, instagramming and Facebook. Social media has managed to take the world by storm and made the world a small place, diminishing the geographical boundaries virtually. It has impacted individuals and businesses alike. Businesses today have taken to social media to advertise and market their products and services. Let us dive into how and why social media has changed the marketing game for businesses:
Social Commerce
Social Commerce is on the rise and going by trends it looks like it's going to expand and grow in the coming years. Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have been used by brands to not only market and advertise their products but also use this as a platform to sell their products. Brand and businesses alike are going to use this trend and incorporate it into their marketing strategies. The fact that brands get more visibility and can reach out to a larger audience is one of the factors that led to their rising popularity.
Visibility
Social Media is growing and along with it so is the social commerce space and this has been quite a boon and advantage to businesses and brands. As they incorporate social media into their marketing strategies brands and businesses are now becoming more visible and can reach out to a larger customer base. Social Media has now become a vital and important platform for brands and businesses alike to connect and reach out to their customers. Social media has also helped brands create more traffic on the brand's websites and build consumer awareness.
Influencer Marketing
Social Media has given rise to new social marketing strategies and trends and one popular trend that is on the rise in influencer marketing. Social media has given rise to a whole new career of people who engage on these platforms and make a career out of these platforms, these people are called influencers who have a following based on the content they offer. An influencer is someone who has the power to impact the purchasing power of his/her audience. Brands and businesses collaborate and work with these influencers closely to promote and create awareness of their brand. Influencer marketing also gives them access to the audiences the influencers cater to which helps them increase and expand their customer base.
 Customer Engagement
With the rise of social media, one of the emerging trends of social media is how brands and businesses engage and connect with their customers. Today we see a personalized way of connecting with customers through social media. This has been a benefit, as it becomes easier to understand what the consumer is looking for from the brand. It also allows brands to understand and solve any problems that the consumer may face in real-time. This leads to customer satisfaction and helps in creating loyalty towards the brand. Also collecting data and feedback and analyzing them has become much easier.
Budget-Friendly
One of the biggest advantages of using and incorporating social media into your marketing strategies is that it is budget-friendly. Social Media platforms are mostly free and thus all you need to do is create your brand’s profile and start posting content. One thing to keep in mind while using social media is that the audience and your consumers are extremely intelligent and if you want to reach out to a larger audience then you need to post content that is relevant and significant.
What does the future look like?
Social media platforms are on the rise and more and more brands and businesses are using these platforms. With the rise of popular trends like social commerce, digital marketing, and influencer marketing social media is on the rise and here to stay for a long time. Using these platforms wisely will lead to success and will prove beneficial to brands in the long run.
The key to success in social media is:
- Stay relevant and post quality content
- Connect and engage on a personal level with your audience and consumers
- Link your websites and blogs on social media and direct traffic to them
- Build customer reality
- Creativity and innovation should be your mantra
- Keep your customers posted about the latest news
Using these platforms wisely will lead to success and will prove beneficial to brands in the long run.