Introduction to Social Media Marketing

According to the Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research, 77% of Millenials purchase something online or in-store after seeing it on Facebook. This statistic exemplifies the power of social media marketing. Product and brand exposure is built through promotion to social media users. This is essentially the role of digital marketing: to create awareness of products or services through consumer engagement. Companies use advertisements, contests, social/news reactions, videos and spotlights to grab attention. The goal is to create or post content that will be the most interesting and relevant to your target audience. Different tools can be used to access differing markets, for instance, Instagram is great for targeting travelers or foodies, while LinkedIn is vital for connecting with other businesses.

One sound piece of information from the book Introduction to Social Media Marketing is that the digital age is ever-shifting. What is relevant today, may not be relevant tomorrow. However, understanding the basics of certain solid platforms like Youtube or Twitter is an important baseline. Newer technology and spaces will inevitably emerge. It is always beneficial to approach social media with a learning attitude in order to constantly improve and stay up-to-date. For example, according to the Data and Marketing Association, Snapchat is now the fourth most used social media platform for brands, overtaking even Twitter. Facebook, however, is currently still number one!

Social media interaction has inevitably led to qualitative improvement for companies. However, the DMA has noted that "measuring ROI from social media marketing was ranked as the top challenge that marketers faced in 2016".  While this may be a current challenge, there are a growing number of internal and third-party tools that can help gauge quantitative success. For instance, HootSuite, Google Analytics, and Buffer are a few that are becoming more widely utilized.

https://thedma.org/marketing-insights/marketing-statistics/social-media-marketing-statistics/

Social Media

Today, social media has been revolutionary in shifting the way people view the world. The world has become a smaller place with trends, ideas, products, movements, and news being constantly exchanged effortlessly through the world. For the business world, this platform is an incredible way to connect to and access all stakeholders. Social media is powerful to companies because at its core is relationship building. People can now have genuine interactions with brands that they are personally interested in. When companies respond to user outreach, it shows that a consumer's voice is not only being heard but also being listened to. 

Of course, social media has plenty of other perks. At a baseline, it is a free tool that can be utilized to whatever strength required. Social media drives traffic to sites, creates brand recognition, builds brand loyalty, and ultimately increases sales. Sites like Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram are leading the industry. It is vital that any company that would like to stay relevant and connect with their target audience understand social media and how to market through it. Here is a new infographic from Hootsuite with some 2017 statistics.