As smartphone penetration is becoming predominantly in daily lives, or wide access to the internet has made a digital transition, social media and digital marketing have become trending topics. Today, you can not imagine a business without having a strong presence on social media. Irrespective of a business’s size and type, everyone is leveraging the power of social media platforms.
No doubt, earlier entrepreneurs and market leaders were using social media platforms to showcase their products and services, but the pandemic has added fuel as people are consuming more time online because they were confined inside their homes. And business owners are taking advantage of this norm by spending more and more on digital advertising to engage with customers.
In short, social media has created an immense impact on the business sector. From promoting products to engaging with customers to share informative content in the form of video and blog posts, a strong social presence allows brands to target a broader market.
In July 2020, there were 3.96 billion people active on social media, but this figure keeps growing with time. This constant surge in online connectivity has offered brands new opportunities to reach the target audience quickly. To date, the most used platforms are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Before discussing the impacts of social media on businesses, let’s look at eye-popping statistics.
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Jaw-dropping Statistics About Social Media for Businesses
Social media has become the “SweetSpot” for marketers and brands to establish strong relationships with prospects and customers. And why not? After all, more than 54% of customers make purchase decisions based on the brand’s social activities.
To understand your impact of social media on businesses more clearly, here we have presented social media statistics that give you a detailed insight into how and why social media is necessary for your business.
- Over 69% of the internet users across the United States are using Facebook. Well, this figure itself makes Facebook one of the most popular websites across the globe.
- 71% of customers admitted that they are more inclined towards brands that offer positive support on social media.
- Right now, more than 50 million small businesses have profiles on Facebook, and they are using it for promotion and communication with their customers.
- Instagram is the second-largest social media networking site, followed by Facebook, as more than 130 million Instagram users tap on shopping posts every month.
The above statistics are really eye-popping; if you are still skeptical about developing a social media plan for your business, wake up and get started today to reap exclusive benefits.
Positive Impacts Social Media Leaves on Businesses
- Want to connect with friends? Open up social media.
- Want to check the product reviews? Open up Facebook or Instagram
- Want to watch a viral video? Open up YouTube or Instagram and Facebook Reels
This is how our daily activities are roaming around different social media platforms. Due to the pandemic, we all know how businesses are globally digitizing their operations. Transportation, restaurants, and retail sectors were hit the most due to social distancing and lockdown. The restaurant and retail sectors opt for online delivery while transportation enterprises want to have an app for taxi business but have you observed what was common for them all?
They all started promoting their business on social media because they knew amid the pandemic, people’s screen time also increased, and consumption of social media channels was highest to date. It seems like “word of mouth” has suddenly become the “word of the web” as consumers’ inclination towards social media increases by leaps and bounds.
So let’s discuss in-depth how social media marketing impacts the business world and enabling them to keep their business afloat amid this highly saturated market.
Social Media is Boon for “Mom and Pop Stores”
Small retail businesses are always looking for economical ways to advertise their business. Before the advent of social media, they were using television, print media, and radio though it was expensive.
Here social networking sites have rescued them as they no longer need to spend huge bucks on television ads. They need to create profiles on different channels such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The most exciting part of these websites is you don’t have to pay a single penny while creating an account. You can even publish content and communicate with customers.
For instance, if you are engaged with an online taxi business and want to promote your app within a local market, leverage your Facebook business account, post amazing content that catches user attention, offer discounts and codes to the local public, and respond to followers within seconds. This is entirely free of cost and extremely easy to use; you also don’t need to hire a social media marketing expert.
Foster Loyalty among Customers
People like to share and purchase your products if you regularly assist them by offering them discounts, promos, and personalized customer service. We all know how the Corona pandemic has changed business standards; if you show loyalty and take care of your current customers, they will be more likely to do business with you for a long time.
Take the stellar example of Glossier that helped a customer by printing a poster to find a lost product he bought from a brand.
Sharing your customer’s posts and responding to them regularly fosters customer loyalty. You can also take advantage of social media tools that shape your social media presence and make marketer’s lives easier.
Creates Impressive Effect on Sales
Every entrepreneur’s dream is to boost sales while spending less on advertising, and social media offers the same. Well-known social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram allow marketers to boost sales impressively. While scrolling Facebook and Instagram, you might have noticed how shoppable posts allow you to make a purchase right there without redirecting to the website. You can follow some tips also to grow your brands on such platforms.
Even HubSpot’s report says that social media marketing has a 100% higher conversion rate than any other marketing strategy. This research makes social media marketing important for all brands as it can help in gaining more sales without spending huge time and money on traditional marketing methods.
Nurturing Relationship with Existing Customers
Due to the ongoing outbreak businesses were told to shut all the ongoing operations and activities. Now is there any way to stay connected with followers? Social media is the simple answer. Brands can strengthen relationships with customers by publishing engaging content.
For instance, if you were running a restaurant business and launched an online ordering facility for your customers, you can announce this news via social media channels. It will boost sales and build up a strong bond with customers.
All In All
In a nutshell, social media has created an immense impact on the business world. As enterprises turn more digital, social media will continue to play a pivotal role in a brand’s ability to connect and expand its business reach. Keeping in mind the ongoing situation, all we can say is that brands with a strong social media presence can boost conversion rates while brands who lack social presence may lose huge chunks of revenue and potential customers.
