The 5 Definitive Benefits of Social Media Marketing

Going all the way back to 2006, looking at the marketing efforts that people had to utilize then were pretty simple and straightforward. The web was mostly dominated by phpBB forum boards, with a few communities within each of the niches – each having anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 ACTIVE users. I feel sorry for you, if you never got to experience that era.

Nowadays forums and communities of the same type are being put aside, and instead we depend on 140 characters to make an impact on someones brain. It’s a low standard, though taking it away is no more possible thing. Twitter has gone mainstream all around the world, and God forbid that you’re going to try and advertise another community.

I could reminisce here all day, and believe me I would – but we’re moving forward constantly, so the least we can do is accept that very fact. We have got plenty of choice in 2014, for the social networking sites we want to use and which we feel we should be using – for the best ROI for our business.

I don’t necessaraly hate social media, I support effortless content promotion at all times, I just sometimes think that people who give advice about social media – rarely are going to be the ones trying to help you or even back you up.

social media marketing money

You should head over to Wishpond and check out their awesome infographic about benefits that over 3,000 marketers were able to achieve through social media. It’s one of those infographics that simply tell you everything that there is to know.

Search Engine Land has got a really great introductory guide to social media marketing, be sure to check it out if you’re still confused. Jason Acidre’s blog is worth checking out too, as he has got plenty of resources about marketing strategies for social media.

Generating New Leads

You can look at it, any way you like, but each social interaction you make is actually a real conversation between you and another person. It means that treating that person (who is your potential customer) with respect and care is essential. Your customers are going to be the people who are going to define your business and its products. I’d love to give myself only the best credit, but that has to be left up to the people who pay my bills.

Generating New Leads

Content strategies, or any other types of marketing efforts, cannot come close to the interaction level that social media marketing brings to the table. Treat your customers well and expect new leads to generate themselves. Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and that is exactly what social media is all about.

It can help you, or it can destroy you almost instantly.

Micro-Content

We might not be aware of it, but our social media accounts and connections are micro sites and businesses on their own. To have a customer spend his money on your product, he doesn’t always have to visit your blog or business page in order to do so. You’re constantly advertising and trying to sell something to the person directly, aren’t you?

It’s especially common with Facebook pages where you can literally put blog posts within a single Facebook post. You should be taking this to your advantage, and even if you’re not – it’s still something that comes naturally from social media efforts.

There are customers who will happily pay you money for the content that you provide for their social stream, it’s the reward we get for actually getting involved.

Regular New Connections

Regular New ConnectionsWe need to listen. Listen to what our customers, followers and connections have to say about us and our business. It’s what builds our future. We can try to please everyone, but we are always going to end up pleasing only the majority. You have to lose some, in order to win some.

The great thing about social media and doing marketing on it is that you are always creating new connections, whether you like to admit it or not. You think that 100 followers is nothing compared to the established businesses out there, but that’s exactly the point you should be taking: established businesses.

I guarantee you that out of those 100 followers, at least 10 would be more than happy to collaborate with you and even help you out. Go ahead, ask them!

Learning from The Best, About the Best

Social media is where I find a lot of my content ideas and generally a lot of the stuff that I read online, mostly because of how convenient it is and how easy it is to tell the difference between good AND bad content. The best of course always gets shared the most, and it is something that everyone wants to read. Though, sometimes the lesser known guys can also be spotted and they should.

If you are using social media to promote a blog or a business, you know how important it is to always respect others and also participate in sharing their content. You’re always learning, and others are learning from you. That is how new connections start forming, too. You share what others find interesting, and you will leave them wanting more.

Solid Army of Followers

The last benefit of being part of social media and having a social media marketing strategy is that you continuously grow and build your follower list. I already said it, but it’s worth mentioning again: even 10 followers can prove to be of value.

Solid Army of FollowersThe person who follows you, DID find something that was of interest for them and you should always keep that in mind. You follow people, you like pages and you create new connections because YOU found something interesting, something you want more of. It’s simple wisdom, simply overlooked by way too many people.

You will always retain the people who follow you, granted that you always deliver them new and fresh content, but the lesson is one – they will always be at your disposal and you can always ask them for help.

If you’re a new business, just starting out..keep a record of how your follower base grows…Start from 10 followers and keep taking notes over 50 followers after that…The list grows faster than you think!