Marketing your business and spreading the word is tough enough as it is, so when it comes to getting social, most business owners and executives seem to think it is an optional endeavor necessary only for departments that have time to spare or businesses that want to seem “trendy”. Unfortunately, that is about as far from the truth as you can get in this day and age!
When it comes to social marketing, most businesses will have a few updates a month promoting some aspect of their products or offerings. This may have been enough to cut it 6-8 years ago when social media was in its infancy, but in today’s day and age, you need to do more than just stand on a box and yell at people. If you are the only person on the block standing on a box and yelling, you will stand out. It is much harder to stand out when everyone on the block is doing the same thing. You need to give people a reason to stop and listen to you, and one of the best ways to do that is social validation.
You have probably done this. More than once, even! Let’s say you are looking for a new restaurant to eat at, or finding information about a new smartphone you want to buy. Do you go to the restaurant and ask the host “how’s your chicken?” It is way more likely that you conducted a search about that restaurant or phone. When you do that search, you will find a wall full people talking about that thing. Yelp reviews, Facebook posts, Tweets, Pinterest boards, Discussion forums, Reddit threads – you name it! When looking for information on the smart phone, you will go look at reviews from trusted people. You will ask your friends about their experience and opinions because you trust their judgment.
More and more people use social validation to make major purchasing decisions over any other method of selection. You can claim whatever you want on your site, have pictures and videos showing exactly how it works, and have published studies vetting the results. In the end, social proof will still likely be a major, if not the major decision in generating a conversion for most industries.
This is where you come in! Don’t think of social marketing as an optional thing and fall behind the competition. Take advantage of one of the best platforms to build awareness and brand loyalty, all for free! Share your results on social platforms. Invite users to engage with your content. Ask them questions about popular topics related to your niche, or about your particular product or service. Get people to talk about you!
The best part is that once the ball is rolling, users will do most of the work for you. Don’t wait until tomorrow, go post an update now!
Read this and still not convinced? Tried social marketing in the past and saw poor results? Why not give DirectiveGroup a call? We have years of experience in helping businesses just like yours gain visibility online. Call us today and see how we can help!
