It does not matter the size of your business. whether big or small, social media is fast becoming an essential part of marketing for every brand. there has been an exponential growth in the number of brands on social media. this begs the question, why should you consider being on social media, is it for you and should you try it for your brand.
brands are fast realising that they need to be where their customers are at any given point. With the social media exponential growth and the Covid-19 pandemic, brands are forced to meet their customers where they are, this means social media marketing should be in your brands’ strategy.
Studies conducted by MarketingCharts, March 2020, show that users follow brands on social media for various reasons. We will explore a few reasons mentioned in the study to see if you should be a part of the trend or steer clear.
- 57% of social media users will follow a brand just to learn about the brands’ product or services.
In our fast-paced digital age, social media seems to be the best place for learning. Many people depend on social media for learning and gathering information and second opinion. With your brand on social media, you can quickly educate your customers about your product or services quickly without the need of any other form of communication. Information can quickly be passed across your customers seamlessly and efficiently.
- 47% of people will follow a brand to stay up-date.
Your social media audience follow your page for different reasons, some may follow your page because they want to stay up to date with what your brand is offering. Should you decide to offer a different product that is not in the market you can quickly update your audience, and this is what the audience is craving for “convenience”. any brand that is to stay relevant needs to bring convenience to the end user.
- 40% of social media users will follow a brand for promotions and discounts.
We all know that everybody loves promotions and discounts. these can be used as an incentive to increase your social media following or encourage conversions. A broader audience typically will increase your chances of selling your product to the next person. Discounts are the greatest way of encouraging customers to convert. You can further increase a customer’s life time value through promotions and discounts prompting them to purchase what they had not initially intended to purchase. A discount or promotion can be that final push for an individual to click checkout.
- 32% will follow your brand for inspiration.
With the knowledge that you are not the only brand on social media, your brand needs to be unique and understand the competition. The best way to get to know what your competition is doing is through social media, you can look at the content that they share and how they share it. If the content they share is working for their audience your brand could adjust the current strategies and optimise them for success. Social media allows us to be inspired by others and we can also inspire others.
With all these social media benefits, brands are coming in numbers to social media and if your brand is not part of the revolution, you will be left behind. COVID-19 has put businesses in a position where they need to stay with the trends to stay afloat, this means your brand needs to be a part of the revolution.
About the Data: Findings are based on a survey of 1,028 consumers, fielded in early March 2020 by MarketingCharts
- The Importance of Having as Little as Possible on a Pitch - 2023-09-15
- The Importance of Human Interactions in Digital Marketing - 2023-09-08
- Is Artificial Intelligence Behind the Screen? - 2023-09-01
