Why Every Online Business Needs Social Media

Online business is no longer a sub-category of businesses. Even brick-and-mortar businesses must have an online presence to make the most of their reach. Social media is a massive part of reaching your target audience.

If you have yet to create a business page, you’re missing out on the 3.3 billion people worldwide on social media, and you’re missing out on the 4.4 billion people projected to sign up to social media by 2025.

Here are some excellent reasons to grow your business by utilizing social media.

Get More Search Engine Visibility

Everyone knows the importance of hitting the first page on Google SERPs. The first Google search result alone gets a 28.5% click-through rate. It demonstrates the importance of ranking high for your chosen keywords.

Social media profiles often rank highly, but Google will also rank you based on your social media presence. How frequently have you searched for a celebrity only to find it’s their Twitter account that appears at the top of the page?

Regular engagement on social media signals to Google that you are a popular and trustworthy resource people want to discover. Over the years, social media has become an even more significant ranking factor.

Craft Your Company Mouthpiece

As a new company — or a company without a social media presence — you will struggle to gain visibility against already established companies.

Social media enables you to take advantage of the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Encouraging your loyal customers to leave reviews and post on your page is an easy way to increase your visibility. It also gives your team the chance to communicate with your target audience with news, FAQs, and exciting content.

Unless you’re already number one on Google for your chosen keywords, people will initially discover your business through a social media share or ad.

Take Advantage of Powerful Ad Platforms

Organic exposure has become a thing of the past. Other than the lucky few, the online realm is about hard work and toil or pay to play.

Social media companies have developed their ad platforms over the last decade to make them some of the most advanced on the planet. Facebook is easily the most intricate, with the option of drilling down into your target audience based on a select array of niche interests.

According to Meta, the Facebook ads platform has a reach of 2.11 billion, only surpassed by Google itself. What separates paid advertising on social media is it’s far easier to get to grips with than Google Ads.

Build Trust With Your Target Market

The key to any purchase is to earn the trust of your customers. Without trust, nobody will ever try out your products or services.

It would be folly to say that simply having a social media presence equals someone trusting you, but it’s a start. Companies without a social media presence are instantly looked upon as trustworthy.

Social media, like Google, is a channel not under your control. Customers know this, and so if your page is filled with positive ratings, it goes a long way to proving that you deliver an exceptional service to your customers.

Stop the Competition from Gaining a Competitive Advantage

The benefits of social media enable you to acquire an advantage over the competition or at least remain on part with them. If you decide to eschew social media, you’re instantly handing a competitive edge to other businesses in your niche. They use ads, build trust, and increase their profiles.

To put it simply, you have to be on social media as a business in 2022 because that’s where everyone else is, including your customers. Think about it like this: consumers influenced by social media are four times more likely to make a purchase. It’s a driver of sales, so every business of note has some form of social media presence.

Create Customer Relationships

A customer is more likely to follow you on social media than willingly give up their personal details to join your email list. Someone may follow you on social media to learn more about you before committing to a purchase.

Every engagement on social media is an opportunity to build relationships and create a sale. The importance of customer relationships cannot be understated. Approximately 70% of purchases are based on how the customer feels. In other words, without that relationship, you will find it challenging to convert a lead to a sale.

Social media is one of the easiest ways to engage your target audience. Without that channel, you’re severely limiting your options.

While managing customer relationships on social media can be complex, there are several comprehensive social media management platforms to help you streamline your relationship-building endeavors.

Drive Sales to Your Business

Ultimately, using social media is about generating sales for your business. It’s estimated that within B2B sales, 60% of customers will say no four times before committing to a purchase.

In other words, the first time a customer reaches your brand, they’re unlikely to make a purchase. You need to communicate with them multiple times before they trust you enough to buy.

But what counts as a customer touchpoint?

It could be any number of things, including:

  • Reading a piece of content
  • Seeing a social media ad
  • Signing up for your newsletter
  • Commenting on a social media post

Any touchpoint is a positive for you because it increases the chances that you’ll take the customer relationship to the next level.

Conclusion

Social media should be part of everyone’s marketing channel. It cannot be avoided under any circumstances, or you’re instantly shooting yourself in the foot.

You don’t need to have a presence on every social media channel, just the ones where you know your target audience hangs out. Choose two to three platforms to focus on and create an impact there.