Top Benefits of Social Media Marketing
Given the rising number of social media users every year, there’s no questioning the effectiveness of marketing on social media. In the United States alone, advertising expenditure on social networks is forecast to rise by 5.6% in 2024, to $76.4 billion.
Why is social media marketing important for businesses? Here’s a look at the top benefits of social media marketing.
Benefits of social media for businesses: top five
Results from a recent survey show that increased exposure is the biggest benefit marketing on social media offers brands. As many as 86% of businesses say they have received positive returns from it. If you’re looking to grow your brand’s reach on social media, keep in mind the following branding statistic: nearly four in five people say that user-generated content highly impacts their purchasing decisions.
Another benefit of marketing on social media is the increased website traffic businesses receive. Over three-quarters (76%) of brands say they experienced more visits to their online sites because of their social media presence. Tactics that have proven to be particularly effective at driving traffic from social sites include hosting contests and giveaways, engaging with influencers, and cross-selling.
→ Click Here to Launch Your Online Business with Shopify
Lead generation also ranks among the biggest benefits of social media marketing. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of businesses say getting more leads has been a reward they’ve reaped from marketing on social media. This is followed by growing a loyal fan base, which 56% of brands list as an advantage of social media marketing.
Growing sales is a key metric and goal of most businesses, and social media marketing helps to achieve that. More than half (55%) of brands say advertising on social networks has resulted in more sales.
Social media marketing benefits: other considerations
Before jumping into crafting a social media marketing strategy, you need to first understand your target audience and know what their social media consumption and habits are like.
For instance, data on social media age demographics shows that people between ages 20 and 29 are particularly heavy users of social media—making up nearly one-third of all active users. This makes social networks one of the best marketing channels through which to reach them. However, this number falls to 8.6% for consumers aged 60 and above. If your target buyer includes people in more mature age groups, you may want to consider marketing to them via other channels.