"How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generatio...

1. Why Social Media is Important for Marketing
"How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our
generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be
remarkable?"
- Seth Godin, Guerrilla Marketing for Home-Based Businesses
There was a time when you mentioned that the business or website needed a more concrete social
media marketing strategy, you were simply laughed at. After all, isn't Facebook all about connecting
with long-lost buddies and Twitter all about private rants? Seems not. While social media may have
been a fluky zone for marketers previously, it has gained prominence in recent years as one of the
best ways to create brand awareness and visibility of the product. Moving beyond idle chats and
meaningless tweets, social media marketing has changed the entire marketing scenario.
Due to the huge role that it plays in facilitating interaction between people, social media has become
a potent marketing tool that lets you communicate with existing and potential users. This is the
reason many businesses are shifting their marketing budgets away from traditional marketing
alternatives to social media and search engine marketing. This Buzzle article explains why it is
important for a marketer to tap into the power of social networking.
Top 7 Reasons Why Social Media is Important for Marketing
Fastest Way to Spread the Word and Increase Exposure
If you are marketing a new product and opt for traditional marketing channels, such as television
advertising, what do you think would be the recall rate of your advertisement? Not very significant,
considering we are flooded with television and newspaper advertisements every day. As compared to
this, the marketing on social media channels, such as online advertisements, social media websites,
and blogs can help in getting the message across, more efficiently. A study conducted by Google and
Ipsos OTX MediaCT to study the effects of online video advertisements as compared to traditional TV
advertisements. It was found that online video ads fared much better than traditional TV
commercials.
Ability to Find Future Clients
The worldwide popularity and the staggering reach of popular social media sites, such as Facebook,
Twitter, and LinkedIn ensure that marketers can locate and target their consumers with ease. Since
millions of people spend a huge amount of time on social networks, you can target your customers
on these social networks.
This does not mean you can jump the social media bandwagon without any strategy. As more and
more brands use popular networks, like Facebook and Twitter, you need to have a proper strategy
that aims at conversation and relationships, to be able to compete for the attention of customers.
With the right social media strategy, the marketer can also ensure that he will not only find future
clients, but is also able to retain them in the long run.

2. Lead Generation
In marketing, leads are generated when people are interested and inquire about the products or
services. One way to generate online leads is by social networking. The large chunk of online users
that the business can connect with allow in generating leads. By promotions, online contests, and
other marketing campaigns, it is possible to generate leads for the products or businesses using
social media.
Communication with the Customer
Social media platforms allow people to communicate with one another. It is not just about
broadcasting a message but rather listening and responding. As a marketer, you can step into social
platforms and build conversations with potential clients. This, of course, has to be done with defined
goals in mind. Random, meaningless talk has no value for customers. The goal of communication
should be to build and enhance customer relationship and also provide referral marketing
advantage. Customer engagement and networking with users can lead to word-of-mouth referrals for
the product which, in turn, is great for marketing the business or product.
For effective communication, it is important to monitor what people are saying to you and about you.
This can include your areas of expertise and competitors.
Gives Brands a Personality on Social Networks
Creating a relatable online presence gives brands a personality. Creating a brand personality or
humanized brand means being genuine and passionate about whatever the brand is and does. It has
been found that people respond most to brands which are perceptibly and consistently authentic and
have a genuine presence. The brand will get the right push if businesses are active on social
networking sites. Their interaction and how they project the brand help in shaping its personality.
Importance of Customer Feedback and Preferences
With social media, it is very easy to get customer feedback and preferences. By staying in touch with
the customers and addressing their queries, the marketer learns their views of the product and
businesses. Tracking and monitoring this data can help the business in working out the most
effective ways to increase social media network and capture the market. As compared to this, the
traditional method of feedback collection is often extremely cumbersome and expensive.
Moreover, feedback is important for detecting potential problems and hazards. When problems are
pointed out by customers on social media, companies can take the necessary steps to address the
problem. This, in turn, enhances the credibility of the social network.
Reduces Marketing Expenses
Social media marketing helps in reducing marketing expenses to a great extent. Compared to
traditional marketing mediums, like television advertising, social networks are the best and the most
cost-effective way to reach out to customers. It can also reduce support staff, and hence, help in
cutting down cost.
If it is a website that you are marketing, social media can help in increasing the traffic and provide
much-needed help for SEO strategies. In today's competitive world, it is vital to take advantage of
the social media marketing. In many ways, it has become a norm in business marketing. Brushing it

3. aside as a mere tool for kids and the inability to understand its importance will only serve as a
disadvantage for your business.
While doing so, it is also important to avoid common social media mistakes. Being overly
promotional rather than engaging the customers in a meaningful way can be a catastrophic social
media mistake. Instead of trying to sell, a marketer's goal should be to build relationships. Once
businesses understand and implement marketing plans that aim at relationship building and brand
building, they are sure to succeed in their marketing endeavors on the social media networks.