Why social media and not traditional advertising?

21 Jul Why social media and not traditional advertising?

Why social media and not traditional advertising?

The world is in constant change, and so is the way we communicate with each other. Fifty years ago, brands had different visions and different methods of getting exposure, and consumers had a different behavior as well. There was no internet, so television and billboards were the main platforms for advertising.

However, there is a factor that hasn’t changed and we are convinced that it never will: mouth to mouth recommendations. Back in the day, people made their purchase decision by seeing commercials on the TV or by receiving recommendations from friends. Right now, the scenario is similar, we keep trusting in recommendations from others, but the spectrum is wider now because we have access to a larger world of reviews from people we don’t even know, but still, we trust in their opinion. The best promotion for any product is given by their own customers, that’s why reviews are so important.

In the last century, in order to get to know a product you had to buy it, or maybe ask your friends if they knew about it to get a reliable impression. Now, thanks to globalization and technology, we are able to research before making the purchase to ensure a successful experience with the desired good. But how does the consumer do this?

Approximately 74% of consumers draw up purchasing decisions using social media, so being active on those channels is mandatory for any business. Customer’s behavior has changed, they are now more into buying something because they felt a connection with the brand than to just having the product because they need it. 

49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations so they play a big role too, they are more reliable for clients when it comes to finding an objective opinion about a service or product. In this era our consumers can’t be taken for fools, they research and make sure what they want so that they can accomplish their expectations, and this is where social media comes through.

Your online presence is key to boost your sales and make your potential clients feel engaged with you, but what most businesses don’t understand yet is that people don’t want to see a picture of their product over and over with a caption that says “buy my stuff”. Clients want valuable information, not the “what” but the “how.” 

They already know what your product is, but what they need to hear from you is how you will change their lives, how your product can make their lives easier and better. And how and why you are different from other brands, how reliable, and the expertise you have on your field. 

What you need to engage with your audience is consistency and relevance. By being consistent in your communication, it will help you to develop an identity online and in your customer’s mind. Listen to them and give them the content they want, not what you want as a brand. Once they start to consume what you are posting and engaging with you, you will become relevant for them, making the purchase decision easier because the “need” will be latent in them. 

It is very common that companies often focus on getting likes and followers, but the truth is while these two are important indicators, they mean nothing if you don’t track — or don’t have an engagement rate. Here we see the importance of quality over quantity.  

You don’t accomplish anything with an account full of followers and likes if your audience doesn’t interact with you. When this happens, it means your content is being unnoticed, so you’re losing money and time creating content that is irrelevant. 

It’s better to have 100 engaged users than 1,000 followers that never interact with you. This rule applies to your content too. Sometimes businesses think by posting several times a week -or even daily- that they will have more exposure, but here is when algorithms play their role. We are very sorry to tell you this, but it doesn’t matter how many times you post in a week or in a day, if your content is not good enough, you’ll probably only be seen by 5% of your whole audience. 

Conclusion? Valuable content is the king on social media. Saying that, we’ll move forward with what really brought you here, how beneficial is social media for small to medium-sized businesses?

The answer is simple, it’s cheaper. You can do great stuff with a small budget, and a small team; all you need is creativity and cleverness. In sum, there are many important factors to consider with the benefits social media impacts on small to medium-sized businesses. 

More exposure, less cost: You will get more exposure, and awareness advertising on social media than in traditional media. 

Measurable results: How do you know how many times people saw a billboard about you? Or how many really saw your commercial on TV? In social media, you have measurable results and they are even segmented to give you a whole vision of your audience. 

Feedback: This is one of the best benefits of using social media for your business. You will hear back from your customers so you can adapt and improve your communication with their needs. Also, it allows you to create a connection with them, and increase your engagement rate since they are able to reach you. 

Specific segmentation: Advertising on social media is not random, the platforms have amazing segmentation tools so you can choose your goal audience and make sure your message will be seen by the right target. 
If you are ready to make your business grow, let us know. We can definitely help you with your Social Media Marketing.