Is Social Media Marketing Really Worth Your Time?

Online experts are constantly raving about how important it is that every business gets involved in social media marketing. Unfortunately, many business owners do not take the time they need to get started simply because they do not understand what advantages are truly offered. Rather than allow your business to miss out on the opportunity, it helps to get a better picture of exactly what benefits social media offers.

Does it Really Help with Branding?

One major advantage social media experts claim is that their marketing efforts will help increase your brand image and build brand loyalty. Though some of these claims are anecdotal, there have been a variety of studies performed that examine the effects of social media on brand loyalty. In each case, these studies support that those companies with followers on social media outlets enjoy a higher percentage of brand loyalty than those who do not remain active.

Despite this, there is still some debate on how much of an impact it has, which is why you must consider other factors.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings

Though different social media experts often take different approaches to search engine optimization, the one factor that social media plays is that it definitely does help improve your website’s ranking. In fact, recent changes in Google’s search algorithm have made social media more important than ever. So, the next time one of your customers is searching for your product, these social media accounts could help ensure that you show up in their results.

Really Engage Your Customers

Perhaps most important of all the reasons to get on social media is to really get a feel for your customers. Rather than spend countless hours and thousands of dollars to collect data, social media actually offers you the ability to get useful metrics that you can use to influence your other marketing efforts. More important than this, it allows your company to interact with the customers on a personal level, which gives you a better feel for what they really expect out of your brand while also allowing you to respond to complaints and criticisms in a way that can work to your advantage.

At the end of the day, you may not have a complete picture of how much social media marketing does for your business. One thing is for sure though: if it is not worth your time, it is definitely worth hiring someone to do it for you.