Let’s take a closer look at the markets in the 90’s, one will be forced to observe an obvious disconnect between brands and their customer base. One can’t help but feel that big brands were autocratic rulers cluelessly thrusting their products on the consumers without having much insight into their preferences. However, in today’s world, social media has bridged the gap between consumers and brands. These platforms have shifted the axis of control from big fish with deep pockets to regular customers and niche brands.
Social media serves as a platform to not show case one’s creativity, innovation and ideas but also provides the relevant analytics for comprehending the current market trends. The understanding of these trends goes a long way in creating business strategies for successful launch of a product or a service. Moreover, the use of these online tools has led to democratization of marketing strategies of a brand. For example, innovative tools such hashtag campaigns and online polls have given consumers a direct say in the product or service which is being marketed, and also, how it is marketed. This personal involvement of consumers in turn proves beneficial for any brand as it creates an ambiance where a regular customer has power and is given the impression that his wishes are being taken into account.
The benefits of social media for your marketing are innumerable, some of them are:
Creating long lasting impression: Social media provides you with the opportunity to interact with your consumers through content generation which is usually visual. It is a scientifically proven fact that visual content creates long lasting impression in comparison to any other medium of connectivity. Furthermore, the customers themselves get an opportunity to create content for the brands and find it far more memorable and relatable.
Targeted reach: The analytics amassed through social media insights enable brands to establish a targeted audience who is more likely to respond positively to a particular product or service. This in turn helps brands to use their resources efficaciously and judiciously by spending its time and effort only on that specific target which is likely to further their business interests either by serving as a consumer or a potential target that will augment the brand image through word-of-mouth advertising.
Personal engagement: These online platforms result in engaging with the customers on a personal level. For example: a personalized response to a direct message query on an Instagram page is going to forge a long-lasting connect between any brand and its potential customer. And this personal involvement has dual benefit, from the consumer’s viewpoint – he feels valued and for the brand – every like or a follower serves as positive reinforcement to strive harder alongside the direction in which efforts should be made.
Marketing via social media is quintessential in the present-day scenario to effectively gauge the returns on the money that one has invested. It is the GPS that every brand requires for navigating its business to the pinnacle of success.