As an SME, it is often hard trying to compete with larger companies who have been active for longer and have a bigger reputation and brand presence. However, canny SMEs have realised the huge potential offered in social media marketing, and how it can be used to give them an edge over the competition – especially when you compare the relatively high cost and time associated with other more traditional marketing methods. Here’s a brief overview of how social media marketing can boost the online profile of an SME.
Validation
Before consumers make a purchase, they first like to have validation that what they are buying is good quality and that the seller is to be trusted. With larger companies, this brand quality and trustworthiness is inherently assumed because of how well known they are in the market. As an SME, you need to find other measures to attain this validation. Having active social profiles which have a lot of followers acts as social proof that people do like and trust your brand.
Awareness
Nowadays, more and more consumers choose to make their purchases online, and would never visit a traditional retail environment before making a purchase. What this means is that, the arena where you find your customers has completely changed, and you need to have effective ways of making your brand known and have it found. Social media marketing is a great means to reach such individuals who are willing to buy online, and would not be aware of you unless you reached them on such platforms.
Brand building
Building a brand is an essential part of creating a successful company that people will get behind and that can outlast the competition. Social media marketing allows you to get fast feedback as to whether the look of your company is right and that you are reaching consumers in the right way. You can get fast and reliable feedback as to whether your marketing efforts are actually working and what may need tweaking with regards to your brand. This allows your SME to build its brand faster and more effectively into something people actually want.
Display personality
People buy from people and, despite growing consumerism online rather than offline, this statement still holds true. People want to buy from a brand they can relate to and that has a human element. Well, social media marketing will allow your SME to grow its online profile massively because of the fantastic ability it has for you to transfer a human element to your marketing. You can directly engage with and discuss your products with customers while they are sat watching TV. Your ability to answer queries in a friendly manner and build a relationship in the comments section of posts is something hard to put a price on.
Surge in traffic
It has already been touched on, but it’s worth rounding off by laying down the fact that social media marketing can be an incredibly cheap way to cause massive surges in traffic. Reaching thousands of potential customers using traditional advertising methods can be very expensive and risky, whereas with social media marketing, you can affordably test your approaches. Once you have something that is getting returns at a low advertising cost per customer, you can plough more and more money towards it. This allows you to drive heavy amounts of traffic to your site and massively increase your online profile.
It should be clear that social media marketing is a powerful force to be reckoned with, and something that all companies, big and small, are adapting to. As an SME, you need to use everything in your power to build your online profile quickly and affordably, and this is a great way to do it. If you feel you are lacking in this area, it may be worth speaking to a digital marketing agency to see what they can do for you. Return on investment for social media marketing are usually very high, so the initial costs will be offset by the future results.
