Power of SM. Social media marketing benefits for B2B and B2C business

Social media is an inseparable piece of daily routine for almost 89% of Internet users. Platforms have about 4.14 bl active users. Business owners simply can’t pass by such an opportunity to promote their offers. Social media is an additional marketing channel for various organizations, and social media ads are a practical part of marketing strategy. But are they equally effective for all types of businesses? What benefits do they offer, and what are the pros of SMM for modern companies? You will find the answer to these and other questions in this article. 

The main benefits of Social Media for Business 

Social platforms can become not just another place to distribute advertising. Still, also one of the critical sources of income. The leading social media marketing benefits include: 

• Raising awareness level of your brand 

The user base of social media is enormous. That’s why these platforms are a highly effective and extremely cheap way to make your brand more recognizable and attract more clients. You only need registration and further activity to get started on social media. The likelihood that people will notice you and linger on your page is much more significant – if you post stories, posts, engage users with interactions, polls, giveaways, and so on regularly. Also, your profile should not be devoid of aesthetics. 

• Brand Legitimization

Online users are cautious about whom they can trust and are constantly doing online searches for brand information. However, if the same information is available on your social network profile, it helps build trust and increases user loyalty level.

• Increasing website traffic

Being on the Internet, most of the time users stay active on social networks, so the likelihood that visits to your website will become more frequent without a profile on the social network is improbable. More than 80% of marketers say your social networking page results into increased site traffic because you are much easier to notice.

• Wide reach at a low cost 

Many businesses can really get this SM pro having developed and applied an efficient SMM strategy. In any case, advertising costs in social networks are minimal, and the result is guaranteed to increase business ROI and reach, and stimulate demand formation. 

• Involvement of audience

The ability to interact with customers is a unique feature that no traditional media can provide you with. Even having your website does not offer the same effect because, on SM you can have a direct interaction with your audience through the content, its distribution, direct responses, comment, participate/post surveys, and solve problems with dissatisfied customers. You can also investigate your customer(s) activity, comments, and feedback.

• Positive impact on sales and conversions 

Research shows that a person spends at least 2 hours daily on social media, so your chances of getting noticed are very high. As you get more and more flashed in users’ feeds as an advertisement, you’ll also get more likes, recommendations, conversions, and sales.

• Simplified tracking of competitors and industry trends 

All you need to start following other brands is to subscribe to them. Similarly, you’ll be able to pursue new directions in your industry. Follow hashtags, words, and phrases related to your industry to do this. And with customer data tracking tools, you can also improve the customer experience by targeting what’s needed to meet your customers’ needs.  

All of the above reasons why use social media marketing are just crucial. You will also discover a host of other perks from these platforms. You can hire an SM expert to promote your brand even more effectively. If you don’t know what does social media marketer do, then know that these people can help you develop the perfect strategy for growing your brand on social media and accelerate your rollout on the platform. 

Top 5 Most Used SM for Business 

The concepts of branding and social media are very closely intertwined today. You can use them to attract new customers, increase your reach, promote branding, and more. There are enough developed social networks with a multi-million audience, but which are the most convenient for business development? 

Instagram 

The most popular area for promotion is Instagram for business. Today more and more B2C companies are moving to the Instagram platform because it is a social network formed on the visual component, allowing you to present your brand in the best possible light. For that, you have all the tools you need, such as those enabling you to track post statistics and user activity and those allowing you to interact directly with them. B2B companies also use Instagram as a way of their promotion. Nevertheless, their efficiency of sales and investments is much lower than in B2C. 

TikTok 

Tikkok has quickly become one of the most frequented social networks, especially among the younger generation. B2C can use this platform to create compelling videos that comprehensively highlight their products and brand and redirect to the main sales page.

B2B owners also benefit significantly from this platform because ticktock algorithms can distribute your video to a vast audience even without many subscribers. 

Facebook 

Facebook is a great place to promote your business. Both B2B and B2C companies will be able to achieve their goals here because there are enough consumers among Facebook users for almost any industry. You will be able to create your group, take advantage of paid advertising, use Messenger as well as track the success of your advertising.

Twitter 

Twitter is a microblogging network that allows you to interact with other users in real-time by liking, reposting, tagging, and replying to tweets. It’s a great way to interact with customers, and Twitter is also beneficial because of its hashtags, which make it easy for you to tweet. Twitter also allows you to keep up with the latest events and memes. 

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is, for the most part, the best social network for B2B platforms. Nearly 97% of B2B companies use this platform in their marketing strategies. That’s because LinkedIn is built to provide users with information about companies, employers, employees, and job seekers. It helps make connections and generate targeted leads. 

Thus, social media is not just about exploration; it also plays a massive role in companies’ strategic marketing and is called social media marketing. Many people may not distinguish the difference between social media marketing and digital marketing, so below we will look at their main differences: 

• Digital marketing is done both online and offline, while SMM uses only social networks, forums, and websites
• The primary purpose of digital marketing is to increase your reach through a variety of touchpoints, while SMM tries to communicate with the audience only through social media
• Digital Marketing invests a lot in advertising: billboards, commercials, etc., but SMM’s success depends on the content strategy, which is far from advertising alone
• Digital media primarily drive sales. Social media can be used for various commercial purposes, including competitive analysis, brand promotion, etc.

The most popular social media for small B2C business promotion

Today it is Instagram. Since 2016, Instagram has enabled business accounts to be created, opening up access to various tools. This way, it has become even more accessible and enjoyable to promote business on Instagram. The main advantages of Instagram as a place to promote business products and services are the following: 

Fits business of various size

Instagram is a place with a massive concentration of users who have their own unique needs and interests. That’s why companies of all industries and sizes can feel at ease here. On Instagram, you can quickly increase your brand awareness and always be in touch with your target audience. 

Instagram can become an additional source of income 

In addition to boosting your reach with Instagram, you can also make extra income from it. This happens in several ways: 

1. Direct sales – Instagram offers users a “store” tab on the home page, so they can go straight to brands and make purchases through Instagram 
2. Buyable posts – you can post buyable posts. Companies can add tags to their products, clicking on which users will find a detailed product description, price, and “buy now” feature 
3. Partnerships with other brands – Companies can partner with brand representatives through sponsored publications and affiliate marketing

Instagram will make your business more appealing

Instagram has recently released many updates that interest users in using the platform and allow businesses to engage users differently. Instagram Stories, Live Broadcasts, Carousels, Reels Videos – all this visual content encourages users to view and eventually buy. 

In this way, Instagram provides you with everything you need to roll out your business further. However, you also need to know how to grow your business on Instagram and what strategies to use to succeed. Below we will highlight some recommendations on this:

• Include a link to the main website in your profile description and create a dedicated page on your website for users who came here from Instagram to better track and customize your target audience
• Keep your profile simple; avoid too obvious promotional text and images
• Use ads in stories – unlike regular stories, which disappear after 24 hours, business stories last as long as you want them to. Also, a big plus of Instagram stories is that they are supported by default on mobile screens and have a maximum duration of 120 seconds. Users can react to your stories, reply, and post reactions
• Carousel ads allow marketers to use several images that consumers can see in a “carousel” format. In B2C, these ads are perfect for retailers with physical products. B2B companies can also profit from carousel ads, for instance, by showing images of the manufacturing process in a stockroom
• Hashtags and Influencers – Using hashtags can get your publications to the top of searches, increasing visibility and reach. And if you combine your activity with influencers, it will lead to more reach. This strategy is very well integrated into the business model of B2C type; remember the recent performance of Rihanna at the Super Bowl: a second appeared in the frame powder, which the singer corrected her makeup, and after a while, this product was completely swept away from the shelves in all stores, both offline and online. Influencers for the B2B sector usually have fewer followers than B2C ones, but cooperation with them can be significant in supporting and promoting business reasons

Instagram opens up multiple opportunities for promotion, but picking the right SMM strategy is also very important for success. Fortunately, there are enough ways to attract reach on social networks today, so it’s up to you.