Brands and marketers alike have constantly questioned the effectiveness of social
media marketing in their overall marketing strategies. While a Gallup
poll report states, “A clear majority of Americans say social media have no
effect at all on their purchasing decisions,” there are a few factors that
discredit this statement and prove that social media marketing can, in fact,
have a positive outcome in your marketing strategy.
Here are a few factors to remember:
1. Perspective
The Gallup poll shows that 35% of Americans say that social media actually does
have some influence on their purchasing decisions. However, Americans generally
claim that traditional advertising has little effect on their purchasing
decisions as well. If traditional advertising’s percentage was around 35%, then
social’s low percentage is not nearly as dire as it may seem.
2. Active Audience
While not all people are on social media to shop or engage with brands, as is
shown in the poll results; there are exceptions to that. There are millions of
people on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn who seek out brand pages to follow
and interact with. This active audience is searching for information and
content provided by brands to either help persuade a purchase or to reassure
them of their purchases. By ignoring social media, brands are losing out on
opportunities to gain new customers and to engage with their core brand
advocates.
3. Your Marketing Goals
Looking at your business and marketing goals is a way to
analyze which of those goals social media marketing can achieve for you. Some companies’
marketing goals include; completing an online purchase in their virtual
marketplace, having customers join a mailing list or complete a download of
information, or perhaps make a donation (if it’s a nonprofit).These types of online, actionable items are
goals more attainable by social media.
On the other hand, brick-and-mortar locations looking to bring online consumers
into their physical locations will have a harder time using social media
marketing to complete those goals and be able to effectively track it. It can still,
however,influence the decision to research
further into the company’s website or continue the sales cycle with
high-quality content.
4. Search Engine Optimization
At Sales & Marketing Technologies, search engine
optimization (SEO) is one aspect of Digital marketing that we focus highly
on. Ensuring that your website is ranking highly in search engines, such as
Google, Bing and Yahoo, is one of the most important aspects of getting your
business found online. Even though social media may not be driving direct
sales, the additional traffic and links to your website that it provides can
boost your SEO rankings, which can then lead to those sales.
5. Subliminal
Decisions
While people in the Gallup poll may not admit that
traditional or social media marketing influences their purchasing decisions,
that doesn’t mean they are immune to it. Continued exposure to a brand could
lead to a subliminal desire to purchase. This idea may mean social media’s
power to influence purchase decisions to be more significant than we realize.
Sales & Marketing Technologies is the most established
Digital marketing and web development company in Central Florida. We’ve
created and enhanced thousands of websites and have helped to grow businesses
by unlocking their potential to thrive online. To see what strategies we can implement
for your business, contact us today.