9 Benefits of Social Media Marketing

All roads in integrated marketing communication plan in India are now leading towards social and digital media. This is most happening place right now and everybody wants to be there. After all Facebook alone boast more than 23 million users in India, nearly 50% of all users acquired by Google+ in first three week of its inception are from India and USA. Professionals here are sold out to LinkedIn. Twitter is rapidly gaining ground and Orkut may fading out in comparison of above mentioned young entrant but it is still there. But pertinent question here is that so much is being talked and written about social media, but is it actually of any benefit? Why should anybody opt for social media? Answers are aplenty; some of them are as follows:

-          Direct Consumer Feedback and Engagement: So far, research agencies and internal consumer insight departments were the carrier of consumer’s message to the management. Now social media has given them a tool to not only connect directly with the consumers, but get their feedback, curate over it, innovate and engage consumers in a better way.  

-          Generate Traffic on site: Your thought leader aspiration supported with your genuine efforts generates traffic on your website. Participants of social media wishes to know more about you and visit your website.

-          Generate lead through networking and recommendations: Since social media is about sharing thoughts, opinions, ideas through micro blogs, blogs, status updates, photo sharing, video sharing etc, positive experience shared about your brand, product or services will lead to more people asking about it.

-          Generate lead through company profile: With the vast penetration of social media, one can imagine its importance in generating on the website and company profiles. It will also help in generating the lead.

-          Micro targeting the customer: At social media, customers can be individually targeted, approached and monitored.  

-          Reduces the marketing cost: Although social media marketing is not free, as many may perceive, because it consumes lots of man hour in engaging customers and analysing their behaviour, its cost is nothing when compared to offline media. May the cost of 30 second ad spot during prime time be equal to your half yearly expenditure on social media, or the deal may be even better. 

-          Brand Building: You may be known as an excellent performer in your area, but, the know- all people, who has all the information on their figure tip, who can dissect your expertise and tear it apart in minutes(that’s how I perceive about netizens, because the they have access to best of information uploaded on internet), has accepted your expertise. Have they accepted you as the thought leader? This opportunity comes through social media only.

-          Brand Monitoring: Technological finesse is the second name of social media. With billions of applications to choose from, one can monitor all the views, blogs, downloads, time spends, bounce rates, common users etc on internet, which is quite a tough task for offline media.

-          Brand Loyalty: Since social media works on word of mouth publicity, the brand loyalty created on this platform is more.