In the world of digital marketing, any digital channel with a lot of traffic becomes a viable path to promoting businesses and products. One of those digital channels is social media. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn connect people through the internet and fall under the umbrella term “social media”. Billions of people use these platforms daily, making them perfect for digital marketing.
We will explore what social media marketing (SMM) is, its importance, and how it works in this blog. By the end, you will have a beginner-level understanding of how this type of digital marketing works to promote businesses, organisations, individuals, products, and services.
Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the use of social media platforms to promote a brand, connect with audiences, and achieve marketing goals such as driving website traffic, generating leads, or boosting sales. There are three core components of SMM –
Content is always important for marketing on social media. For example, if you want to promote your business or create brand awareness on platforms like TikTok or YouTube, you need to create engaging videos, as those are the types of content allowed on the platforms. On the other hand, microblogging or written content is suitable for platforms like X.
You can engage with your audience on social media by creating content that gets shared and talked about, responding to comments, answering queries, etc. Lastly, analytics helps you know how well your SMM strategies are working. Social media platforms offer their own analytics tool that you can use to see numerical data on engagement.
At the start of October 2024, there were 5.22 billion social media users worldwide, which means 63.8% of the entire global population is using social media. This fact alone makes social media marketing (SMM) one of the strongest digital marketing methods. Here are some reasons why SMM is so important right now –
Social media sites aren’t just for making friends; they’re also dynamic places for businesses to meet with billions of users around the world. Going back to the DataPortal report we linked to earlier, we see that social media platforms are seeing an annual growth of 5.2% in users. Adding it to the already existing large number of users, the exposure opportunity is out of bounds.
Social media gives companies a large market to access since it lets them reach audiences of diverse kinds, demographics, and hobbies. Users of these platforms spend two to three hours on average. Thus, companies have plenty of chances to highlight their goods or services.
Direct messages, surveys, and comments on social media allow companies to interact personally with their consumers. Companies can respond to questions, have real-time chats, and learn about consumer preferences.
Traditional marketing techniques, including TV advertisements, billboards, or print media, can be costly, often requiring an extensive investment to reach a small audience. Conversely, SMM provides reasonably priced advertising solutions, whereby companies may pay as little as $5 a day for Facebook Ads.
Another low-cost approach to getting exposure without further spending is organic marketing—that is, producing free postings and interesting material. The thorough targeting choices on social media guarantee that every dollar spent reaches the appropriate demographic, therefore maximising return on investment (ROI).
Though they seem unrelated, social media and search engine optimization (SEO) work together to increase the online presence of a brand. Likes, shares, and mentions—social signals—can subtly increase the authority of a website, therefore enabling it to rank higher on Google and other search engines.
Sharing blog entries, videos, or product links on social media generates traffic to your website—search engines read this as indicating relevance. Constant social media activity also supports brand presence, which increases users’ internet search for your company.
Social media marketing (SMM) is a range of methods meant to fit various corporate objectives. From creating brand loyalty to increasing sales, companies can use different kinds of SMM to involve audiences and get the desired results. The primary forms of social media marketing are set out here in great detail:
Organic marketing emphasises developing a devoted community through unpaid efforts, including content marketing, interaction with followers, and, over time, relationship-building. Basically, as long as you do not pay for advertising on social media, all your efforts fall under the term “organic marketing”. These efforts can be sharing valuable, engaging, or entertaining content (like photos, videos, blogs, or tips) to connect with followers and keep the brand top-of-mind.
Even if you are trying to approach the route of paid advertising, organic marketing should always accompany that. People trust brands that consistently post and engage on social media.
Paid social media marketing is essentially running ad campaigns to reach a larger audience and showcasing material. Businesses aiming for quick results and targeted markets will find it perfect.
Influencers, or people with a significant following on social media, work with businesses to promote their brand, product or service. This is called influencer marketing, which 84% of marketers believe to be an effective SMM strategy. The reason behind this is that these influencers act as trusted voices for their followers, making their recommendations highly impactful.
User-generated content, or UGC, is anything produced by brand fans or consumers, including reviews, testimonials, images, or videos. Using UGC increases the credibility of brands and fosters sincerity. Companies use UGC by –
Want to get your social media marketing (SMM) journey off the ground? Before you jump into the unknown waters of SMM and other facets of digital marketing, it’s better to acquire some knowledge and apply it in the field. Sikkhon’s courses can be a great way to start, as you can get insights and lessons from the experts themselves.
