Social media has become a key part of digital marketing, with an increasing number of businesses looking to set up social profiles to increase their audience reach online. In fact, social media is one of the main elements of a digital marketing strategy, especially since it can be tailored to the different platforms that are most commonly used by your target audience, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus.

What does social media involve?

Over the past 10 years, social media has grown more and more popular, drawing over 1.71 billion users to Facebook alone. Marketers have realised that this increase in online community has become a fantastic opportunity for marketing online, to an even wider audience than traditional marketing techniques. The platforms that will be most effective depend on your industry and whether you’re a B2B or B2C company.

A captive audience

72% of adults who use the internet also use social media sites on a regular basis – this means that you have a captive audience to market to. Social media platforms give businesses the chance to increase brand awareness and engagement with potential customers, as well as generating a greater following and promoting offers, products and services.

Social media keeps you competitive

Since a growing number of companies are now using social media to market their business, other businesses that are not doing this are missing out on potential customers. Many people search for products and services online and social media also works as part of an SEO strategy to make your business appear higher in Google results. So if you have a social media strategy, this can help you to generate more traffic to your website and facilitate more sales.

Create a greater customer experience

Social media marketing is a unique part of your digital marketing strategy as it provides the opportunity to interact directly with customers and potential customers. You can ask and answer questions, generate conversation, and encourage interaction through competitions, sharing links and other media. This creates familiarity with your audience, which can eventually translate into sales. It also allows others to boost your credibility – ie. As other customers share your posts and their great experiences of your products or services, it acts as free additional marketing and brand awareness.

All of these reasons indicate why social media should be a key part of your digital marketing strategy. For more tips and advice about setting up a social media strategy, take a look at these  “8 steps to creating more engaging social media posts”.