Why Startup Companies Should Incorporate Social Media Marketing as a Strategic Marketing Tool
Startup companies operate in a very delicate environment in their first five years. This is a critical period where they can fail or break into the market and become like any other established organization. However, they have to choose their marketing technique wisely so that they can easily outperform established organizations. Social media marketing is a strategic marketing tool that startup companies should use as it offers the following benefits.
1. Increased Brand Awareness
For startup companies, creating brand awareness is a key to success. Most of the small companies collapse because they fail to sensitize customers about their products and services. Social media marketing increases business visibility in social platforms. In the long term, customers become aware of the brand, and they can start trying its products and services. Social media marketing allows the business to engage with a broad audience of consumers and ultimately creating a presence in the market.
2. Increased Inbound Traffic
Some small businesses fail to break even because they are only serving a limited number of customers who are aware of their products and services. Without social media marketing, it is difficult to reach other customers who are outside the loyal circle. Millions of customers are always searching for products and services in social platforms. Marketing through Facebook and Twitter brings additional traffic into the business, which increases sales. Inbound traffic is a key component in increasing the number of customers that a business serves.
3. Improved Search Engine Rankings
Businesses are always struggling to rank higher on the search engine than their competitors. Startup companies that don’t market their products and services rank very low on the search engine. This is a very bad marketing trend because it denies them a chance to serve customers who are searching for specific keywords. Although social media marketing may not have a direct impact on search engine ranking, studies show that more than 58% of the businesses that have been marketing through social media improve their ranking on the search engine.
4. Increased Conversion Rates
Getting inbound traffic and ranking higher on the search engine are important benefits to a startup company. However, converting the traffic into loyal customers is the end game. Startup companies that use social media marketing give human attention to their customers. They have an opportunity to create a positive impression about the business and convince customers why they should buy from their stores. 51% of marketers indicate that taking time to interact with customers on social platforms plays a critical role in increasing sales.
5. Better Customer Satisfaction
Satisfying customers is an art that many startup companies have failed to master. However, social media marketing gives opportunities to small companies to humanize their interactions with their customers through communication. When customers post a message about a product or service they received from the company, they’re more satisfied when they get an immediate and personalized response. Being ready to attend to any comment or review on the social pages is a great show of concern to the role that customers play in improving the business.
6. Improved Brand Loyalty
Startup companies don’t have a loyal customer base, which is one of the main reasons why they don’t succeed. Customer satisfaction and interaction, which are all offered through social media platforms, are essential in creating a bond between customers and the company. It is necessary to regularly engage customers and to create a friendship for mutual benefits. Studies show that 62% of loyal customers engage businesses through social platforms. Therefore, startups should use social media as service channels, where they can build loyal customers.
7. More Brand Authority
It is common for new companies to feel shy in the market. Nobody knows about them, which makes them fear backlash every time they are posting something on social platforms. However, this can go the other way as well. If a new company starts posting original content and images about its products, it demonstrates credibility in the market. Small and upcoming businesses should not feel shy but should go all out and challenge the establishments by demonstrating credibility and authority in the market.
8. Cost-Effective Marketing Strategy
For startups, spending money is always a hard undertaking due to limited cash flow. Research studies show that more than 50% of small business organizations fail within the first three years of inception due to liquidity problems. Using social media marketing achieves the end goal of creating brand awareness and customer satisfaction at very little or no cost. Creating a profile and posting marketing messages is free on most of the social media platforms. For promoted posts, it is relatively cheap.
Startup companies are always finding it hard to break into the market that is dominated by established entities, which have been in the industry for many years. However, social media marketing is an effective tool that can break established barriers because it reaches a huge audience and is relatively cost-friendly. Any startup business should incorporate social media marketing to create brand awareness and attracts inbound traffic.
