In: Operations Management
Discuss the role of social media in marketing a product and service
The entire idea of using social media in business marketing depends on meeting the ultimate goals business. Social media can trigger the growth of a business. However, its true potential is still underestimated due to varying pattern of customer behaviour. The role of social media in marketing can be seen in following fields:
1. Reach
The total number of people who see the content of a company is REACH. Businessmen and companies need to have their customer base in place in the very first place. In any traditional marketing, companies tend to use their contacts, references, networking and other methods to find the relevant and potential customer. Social media marketing has made it quite easy for companies to find targeted customers at the digital platform. The role of social media in marketing is to reach the potential customers through social media networks.
2. Increase Website Traffic
Driving online traffic is the second key role of social media marketing. After Google's organic reach, social media is the second-highest potential digital traffic channel. It is considered to be one of the best contributors that helps in increasing the website traffic. Businesses and companies face tough competition in placing themselves on the first page of Google with a keyword search. The role of social media in marketing is gaining a lot of attention and momentum to target the correct audience through social media.
3. Customer Engagement
The above two roles of social media in marketing are useless if companies fail to engage with their target audience. Any ad, video or even a post adds value to target customers. The message that comapnies want to deliver to their customers must be short, crisp, aligned with the business objective. For any good content, the customers act as level 2 marketers because if they like it, they would most likely share it further. Customer engagement is the key objective of social media in marketing.
4. Brand Awareness and Brand Promotion
Brand Awareness is a requirement in the social media for establishments of new companies and their businesses where as brand promotion is for the brands that are already established in the market. Social media plays an important role in achieving these objectives.
5. Precise Targeting of Audience
Social media is a digital platform which has a large audience but companies must remember that not everyone is their target customer. The target customer is the one that helps in achieving the business objectives. Social media is a digital marketing tool that helps in facilitating a marketer with various options to choose the right customers for a business based on their behavior on social media, the demographics, their likes, and dislikes. The role of social media in marketing of a product or service to the right audience can be a game-changer in driving the revenues of a business.