It is hard to remember when the first instance of social media came about. In a world where the term “Social Media” has become a household-name, it’s easy to get lost in the digital stream of constant information. Defined as an internet service that helps in the “creation and sharing of information through online communities”, social media has taken communication to a whole new level.

Social media platforms such as Facebook & Twitter has helped users gather information in an instant; whether it’s catching up with family members, or reading about the news straight-away, they have revolutionized the way information is shared in the modern age.

Not only is social media a great tool to communicate and share information with each other, but social influencers and celebrities have managed to find a way to use social media and its functions to their advantage. Defined as “users on social media who have earned credibility in their industry and has the ability to persuade a large audience with their authenticity and reach”, influencers are able to use their respective social platform to either endorse a product, market their brand, or to create a call-to-action, due to their following and the trust that they have created with their audience.

Before you can understand how marketing has evolved with the use of social media, you must first understand that different social media platforms have different audiences and generate a different purpose.

Social media isn’t a one size fits all thing where you post the same information to all platforms and expect that the message will be conveyed or received in the same way. Facebook will give you very different results than YouTube or Instagram — because of the type of users that they have and the approach that they do. By utilizing the strengths of each platform and market your product to their respective audience, this will generate a positive result and create traffic on your website. Once you’ve understood the use of each platforms, you’ll be able to have a grasp, in a wider sense, of how social media has an impact on marketing.

Now it’s time for the main question: how does Social Media help with Marketing?

Reaching target audience with right content:

For one, it helps with reaching an audience. Using social media to market your business in the age where everyone is online, is one of the most important ways for reaching an audience because all your customers use a social media platform of some-sort. If they have a social media account, they can be your target audience. This is because communicating your business through social media has a better chance of reaching your target consumers than the traditional.

Reaching a large demographic:

With the reach of an audience, you also get to reach a large demographic. Each social media platform has its own unique set of audience and demographic, and if done right, when utilizing specific platforms, you get to reach out to these demographics. By doing so, not only will you have a good following on Facebook, but you also get to have a good following on Instagram and YouTube; which all have distinct specific consumers. Together, your followers will multiply immensely — which means you will have a wide range of different consumers to market your product for.

Brand Awareness:

Another point that social media helps with Marketing is brand awareness. Because social media is such a diverse place with millions of users online everyday; it is a great tool to make your audience aware of your product — especially if your business is starting up and you want to show and let people know about your services, using social media to advertise, promote and market business is a great way to gain exposure. It lets people know what your business is about — the type of products or services that you do, and helps them create conversation and develop relationships with you if they have any questions or inquiries about your business.

Boost traffic & SEO:

The notion that social media doesn’t influence SEO rankings and website traffic should be set aside. The reason being is that your website depends on SEO and social media to boost its traffic!

Here are four things that social media does that helps your SEO ranking go up:

Link potential — by promoting your content on social media, it also increases the possibility of your content being shared by your audience to other platforms/people.

2. Personalization — since search results are personalized for anyone logged into Google, and localized for everyone that is not, this varies the actual results that are presented to each searcher — providing you with increased, very specific, visibility.

3. Search Query Volume — gaining exposure on the online world through social media helps you develop brand credibility and authority. By getting your business logo or name visible online — you will begin to develop website traffic and buyers through brand recognition.

4. Brand signals — brand name, product name, employee names and relevant information are all distinct data elements — by getting these types of data out on the social world, it validates your business’ existence and authority as a source of credible information.

Cut marketing costs:

Social media marketing also helps with cutting marketing costs. By utilising various social media platforms — you can advertise and promote your product without spending so much compared to TV ads or flyers, while reaching a wider audience at the same time.

The presence of social media is not a new concept in the digital world. Since the early days of Facebook in 2006, and LinkedIn in the 2000's, social media

has had its fingerprints on enabling users to communicate and share information with each other in various ways. However, over the last decade, the number of business and enterprises implementing Social Media in their Marketing campaign has risen enormously. More and more businesses and entrepreneurs are utilising this tool and if you haven’t considered it before — I suggest you consider it now because you’re putting your business at a disadvantage if you don’t step up your social media game.