Social Media Marketing: How Does It Work & Pros and Cons?

With more than 80% of consumers reporting that social media, particularly influencer content, has a significant impact on purchasing decisions, marketers across industries are driving the evolution of social media marketing (SMM) from a standalone tool to a multifaceted source of marketing intelligence on an increasingly important—and growing—audience.

From 2004 (when MySpace became the first social media site to reach one million users) to 2022, the dramatic growth of interactive digital channels propelled social media to levels that rival television and radio.

By the first quarter of 2022, there were 4.6 billion social media users worldwide—more than 58% of the world's population—an increase of more than 10% in just one year.

Marketers are perfecting strategies to capture the significant competitive advantage that engagement with this key audience can deliver even more rapidly and effectively than traditional marketing as the use of social media grows.

What Is the Definition of Social Media Marketing (SMM)?

Social media marketing (SMM) is the use of social media—the platforms on which users create social networks and share information—to build a company's brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. Social media marketing (SMM) has purpose-built data analytics that allows marketers to track the success of their efforts and identify even more ways to engage, in addition to providing companies with a way to engage with existing customers and reach new ones.

What Makes Social Media Marketing So Effective?

The power of social media marketing (SMM) is driven by social media's unrivalled capacity in three core marketing areas: connection, interaction, and customer data.

Connection

Not only does social media allow businesses to connect with customers in previously unimaginable ways, but it also provides an extraordinary range of avenues to connect with target audiences—from content platforms (like YouTube) and social sites (like Facebook) to microblogging services (like Twitter).

Interaction

Because of the dynamic nature of social media interaction—whether direct communication or passive "liking"—businesses can capitalize on free advertising opportunities from eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) recommendations between existing and potential customers. The positive contagion effect from eWOM is not only a valuable driver of consumer decisions, but the fact that these interactions occur on the social network makes them measurable. Businesses, for example, can track their "social equity," which is the return on investment (ROI) from their social media marketing (SMM) campaigns.

Customer Data

A well-planned social media marketing (SMM) strategy provides another invaluable resource to improve marketing results: customer data. Rather than being overwhelmed by the three Vs of big data (volume, variety, and velocity), SMM tools can not only extract customer data but also turn it into actionable market analysis—or even crowdsource new strategies.

What Is the Process of Social Media Marketing?

As social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram grew in popularity, they transformed not only how we connect with one another but also how businesses can influence consumer behaviour—from promoting content that drives engagement to extract geographic, demographic, and personal information that makes messaging resonate with users.

SMM Action Plan 

The more targeted your social media marketing (SMM) strategy, the greater its effectiveness.

• Align SMM objectives with specific business objectives.
• Discover your ideal customer (age, location, income, job title, industry, interests)
• Perform competitive analysis of your competitors (successes and failures)
• Examine your current SMM (successes and failures)
• Make an SMM content delivery calendar.
• Create world-class content
• Monitor performance and adjust your SMM strategy as needed.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

When compared to traditional marketing, social media marketing has several distinct advantages, including the fact that SMM has two types of interaction, both of which enable targeted customer relationship management (CRM) tools: customer-to-customer and firm-to-customer. In other words, whereas traditional marketing primarily tracks customer value through purchase activity, SMM can track customer value both directly (via purchases) and indirectly (through product referrals).

Shareable Content

Businesses can use the increased interconnectedness of SMM to create "sticky" content, which is a marketing term for appealing content that engages customers at first glance, convinces them to buy products, and then makes them want to share the content. This type of word-of-mouth advertising not only reaches a previously untapped audience but also carries the implicit endorsement of someone the recipient knows and trusts, making the creation of shareable content one of the most important ways that social media marketing drives growth.

Earned Media

Customer-created product reviews and recommendations are the most efficient way for a business to reap the benefits of another type of earned media (a term for brand exposure from any method other than paid advertising).

Viral Marketing

Viral marketing, a sales technique that attempts to trigger the rapid spread of word-of-mouth product information, is another SMM strategy that relies on the audience to generate the message. When a marketing message spreads far beyond the original target audience, it is considered viral—a very simple and inexpensive way to promote sales.

Metrics Monitoring

The most important social media marketing (SMM) metrics to track, according to Sprout Social, are customer-focused: engagement (likes, comments, shares, clicks); impressions (how many times a post appears); reach/virality (how many unique views an SMM post has); share of voice (how far a brand reaches in the online sphere); referrals (how a user lands on a site); and conversions (when a user makes a purchase on a site). However, another very important business metric is response rate/time (how often and how fast the business responds to customer messages).

When a company is deciding which metrics to track in the sea of data generated by social media, the rule of thumb is to match each business goal to a relevant metric. If your company's goal is to increase SMM campaign conversions by 15% in three months, use a social media analytics tool that measures the effectiveness of your campaign against that specific target.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing

Tailored social media marketing (SMM) campaigns that reach a wide range of target audiences quickly are clearly advantageous to any business.

However, as with any social media content, SMM campaigns can expose a company to attack. For example, whether the claim is true or false, a viral video claiming that a product causes illness or injury must be addressed immediately. Even if a company can clear the air, false viral content can make customers less likely to buy in the future.

In Social Media Marketing, What Is Sticky Content?

Sticky content is a marketing term for visually appealing content that draws customers in and influences them not only to buy products but also to share the content.

What Is Social Media Marketing Viral Marketing?

Viral marketing is an SMM strategy that aims to accelerate the spread of word-of-mouth product information—a very simple and low-cost way to increase sales.

In Social Media Marketing, What Is Earned Media?

Earned media is a marketing term for brand exposure that comes from sources other than paid advertising, such as customer-created content such as product reviews and recommendations, as well as shares, reposts, and mentions.

What Are Some Strategies for Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing has evolved into a variety of techniques and strategies for engaging users and marketing products and services. These include audience-targeted advertising, the use of interactive chatbots, the creation of personalized online experiences for customers, the use of social media influencers, the development of an online audience, and so on.

How Does One Begin in Social Media Marketing?

To begin working in social media marketing, you should have a bachelor's degree in marketing or a related field. Then, it's critical to understand how marketing campaigns operate on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Then, demonstrate your abilities by creating compelling and effective content. Follow influencers and other social media marketers to see what they do well and where they fail. Use these steps together to develop a personal brand that you can use to sell yourself and your work.

The Bottom Line

SMM is the use of social media platforms to interact with customers in order to build brands, increase sales, and drive website traffic. As the use of social media grows around the world, both on computers and mobile devices, the ability to drive sales from specific user populations is a growing business with fierce competition for views and clicks.

Hire a Social Media Marketing Strategist Today

Our creatives and data analysts will work with you to make the most of your budget. We have social media marketing experience in solar, batteries, caravan repair, health, retail, and many more. Request a quote here.