What’s the role of social media in digital marketing?

From increased sales to improved brand awareness and SEO, social media marketing has certainly become a must-have in any marketing mix. Digital marketing is about reaching the right audience, at the right time, with the right content. This can be facilitated on a local level, or on an international scale, depending on a brand’s specific goals and objectives. Let us take a look at how social media fits into digital marketing, and what the benefits are of utilising it:

How social media fits into digital marketing

Better marketing strategies

Think about what social media actually is. You are given an inside glimpse into people’s lives, and the scope is dependent on their privacy settings. By paying attention to target audiences on social media, brands get an idea of what people engage with – and what they don’t like to see. This data that is freely available on social media can go a long way when used to develop marketing campaigns and content.

Enhanced customer satisfaction

Customer service of a mere 20 years ago was still predominantly involved with telephone calls, SMS messages, and emails. Today, with the ‘always on’ nature of social media interactivity, customer services can be delivered within seconds – instead of hours or days. People can ask questions, and brands can answer them immediately. Unhappy customers can voice their opinions, and brand representatives can interject immediately and offer resolutions – publically.

Increased sales figures

It’s something every manager in every company wants to hear. Social media channels offer paid advertising, which lets brands access new audiences with their content, for a small fee. These adverts act just like Google Ads; on a pay-per-click model that can link adverts directly to your eCommerce website for conversion. In other words, social media has developed into a power lead and sales generating tool that should be added to any marketing sales funnel.

Improved brand awareness

Arguably the most important trait of social media marketing for any business is the brand awareness factor. Marketing is all about informing target audiences about your company, the products or services it offers, and the benefits of partnering with the brand. Where better to do this online than where most people spend most of their internet time? Community pages and other similar networks are great places to promote a brand and build brand awareness in local communities.

From the above, we can see that social media has an ability to greatly enhance any digital marketing activities.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Discover the ins and outs of social media, and how to leverage it for marketing success, with our Social Media Management course! Otherwise, make contact with us to find out more about our digital marketing qualifications.