Why You Need to do Social Media Marketing and Which Social Media Accounts Should You Use for Your Business to be Successful!

graphics showing hands holding cellphones with social media icons floating nearby with likes, loves, shares, and other social media expressions

What do successful companies do to become successful? Marketing!

And what trends in modern marketing are hot in our current day? Social Media Marketing!

Why social media marketing?

Let us look at an old thought process, where do I want to put my business? Before the internet, brick and mortar businesses needed to have a physical location and why did the successful become successful. One simple rule; location, location, location. It was vital to place your business in the best possible location. There were many factors, foot traffic, vehicle traffic, etc. and many companies STILL use those formulas. Think of mega fast-food chains like McDonald’s, they historically put stores where larger amounts of traffic were present and still do. When a new shopping mall opens due to suburban expansion, they open a location nearby due to the large traffic flow expected.

That same concept is why businesses are on social media. Why would McDonald’s, a multi-billion-dollar business, have social media accounts? Because that is where their customers are. Social media marketing works because of “location” and your business needs to be on social media as well.

But which social media accounts should we be on?

The short answer is, All of them.

But why all of them? Obviously if you sell a product and 95% of sales are to 16–20-year-old females, then you are going to target them but most businesses customers are not that narrowed down, and you are always looking for ways to expand your customer base into other age brackets and across genders.

So, why all of them, there are two reasons; one is back to the basics and the first major rule, location and the second is the rule of 7.

Let us look at the first, location. Businesses need to go where their customers are and that does not mean just social media in general but within social media. You need to dive into the research however. There is tons of research that shows which social media accounts consumers of different ages are using, such as the vast majority of ACTIVE Facebook users are 25-34 years old or that 35-49 year old wealthy individuals tend to be more active on Twitter. What about types of content, due to Tik Toks popularity, Instagram has shifted away from being a photo sharing app and shifted to incorporate short-form video. Businesses need to consider which social media accounts their customer base, or expansion areas, are using.

Second, is the rule of 7. The rule of 7 is based on the marketing principle that customers need to see your brand at least 7 times before they commit to a purchase decision. This concept was introduced in the 80’s but with modern marketing and overstimulation of ads, it is thought to be closer to 21. So, businesses trying to gain customers need to be seen by those customers over and over and over until those customers may give them a chance. To combat that, businesses need to be everywhere all at once and that means on all social media accounts where they can be seen 24/7/365.

So, you ask yourself, why do I need to hire a company to do my social media marketing?

You are on social media and know how to navigate and post right? Sure, maybe but marketing professionals have learned the tactics, strategies, and understand the research behind the why. What makes people more likely to click on an ad, what colors work on the psychology of consumer purchasing, or even when the best times for posting content to each of the social media platforms. There are hundreds of nuances that your average consumer does not understand are at play.

Not only that, we have the tools to be more efficient. You do not hire a company to install an in-ground pool where their personal hand-dig the pool area, they use machines to dig. That is why successful companies either have a team of marketing professionals in house or hire a marketing company, they have the knowledge, experience, and tools that make them successful.

One great example of a company that succeeded and one that failed to adapt.

Home Depot adapted and succeeded. In 1999 Home Depot was a brick-and-mortar company with a valuation of $30 Billion. They made a significant investment to integrate into digital commerce and launched their website in 2000. By 2023 they have a valuation of $157 Billion with an increase in revenue of $1.264 Trillion dollars. They are the largest home improvement store with nearly 15% of their sales being online.

Blockbuster failed to adapt to online and went from the largest movie rental company to bankruptcy. At their peak they had 9,000 locations and was worth $6 Billion. Netflix started renting DVDs to compete against Blockbuster in 1998 and adapted to online by 2007. By 2014 Blockbuster went bankrupt and currently only has one franchise location open while Netflix currently has an annual revenue of $8 Billion.

Adapting to online marketing and social media marketing may be intimidating to some and may sound easy to others that really do not understand the inner workings. Your business is successful at what you do good just like Nike makes shoes and sports apparel, McDonald’s makes inexpensive food fast. Whatever it is you are good at, keep being good at it and leave the marketing of your company to a marketing and advertising company that knows the how’s and why’s and are successful at what they do.