With over 80% of consumers reporting that social media—especially influencer content—significantly impacts buying decisions, marketers across industries are driving the evolution of social media marketing (SMM) from a stand-alone tool to a multipronged source of marketing intelligence on an increasingly important—and growing—audience.
Within 18 years, from 2004 (when MySpace became the first social media site to reach one million users) to 2022, the dramatic growth of interactive digital channels took social media to levels that challenge even the reach of television and radio.
By Q1 of 2022, there were 4.6 billion social media users globally—over 58% of the world’s population—an increase of over 10% in one year alone.
As the use of social media trends upward, 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.
What Is Social Media Marketing (SMM)?
Social media marketing (SMM) (also known as digital marketing and e-marketing) is the use of social media—the platforms on which users build social networks and share information—to build a company’s brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. In addition to providing companies with a way to engage with existing customers and reach new ones, social media marketing (SMM) has purpose-built data analytics that allow marketers to track the success of their efforts and identify even more ways to engage.
Why Is Social Media Marketing So Powerful?
The power of social media marketing (SMM) is driven by the unparalleled capacity of social media in three core marketing areas: connection, interaction, and customer data.
Connection: Not only does social media enable businesses to connect with customers in ways that were previously impossible, but there is also 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: The dynamic nature of the interaction on social media—whether direct communication or passive “liking”—enables businesses to leverage free advertising opportunities from eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) recommendations between existing and potential customers. Not only is the positive contagion effect from eWOM a valuable driver of consumer decisions, but the fact that these interactions happen on the social network makes them measurable. For example, businesses can measure their “social equity”—a term for the return on investment (ROI) from their social media marketing (SMM) campaigns.
Customer Data: A well-designed social media marketing (SMM) plan delivers another invaluable resource to boost marketing outcomes: customer data. Rather than being overwhelmed by the 3Vs of big data (volume, variety, and velocity), SMM tools have the capacity not only to extract customer data but also to turn this gold into actionable market analysis—or even to use the data to crowdsource new strategies.
How Social Media Marketing Works
As platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram took off, social media transformed not only the way we connect with one another but also the way businesses are able to influence consumer behavior—from promoting content that drives engagement to extracting geographic, demographic, and personal information that makes messaging resonate with users.
SMM Action Plan: The more targeted your social media marketing (SMM) strategy is, the more effective it will be. Hootsuite, a leading software provider in the social media management space, recommends the following action plan to build an SMM campaign that has an execution framework as well as performance metrics:
- Align SMM goals to clear business objectives
- Learn your target customer (age, location, income, job title, industry, interests)
- Conduct a competitive analysis of your competition (successes and failures)
- Audit your current SMM (successes and failures)
- Create a calendar for SMM content delivery
- Create best-in-class content
- Track performance and adjust SMM strategy as needed
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Compared to traditional marketing, social media marketing has several distinct advantages, including the fact that SMM has two kinds of interaction that enables targeted customer relationship management (CRM) tools: both customer-to-customer and firm-to-customer. In other words, while traditional marketing tracks customer value primarily by capturing purchase activity, SMM can track customer value both directly (through purchases) and indirectly (through product referrals).
Shareable Content: Businesses can also convert the amplified interconnectedness of SMM into the creation of “sticky” content, the marketing term for attractive content that engages customers at first glance, gets them to purchase products, and then makes them want to share the content. This kind of word-of-mouth advertising not only reaches an otherwise inaccessible audience but also carries the implicit endorsement of someone the recipient knows and trusts—which makes the creation of shareable content one of the most important ways that social media marketing drives growth.
Earned Media: Social media marketing (SMM) is also the most efficient way for a business to reap the benefits of another kind of earned media (a term for brand exposure from any method other than paid advertising): customer-created product reviews and recommendations.
Viral Marketing: Another SMM strategy that relies on the audience to generate the message is viral marketing, a sales technique that attempts to trigger the rapid spread of word-of-mouth product information. Once a marketing message is shared with the general public far beyond the original target audience, it is considered viral—a very simple and inexpensive way to promote sales.
Customer Segmentation: Because customer segmentation is much more refined on social media marketing (SMM) than on traditional marketing channels, companies can ensure they focus their marketing resources on their exact target audiences.
Tracking Metrics
According to Sprout Social, the most important social media marketing (SMM) metrics to track are focused on the customer: engagement (likes, comments, shares, clicks); impressions (how many times a post shows up); 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 metric is focused on the business: response rate/time (how often and how fast the business responds to customer messages).
When a business is trying to determine which metrics to track in the sea of data that social media generates, the rule is always to align each business goal to a relevant metric. If your business goal is to grow conversions from an SMM campaign by 15% within three months, then use a social media analytics tool that measures the effectiveness of your campaign against that specific target.
Why You Should Hire A Marketing Professional
While you can still have the final say on marketing campaigns and expenditures, it’s best to leave the bulk of your marketing in the hands of a professional. Here’s why.
- Marketing is a full-time gig.
Entrepreneurs are sharp, savvy, and typically great at learning new skills. Yes, you absolutely could learn everything you need to know to create a marketing plan and execute effective marketing campaigns.
But let’s be honest: You don’t have time for that. Modern marketing is complex and requires a wide variety of skills and a breadth of knowledge that can take years to acquire. Your business can’t limp along until you’ve learned everything you need to know about digital marketing, email marketing campaigns, social media marketing, and more.
As you scale, you must focus your time and energy on activities only you can do. Marketing is crucial to your business’s long-term success. However, it’s a full-time gig in its own right, and you already have a big job: running your company.
- Hiring a marketing expert saves time and money.
One of the biggest reasons business owners dismiss the idea of hiring a marketing expert is the cost. They figure that because they can write and use social media, they can get along just fine. Unfortunately, that logic often backfires when they spend time on content and money on ads, only to get little to no return on investment.
If money’s tight, consider working with freelancers and independent contractors versus full-time employees. While these individuals may charge higher rates overall, you can hire them for specific projects, and you won’t need to provide benefits. This can be a great option for website copy or consistent blog posts.
- Hiring a marketing expert is an opportunity to learn and grow.
If you’re interested in learning more about marketing, watching an expert at work will be a daily master class. Your marketing professional can teach you tips and tricks your competitors might not know. You’ll be able to learn from an expert quickly and gain insights that would take you years to discover on your own.
Your marketing expert can show you how to acquire new customers, use your existing customer base for referrals and cultivate social media relationships.
- Social media marketing is complex, so you need an expert.
Small businesses need a social media presence, so every modern marketing strategy must have a social media component. Social media marketing is an excellent way to build engagement, create word-of-mouth brand awareness and tell powerful stories that help sell products. However, social media marketing is complex and extremely competitive.
Your potential customers are exposed to a daily onslaught of advertisements and marketing messages. To cut through the noise and get noticed, brands need dedicated, innovative social media managers to create and promote excellent social media content.
A digital marketing expert will possess the analytical and social skills to identify your target audience quickly and better understand your customers’ needs. They’ll effectively use your social channels to get your customers’ attention and prompt them to act. The rest is up to you.
Cost Of Hiring A Marketing Professional
Your costs will vary widely depending on whether you’re hiring an in-house marketing professional or using a marketing agency.
Marketing agency costs
According to digital marketing solution provider WebFX, a digital marketing retainer with an external company typically costs between $2,500 and $12,000 monthly. This fee pays for the agency’s work and expertise; the actual cost of advertising in digital or traditional media is not included.
A marketing agency will typically help you do the following:
- Create a marketing strategy and buyer personas
- Conduct a marketing analysis and market research
- Write social media posts, website copy, and ad copy
- Handle the website design process, including programming
- Create landing pages and other marketing assets
If you’re buying services by the hour, rates can range between $50 and $500.
In-house marketing professional costs
The upfront cost of hiring a marketing professional varies widely by experience. However, according to ZipRecruiter, a digital marketing manager makes an average annual salary of $55,108.
You’ll need to consider other factors for a true cost assessment:
- Employee benefits: You’ll also need to calculate the cost of the in-house marketing professional’s employee benefits package, which runs between 25% and 40% of their salary. For example, for a marketing salary of $55,000, you’d spend an additional $13,750 to $22,000, for a total cost between $68,750 and $77,000. If you break this down into an hourly cost, assuming a 40-hour work week with two weeks of paid vacation, it’s between $34.38 and $38.50 per hour.
- The marketing skill level you need: You’ll also need to consider your marketing professional’s skill level. If your business is in a highly competitive industry, you may need someone more sophisticated and experienced, which will cost you more. However, if you use channel selling or a direct salesforce, or your industry is less competitive, you may do well with someone less experienced who doesn’t cost as much. If they’re on salary, they could also contribute to other aspects of your business.
Hiring a marketing agency or professional may seem like a significant expenditure. However, the long-term benefits of marketing expertise – including better marketing ROI – can ultimately save you money.
How Can One Get Started in Social Media Marketing?
To start working in social media marketing, it is good to have at least a bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field. Then, it’s critical to gain a good understanding of how marketing campaigns work on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. After that, showcase your talents by creating compelling and effective content. Follow influencers and other social media marketers to learn what they are doing well and where they fall flat. Together, use these steps to create a personal brand that you can use to sell yourself and your work.
The Bottom Line
Social media marketing (SMM) is the use of social media platforms to interact with customers to build brands, increase sales, and drive website traffic. As social media usage grows around the world, both via computer and mobile devices, the ability to drive sales from certain user populations is a growing business, rife with competition for views and clicks.
