Social Media Marketing Advantages and Disadvantages

Social media marketing is the process of connecting with our target customers on the social media platforms like TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The key here is to find out the right platform that your target audience is using and launch your campaign there. Today, we’ll discuss social media marketing advantages and disadvantages.

Social Media Marketing Advantages 

Some of the main advantages of social media marketing are as follows;

Connecting With Customers

Social media platforms allow businesses and companies to directly connect with their target customers without involving any middlemen. It’s like a brick-and-mortar store where they are meeting face to face. But on the social media platform, you can reach a mass audience and have got time and control over the conversation.

According to an estimate, roundabout 49% of people check out the views and opinions of other customers before buying anything. It shows the significance of connecting with customers and how your connection should look like. If you aren’t connecting with your target customers online with your replies and responses, then your online presence would backfire.

Brand Awareness

Social media has got billions of users and if you want to reach a wider audience, then social media is the best place to do so. It is important to know what platform you need for your business. For instance, if your product or service is a furniture store, then you don’t need a lot of awareness on social media. It would only be useful if you are selling it online.

You have to comprehend your target customer market and make sure that you’re approaching the right people, at the right place, and at the right time. On Facebook, you have got the option to approach the right type of people by joining the relevant groups of the similar type of community that you want to target.  

Higher Traffic

Roundabout 90% of marketers believe that digital marketing offers great exposure to their business, and it amplifies their traffic by 75%. If you want to spread the word about your business and attract the attention of customers, then social media is the best place to start.

When you have got a lot of traffic on your website, then it would increase the probability that they would buy things from you. It starts with spreading awareness, understanding your target audience, and offering them what they want. You need to conduct thorough research and speak the language that they understand.

Better Customer Insight

If a certain product is not meeting the demands of customers, they would inform you on social media. It has become a growing trend that people to connect with their favorite brands on social media, and like and share their posts. It would increase user engagement on social media, and it is a very useful tool that would help you to know what strategy is working and recognize the areas that need improvement.

Based on the customer reviews and comments, you would get an insight into the likeness and dislikeness of customers. It would give you an idea of what type of product they like and how it needs improvement. It is significant that you should pay heed to the views and comments of customers. (Social Media Marketing Advantages and Disadvantages )

Increased Conversion Rate

If you generate a qualified lead, they would buy your product. The total number of sales matters at the end of the day, and you need to build a database of customers that would buy your products regularly. However, if you remain active on social media platforms, it would establish a strong relationship with customers, and they would remember you while shopping. Approximately 66% of the customers would buy from those brands that they like and are already familiar with.

Facing Competitors

If you’re running your business in a competitive market, social media presence would help you to differentiate yourself from competitors. For instance, if some friends are arguing about choosing the restaurant for a meal, they would check out the pictures online and read the reviews of others. It is highly probable that they would choose a such place that has got good pictures. That’s how social media presence helps you beat the competitors.

Better ROI

If your business has got limited capital investment, then it would be difficult for you to launch magazine advertisements, billboards, and flyers. Social media advertisement is highly efficient and cost-effective. However, 92% of Instagram users say that they follow their favorite brands and visit their websites after seeing their posts online. The return on investment (ROI) of social media advertisements is much higher.

Low Cost

If you compare the cost of social media marketing, branding, and awareness with other traditional media channels, then it is very low. If you have established a large database of customers and followers on social media, then you won’t even have to launch paid advertisement campaign. The ROI is much higher especially if you compare it with its cost.

Cooperative Culture

If you are developing the company culture of user engagement, then social media platform is a great way to start. According to a study by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, roundabout 4% of customers believe that marketers follow integrity. It means that a vast majority of customers don’t believe the marketing ads. Once you have your own branded platform, people would listen to you whatever you tell you.

Team Growth

Customers are important to your business. The more important people that build up your company, your team members, and their growth is far more important. On social media platforms, you can attract those people for a job that are familiar with your company’s core values and the type of business you’re in. It is because they read your posts daily and how the company is responding.

Social Media Marketing Disadvantages 

Some of the main disadvantages of social media marketing are as follows;

Negative Feedback

One of the main challenges that you would face on social media is trolling, negative reviews, and hateful comments. It is something that you don’t have control over, and it could push away a lot of good customers. You should develop a strategy that how your company would respond to the trolls, whether it is with humor, kindness, avoidance, or strictness.

No Control

Once people start creating memes about your brand and product or services, they would go viral. It is something that you don’t have control over, and it would badly jeopardize your company’s reputation. However, if people are commenting on your posts, then you should carefully respond to their replies. For instance, if a customer says that they hate your company, you should say that you’re sorry to hear that and your customer service representative would contact you to fix your problems.

Expensive Paid Ads

Running paid advertisements on social media platforms is not free, you need to allocate a significant amount of budget to run the campaign. It can become expensive if you’re running separate campaigns on various social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. You have to pay all of them to run your campaign.

No Immediate Return

Building user engagement, customer loyalty, and establishing a database of customers take a lot of time; you can’t expect results immediately. If you’re planning to increase your sales in a particular season and you want instant ROI, then social media marketing is not the right platform for you. However, if you want long-term results, then a social media campaign is good; otherwise, not.

High Competition

Social media is a highly competitive market. It is because all types of businesses and companies are running their campaigns on social media. Some of the big multinational brands have got millions of followers, and building your name and winning the market share under their presence is highly difficult, especially if you’re a small business with a limited budget and following. (Social Media Marketing Advantages and Disadvantages)

Difficult to Meet Expectations

Meeting the needs and wishes of customers is a great challenge for businesses and companies. They have to find out the wishes of customers before they even know it. However, if customers search for something, they would start seeing ads for the products that they like. The personalization approach of leading companies is doing its job at best, and it is difficult for small businesses to keep up with the standards that they have set up. (Social Media Marketing Advantages and Disadvantages )

Time Consuming

Maintaining your activity and remaining active on social media platforms is very time-consuming. It is because once you log in to the social media platform, then you would receiving comments, notifications, replies, and mentions. You can’t ignore them, if you engage with them, then you would lose track of time.

Keep on Moving

The social media platform has got billions of users, and trends on social media are constantly changing, and it is nearly impossible to keep up with the trends on social media. Every platform is different and they are also changing the features and layout of operating their platform. Businesses and companies have to be ready for the changes and upcoming trends and develop their strategies accordingly.

Difficult to Attract Attention

Social media has made people very smart and quick. A post or a video has got a few seconds to attract the attention of customers. Otherwise, they would scroll up and your post would go away from their mind. It is a great creative challenge for businesses and companies to grab the attention of customers and make them take a particular action.

Require Tech Expertise

Launching social media campaign and doing everything right requires a high level of technical expertise, and it is not easy for a non-tech person. If you’re hiring tech professionals to manage your campaign, then it would be highly expensive.

Conclusion: Social Media Marketing Advantages and Disadvantages 

After an in-depth study of social media marketing advantages and disadvantages; we have realized that social media is a great place for the growth of your business. If you’re developing social media campaign for your business, then you should keep in mind the abovementioned pros and cons.