The Power of Social Media Marketing (2024)

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• Published On:November 26, 2023

The numbers are stunning. According to data from Statista, roughly 5.3 billion people use the internet worldwide. Some 4.95 billion are active social media users, meaning over 60% of the world’s population spend a portion of time on social media platforms. If businesses are not taking advantage of social media, they’re missing out.

In fact, results from a survey of industry specialists suggest social media is now the leading channel for marketing. As companies increasingly turn to social media to build brand awareness and conduct marketing campaigns, they need professionals with the well-rounded business background and marketing skills offered by programs like the St. Thomas University (STU) online Master of Business Administration program with a concentration in Marketing.

Effects of Social Media on Marketing

Take Facebook alone. Roughly three billion people use Facebook, over two-thirds of whom use it every day, according to Sprout Social. Logically, brands reach out to Facebook users on an ongoing basis, both through advertisem*nt and customer service. Facebook is actually the customer service platform of choice for 60% of consumers.

The numbers show that brand posts on Facebook are impactful. The click-through rate for Facebook ads is nearly 1%, and the average conversion rate is over 9%. With an average per-click cost of $1.72, these numbers may seem low. But the sheer volume of exposure and the resulting number of people that engage with targeted ads and posts create results. Facebook remains the leader in terms of the return on investment (ROI) for ad spends.

Diversifying Social Media Channels

While Facebook still fronts the pack, other social media networks provide excellent platforms for marketing engagement as well. For instance, Instagram offers rapid, targeted engagement through posts, stories, reels, ads and direct interaction. Consumers can easily click on “Shop Now” buttons for more information, links and in-app purchase options. This creates a streamlined, end-to-end ecosystem for businesses to engage with consumers and provide excellent customer service.

Further, differing social media platforms help businesses engage in specific ways to target audiences based on analysis of user demographics and content preferences. TikTok, for example, has become a popular app among young people and is an ideal environment for influencer marketing, a growing trend in digital marketing overall. TikTok’s user community is not yet as large as the user base of other platforms. But TikTok has an exponentially higher engagement rate than Facebook, Instagram or X (Formerly known as Twitter).

Here are a few other social media marketing statistics to consider, regarding the percentage of consumers who report finding products through various forms of social media engagement:

• Targeted ads: 49%
• Organic posts from brands: 40%
• Social media research: 34%
• Seeing a friend’s post: 34%
• Tags and DMs: 22%

How Social Media Increases Revenue

The facts and figures make it apparent that social media should play a role in any marketing strategy. Not only does it allow a business to connect with a customer, but it also builds brand loyalty and can boost sales. If your business is on the fence about social media, maybe you should take another look.

• Targeted social media posts can bring more potential customers at lower costs per click than targeted Google ads.
• You can refine your target audience by age, location, education, industry and even user behavior via social media pages a user has liked.
• Marketers can automate processes like social media posts to save on time and cost while targeting the most impactful moments and environments for audience engagement.
• Social media can be used to engage customers and potential customers not only through discount codes and new product offerings but also by answering customer questions, forming bonds over shared interests and informing with relevant content.
• Social media marketing strengthens sales. It builds brand loyalty and influences buying decisions along multiple points, from amplifying the reach of blogs to answering customer questions to adding incentives via coupon codes.
• Social media allows you to show your leadership and expertise by answering questions and giving advice. And you don’t have to ask a customer to buy anything.

Social media skills are not the only prerequisite in brand building and marketing. It’s important to acquire a solid foundation of financial and business focused on in advanced degree programs like STU’s MBA in Marketing. The 100% online program allows professionals looking for career advancement to develop a toolkit for successful brand-building and the skills to become an effective marketing leader.

Learn more about STU’s online MBA with a concentration in Marketing program.