Why does social media marketing work so well? Answer this question and you’ll quickly see just how important it is to add social media to your marketing mix. You don’t have to give up other marketing methods, just add one more proven method to the mix. To answer the all important question – customers are interested in becoming friends. Social networks allow brands to become friends customers can relate to and interact with.

Talk To Customers

Social media is one of the few marketing methods that allow you to actually talk to your customers. Ask them questions about what they do and don’t like. It’s free to get their feedback and your products and services improve as a result. Customers also appreciate having a say in the products they buy. At the same time, you’re becoming a friend to the customer, equaling organic advertising and traffic all for free.

Customer Service Improves

No one really enjoys calling customer service and staying on hold. It feels impersonal and the customer usually feels like they’re wasting time. Instead, social media allows a business a chance to improve customer service and customer relations by talking to customers on a platform they know and trust. A customer can post a question and get a response from the right person the first time. No time is wasted and you’re able to improve website FAQs and products.

Share With Friends 

Marketing becomes crucial during new product and service releases. Once you’ve become a customer’s friend, pitching becomes more like sharing. A customer doesn’t see it as an ad so much as a recommendation from a friend. As such, they are far more likely to check out the product and even share it with friends. Essentially, you pitch the product on the customer’s terms and they’ll be more inclined to buy.

If you ever needed a reason to add social media to your marketing mix, consider the fact that millions use social networks on a daily basis. Unless you purchase an ad, the only cost to market your business is time. No other marketing method is that effective at increasing profits and/or site traffic at the budget friendly price of free.