Marketing is a vital element of every business plan, as it gets the attention of your audience and positively affects your bottom line. But there are several ways to market your business, which can involve some traditional marketing mediums like print, radio, and TV advertisements, but are increasingly leaning towards online marketing.

In the beginning, a business’ online presence was almost solely focused on running the website, but with the emergence of social networks, it has become much more than that. Consumers love connecting through social media – here are a few reasons your business needs to take advantage of those benefits.

1. Cost-Effective

Every business owner knows that marketing costs money – after all, you have to spend money to make money, right? However, that statement is only relatively true when it comes to social media since creating profiles on social networks is free. This makes social media a very cost-effective marketing strategy. On the other hand, it will cost your business money NOT to have social media profiles, as you can bet the competition has them! Don’t let your competitors scoop up your potential consumers because you haven’t caught up with the times.

2. Engage with Your Audience

Imagine that you just met your favorite celebrity and they actually shook your hand! It’s almost like a dream come true and that engagement was nothing short of amazing. Well, in a marketing sense, your business can essentially be that “favorite celebrity” on social media channels by engaging and connecting with your audience. Whether it’s through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social medium, engaging with your audience is key to creating that personal interaction that your consumers desire. This makes it important to update constantly and post relevant, exciting information linking back to your business.

3. Sharing is Caring

Any time that your business posts to social media, the content can be liked, shared, retweeted and favorited, opening the door for more brand exposure. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, adult Facebook users have an average of 338 friends. If one Facebook user shares something from your page, there is a good chance that their friends will see it. The potential for brand awareness and exposure is monumental, just on Facebook alone. This is when you revisit the point above and really focus on creating engaging posts.

Social media can drastically improve your business with the use of effective marketing strategies. Not only are the benefits nearly endless, but the costs are very low. Take full advantage of everything social media has to offer by getting expert help.