1.0 Introduction

The selection of mediums used for promoting any product or service by the business entities has evolved drastically over a period of time and newer age technologies such as digital media platforms including social media are gaining attention amongst the marketing firms (Kotler et al., 2015). When marketing activities for any product or services are concerned, perhaps the first that comes into a seller’s mind in these days is the usage of social media platform. It not only saves time for the marketer to a great extent, but also assists in reducing substantial amount of cost which otherwise would have been spent for using the traditional marketing channels (Tuten and Solomon, 2014). In this paper, we will discuss and analyse the benefits of using social media platforms from a marketer’s point of view.

2.0 Advantages Associated with social media marketing

When the use of social media from marketing perspective is concerned, there are several benefits which can be derived from such usage. With the advent of technology, it is hard to imagine a person who have never used or does not have access to modern day devices such as smartphones or tablets (Dinnie, 2015). Even other devices such as televisions are transforming day by day and can used as a smart television through which digital mediums such as internets can become accessible (Forbes, 2014). Modern day marketing firms are aware of the fact that most of the consumers can be reached via platforms like social media and they are always up for finding ways to reach the target consumer. Other than the availability factor it is also a cost effective medium and does not require to incur huge costs that normally takes place while using traditional media channels such as television or print media (Laroche, Habibi and Richard, 2013). Marketers have recognized the benefits that can be derived from usage of social media and those will be discussed in the following sections of this paper.

2.1 Improved Brand Visibility

Usage of social media when promoting products and services can improve the visibility of the brand to a great extent (Malthouse et al., 2013). With a smaller effort compared to traditional media channels, social media can help in reaching to a large customer base within a short period of time. As an example, it can be seen that the news feed that comes while accessing social media applications like Facebook or Twitter can have far reaching effect on the consumer than the regular media (Park, Kee and Valenzuela, 2009). The marketer can easily attract an otherwise not interested customer using such modern day application and will have the opportunity to converting such options into potential sales that can boost the ultimate profit margins (Hudson et al., 2015). This way the marketer can not only increase the sales volumes but also improve the overall visibility of its brand in the minds of the consumers.

2.2 Increased Brand Loyalty

Based on the market research, it has been found that the companies can enhance loyalty factor among the customers by resolving the problems of them in an effective manner (Business 2 Community, 2015). In this context, Dinnie (2015) added that higher satisfaction level is the key to boost up customer loyalty. However, for increasing the satisfaction level among the customers, it is important for the markets to understand their preferences. For all these purposes, the companies are required to communicate with the customers at a regular interval of time. Social media platforms have eased the communication with the customers (Chou et al., 2009). Moreover, with the help of social media channels, the brands can reach to a maximum number of customers within a minimum span of time. Thus, it can be concluded that social media platforms have taken a major role to increase brand loyalty among the customers with higher level of communication.

2.3 Better Sales Opportunities

With the option of advertising products and services on social media platforms, marketers nowadays can get more opportunities to convert potential opportunities to real sales. For example, a marketing firm may create a Facebook page on social media and with each and every post that it creates on that page, can have the opportunity to convert into sales (Ngai et al., 2015).The frequent interaction with the followers of the page will also help in improving image of the brand and as the other social media users who may not be that interested otherwise, may have an idea in their mind that the company is responsive and cares about its customer base. Thus, it can be inferred that social media can play a huge role in improving overall image of the brand (West, Ford and Ibrahim, 2015).

2.4 Incremental Conversion Rates

It has been observed that the advertisement posted in social media channels have a higher conversion rate than the normal channels (Thackeray, Neiger and Keller, 2012). It is believed that since the social media channels usually have a more human element attached to it than the regular media, it has an advantage over the traditional media while considering the conversion rates. The interaction ability that the social media users can get, given the companies an added benefit in converting the promotions into sales, as the modern day customers like to interact more before making any purchase decision (Eagleman, 2013). It has also been seen from recent studies that social media helps in generating credibility and trusts amongst the consumers and thereby can boost sales volumes to a great extent (Forbes, 2014).

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