Social media is a valuable source of traffic for any online marketer to target, but why specifically should you add it to your marketing strategy? There are several reasons to target this particular traffic stream, and social media platforms have some unique benefits that other traffic sources don’t.

Some of the best reasons to add it to your marketing plan include:

• Traffic diversification
• A large existing audience to tap into
• Ease of targeting specific demographics
• Boosts to your authority in search engines
• Brand awareness

Traffic Diversification

In online marketing, it is never a good idea to solely focus on only one source of traffic. If you only target search engines, for example, your website could be left in ruins overnight if an algorithm change wipes out most of your traffic. Diversification over a broad range of different traffic sources helps your website to survive if anything happens to any single traffic source.

Traffic from social media is also more likely to remain stable for long periods of time once the foundation has been laid, although this is also dependent on platform and niche.

Large Audiences to Tap Into

While you will always need to invest in the initial growth of traffic from any source you decide to tap into, social media platforms have large audiences that are readily available compared to search engines. All you need to do to tap into these audiences is to create content that appeals to them and gradually build a following.

This can eventually yield exponential growth, as the more people who follow your social media accounts, the more shares your content gets, and the more new followers you gain. It doesn’t take too much time and effort for this to snowball into a significant traffic source that tends to sustain itself. You have to have a good understanding of your target audience on the platform, however, as well as put in a lot of time and effort to get to this stage.

Ease of Targeting Specific Demographics

Many social media platforms give businesses access to helpful analytics that reveal the demographics of their users. Some platforms have a particularly dominant demographic that you may wish to target if it’s a good fit for your brand. Pinterest has a media-oriented context with an audience that is exceptionally interested in certain niches, like fashion and beauty for example.

Having access to the correct type of user helps to increase engagement with your content. This means more visitors who find your content valuable and useful to them and a much higher probability of conversions.

Boosted Website Authority

Social media presence and dominance is one of the ranking signals Google looks at when it determines the value of your website on its results pages. In the eyes of Google, frequent sharing of your content is a good indication that your website is considered popular and valuable.

Websites with a substantial social media preference not only benefit from the traffic derived from social media itself, but also from higher website authority in search engines.

Brand Awareness

Lastly, social media represents a great way to build brand awareness for your business. Actual visitors and content engagement aren’t the only valuable metrics for an online business’ long-term success. If you want to maintain a dominant presence for many years to come, you need people to be aware of your brand. Not only does this help to increase the chances they’ll shop with you in the future if they need one of the products or services you offer, but also creates an opportunity for them to talk about your brand with their friends and families.

Social media is one of the best ways to build this brand awareness because it allows you to open a direct line of communication with your customers and wider audience. It transforms a faceless company into a real entity and actively builds a relationship with people in a way that no other traffic source can.

Conclusion

Any online business has a lot to gain from social media and you’re neglecting a substantial source of traffic and other benefits if you’re not tapping into this channel. If you add social media to your marketing plan it can help to grow your audience and ensure the future of your business for years to come.