The benefits of social media marketing are many for businesses today. For one, more than four billion people in the global population now use social media. Therefore, marketing without a social media presence is akin to leaving money on the table. Moreover, social media provides unmatched exposure and can be the easiest way to break into a new market.

Unfortunately, many business leaders are not yet sold on the need for social media optimization yet. Although they’re keen to publish posts on Facebook and share blogs on Instagram, they rarely optimize the content.

That can be a big mistake. You could be getting a lot more traction and generating more leads by optimizing your content for social media. The following are just a few benefits of optimizing your marketing content for social sharing.

SMO BOOSTS RANKING

The first reason why you should optimize your marketing content for social media networks is the SEO benefits. According to the Social Media Examiner, 58% of marketers who optimize content for social media sharing for a year are guaranteed a boost in search engine ranking. The reason is that Google algorithms highly value social signals. They check social shares, upvotes, and engagement, when ranking sites.

IT’S CRITICAL FOR TARGET MARKETING

Marketing is about choosing your battles. Rather than attempting to please everyone, find your niche and create targeted content to appeal to the selected demographic. Optimization is the only way to achieve targeted marketing in social media marketing. SEO allows you to pick keywords and phrases popular among the selected demographic. Then, you can send targeted marketing messages that resonate with the audience.

IT BOOSTS ENGAGEMENT

Social media marketing primarily pursues engagement. Many organizations now attempt to close sales directly on their social profiles. However, the goal of social media marketing is to drive engagement (likes, shares, comments, etc.) to generate more leads and ultimately more sales. Optimization helps you reach the right people with the right messages, thus directly impacting clicks, likes, comments, shares, etc.

ENHANCES BRAND VISIBILITY

Brand visibility is one of the biggest factors in marketing. Indeed, some of the biggest brands use visibility to drive sales and profitability. Social media optimization is an excellent shortcut to increased brand visibility. Through optimization, you can break into new markets to showcase your brand name and products. As we’ve seen, optimization also increases engagement. Increasing your engagement often means better brand and product visibility.

IMPROVED BRAND LOYALTY

You’re probably wondering how. Well, it’s straightforward. To enhance brand loyalty, you need to go above and beyond to show your customers that you truly care. That’s why brands often offer redeemable points and product discounts. These “goodies” send a message of care. Optimization can also help you show that your brand cares. How? By providing actual solutions. Don’t just publish content for the sake of it. Instead, create content that solves your audience’s real problems. They will love you.

IT IS COST EFFECTIVE

Finally, you should consider search engine optimization because it reduces the cost of marketing. Imagine for a second how much effort it takes to reach a million people on Instagram. For a small business with only a handful of fans, you consider hiring an influencer. You pay them to like and repost your content to their audience. Yet, you may be struggling, even when paying, to reach people who don’t have an interest in your products. Optimization allows you to focus on a smaller target audience with an established interest in your brand and products.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Search engine marketing is important for your overall marketing campaign. However, it takes informed optimization to truly benefit from a social media marketing campaign.

Mike Gingerich is president of Digital Hill Multimedia (www.DigitalHill.com), a Goshen web design, web software and social media marketing firm. He is also a business blogger on tech, marketing, and growth. Find out more at www.MikeGingerich.com/blog/.

Mike Gingerich is president of Digital Hill Multimedia (www.DigitalHill.com), a Goshen web design, web software and social media marketing firm. He is also a business blogger on tech, marketing, and growth. Find out more at www.MikeGingerich.com/blog/.