If you would have had an inkling of social media’s vast success only a few short years ago, then the odds are good that you would have put stock in companies like Facebook and Twitter and would be wildly rich now. The truth is that few saw this social media invasion coming. And what’s more: Even in 2010, when the large social networks were already thoroughly established, many still believed they were simple come-and-go trend sites.

Maybe a site like MySpace gives precedent for believing that social media is a fad you can afford to pass up, but that’s much more the exception than the rule. Facebook has gained more and more steam after every passing year, consistently revamping the site to give users what they want while offering marketers what they need.

Facebook is a start-up brand’s dream. Low-cost, wide-reaching marketing that’s not only easy to figure out and to implement, but the features here are wholly customizable and allow for your brand to create a new niche rather than just standing out in an existing one. So if you haven’t taken your brand to Facebook yet, now’s a great time to get started.

Let’s look at some of the top benefits a brand can experience by creating a social media presence.

Top 5 Benefits from using Social Media

Easy Engagement

When you’re advertising using Facebook and other popular social media sites, engaging with your audience becomes much easier. This is especially true as time passes and marketer-friendly updates are released in droves. For instance, you can take a simplistic Facebook Page Post on your Timeline and turn this into an incredibly effective, specifically targeted ad by choosing an option like “Promoted Post.” You can use campaign splitting features in third-party apps to reach out to a much larger market while simultaneously narrowing the scope (as in who sees the ad). And the medium is ideal for engagement; “liking,” sharing, commenting, taking something viral, creating memes and infographics out of material – high-quality, relevant material is gobbled up by social users.

Coordination and Cooperation

Say that you wanted to set up a brand-sponsored gathering, event or something similar to get your name out there. This is the modern-day version of the “grand opening” perhaps. Well, social networking allows you to coordinate this in real time and down to the last, finest detail. It also reaches exponentially more people than an ad in a newspaper or a pamphlet could ever reach. Then there’s the cooperation aspect of social media. Whether you’re working together with another business to target more customers, or if your fans are helping you get your brand out there through sharing, social networking connects you to a useful community.

International Intermingling

It’s hard for an American brand to reach out internationally unless the brand is large, wealthy and popular. On-location businesses will have to experience massive growth within their intended niche before branching out. This isn’t the case with social media. You can target people from all around the globe easily and effectively by using campaign splitting tactics, narrowing features, attractive apps for opt-ins, and an endless range of materials to draw people to your brand.

Centralization of Marketing

If Facebook was as far as you took your social media marketing, that may be as far as you would have to take it. And with so many apps, plug-ins, protocols, and streamlined third-party apps that run alongside and coordinate with your page, the marketing structure of your entire brand could be handled neatly and quickly from one centralized location. This increases productivity, which trickles down into increasing your brand’s effectiveness.

Expense vs. ROI

Everyone wants a hefty return of investment through ads on Facebook. No businessperson invests without expecting high ROI. With Facebook, this is made possible not only due to the lower advertising costs, but also the fact that you can supplement your paid advertising through many organic methods. Your return on investment can skyrocket by simply using solid branding principles.

Keep in mind that all the above benefits hold true for the future. As more updates are released and as more trends are followed through on mega networks like Facebook, everything from engagement and cooperation to international targeting and ROI will increase in effectiveness.

We’re only seeing the beginning stages of what social media is going to become. A brand taking advantage of this platform stands to benefit tremendously if only that brand takes the social networking approach seriously.

Author Bio: Craig Robinson, Editor at Qwaya.com – a Facebook campaign tool. Besides writing about marketing on Facebook, Craig also writes about social context and customer engagement online.

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