Social media isn’t just a fun distraction for individuals to kill a couple hours and see what their peers are up to. Used in the right ways and on the right platforms based on the industry, businesses can utilize social media to reach their target markets, enhance their online presence and increase sales and/or engagement with customers. You might be thinking those are bold statements that are hard to back up. But given a recent social media campaign we completed for one of our clients, Olde Towne Cutlery, we have the data to prove it.

At the beginning of April, before we initiated our Knife Case Giveaway, the company Facebook page had 96 followers, and the Instagram account had 400 followers. One month later, after boosting posts and offering this incentive, the Facebook page had 531 followers and the Instagram account had 536. In addition, engagement has since increased drastically on their accounts and so has website traffic and social media referrals to the website. Before the campaign, Olde Towne Cutlery was receiving roughly 5,000 visitors a month with about 40,000 page views. Referrals to the website from social media averaged 250-300. Now, the company receives roughly 6,000 visitors a month and 50,000 page views, and the social media referrals have increased to about 450-550 a month.

While you may think Facebook is the main platform to use, Google Analytics also indicates that a Pinterest post and a separate Instagram post both led users to the website that ultimately led to the purchase of a knife! Moral of the story – social media can be a great opportunity to increase your company’s visibility, engagement with current and potential customers and overall product sales.

Still need convincing? Read the following fast stats on social media for professional use from Business 2 Community:

• 196 billion people use social media worldwide.
• Facebook influenced 52 percent of consumers’ purchases in 2015.
• Customers spend 20-40 percent more with businesses that engage with and respond to them on social media.
• Over 50 million small businesses connect with customers via Facebook.
• Social media referrals from friends’ profiles cause 71 percent of consumers to be more likely to make purchases.
• Read more »

Interested in boosting your company’s online presence? Call on the dogs at Mopdog to help! We’d love to assist you in putting your best foot forward for your current and potential customers.