SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: IS IT WORTH THE INVESTMENT? Social Media: Have You Converted? BY HEATHER LANGONE
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few years ago, social media marketing was considered an auxiliary expense, a luxury mostly reserved for big businesses and influencers. Direct mail, emails – it all worked fine for the smaller companies. Today, mega platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and even Snapchat (very effective for paid ads, but best saved for Part ii) are essential tools for your strategic marketing programs. These marketing platforms are used by all competitive, large, medium, and small businesses. HVACR contractors using these platforms are seeing real benefits in the form of traffic, leads, and conversions. In 2022, social media marketing has become an integral part of a marketing plan. And since the pandemic, it’s more popular than ever. With everyone working remotely, social media and online engagement are your best marketing tools. Conversely, www.hvacrbusiness.com
If you found out you were missing out on an additional 5% of new customers monthly... would you rethink your plan? those of you who are not yet using social media for marketing, are missing out on customers and conversions.
IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING WORTH THE HYPE? Some traditionalists still choose not to invest in social media marketing, opting instead to put the money to good use in other places. And certainly, there are proven benefits in those more traditional media investments. But before you redline the paid ads option or even the organic posting idea, read on. If you found out you were missing out on
an additional 5% of new customers monthly, by choosing to utilize only email lists, word-of-mouth referrals, or direct mail, would you rethink your plan? According to Statista, Facebook and Instagram growth has been exponential since 2017: …roughly 2.91 billion monthly active users as of the fourth quarter of 2021, Facebook is the most used online social network worldwide. The platform surpassed two billion active users in the second quarter of 2017, taking just over 13 years to reach this milestone.
Considering social media is shared with friends, and friends of friends, its power is mighty and far reaching. And considering a post or paid post can be highly targeted to your customer demographic through tailgating, hash tagging, likes, comments, surveys, polls, paid ads, sales ad shares, and more, it’s a must-have. Engaging in social media is a smart move. But is it fiscally smart? Well, since you will start small, you will be able to assess that quickly. Let’s assume a small strict budget and examine the benefits. Below is information on the best use of social media if you have only a small amount to invest but still want to keep your business more competitive. The truth is, you can measure the ROI on ads and posts, almost immediately. So, if you aren’t seeing ROI, invest less – it’s that simple. continued on page 16
HVACR BUSINESS MAY 2022
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