April 21, 2021 | Written by: Carley Miller, Marketing Specialist

Why is marketing so important? Businesses need to market themselves in order to grow and to stand out. Affective marketing attracts new customers, creates loyalty in current clients, and enables a business to stay competitive. 

“The business enterprise has two basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.” (Peter Drucker)

Marketing is going to look different for every business, and there is really no right way to do it. The world of marketing is changing, and social media is changing it. There are so many reasons social media is a smart marketing strategy, but two big reasons are: the number of users and its free, accessibility. Here’s a few stats:

• There are over 3 billion users on social media. Let’s dive into one particular platform we have been using: Instagram. Instagram has over 1 billion users, which is second behind Facebook. These 1 billion users have an average of 30 minutes spent on the app per day, and the age demographic that uses it the most? 25-34 years of age. (SproutSocial)

• Another key reason social media is such a great tool; it’s free and so easily accessible. Not all marketing is free, but when it is, it should be used. 

A few benefits we have found in using social media:

Brand Awareness – Brand awareness is simply consumers becoming familiar with a brand. It is usually one of the first steps in a business plan and marketing strategy. Social media enables brand exposure to no limits. Showing who you are as a business creates loyalty, comfort, and knowledge. Not just showing your business but showing the team, behind the scenes, the personality of the brand. It takes knowing about a business to use a business. Some people in your life may not even know what you do, so promoting yourself will also help you. Put yourself out there! Social media can be used any which way and the best part about it is – you get to decide how to use it.

Making Connections/Networking - Through Instagram, we have been able to make lasting connections with people all over the US. These connections include others in the real estate industry, future tenants, buyers, landlords, and friends. Networking has always been important in business, and it’s only becoming a greater force. One reason social media is a great way to network and communicate with others is because it allows for direct, instant communication. Use this to your advantage, there is so much opportunity in a simple conversation.

Client Support – One of our goals for using social media is supporting who we work with. Creating loyalty with our clients is so important to us. Loyalty makes clients want to stay with the business, creates a strong business to consumer relationship, and more likely for them to refer you. Whether it is a tenant, landlord, future client we always want to help support. Social media is helpful in supporting because it not only allows us to know what is going on in their business but also makes it easy to reshare and promote their posts, events, etc. For us, it is also fun to follow along on their own journey too! Supporting one another is so powerful. 

Express the personality of the business – It is said that people will look up your business on social media before contacting or utilizing you. This is partly because they want to get to know your business before reaching out. This is why it is important to be showing who your business is, what you do, the team, the work environment, behind the scenes, showcasing clients, supporting your community, etc. People will see you are different and will want to reach out. 

Social media is such a powerful marketing tool. However it is used – it is marketing. Social media enables businesses to tell a story.  Our goal is to be different; set ourselves apart from the traditional way of doing retail real estate, and social media gives us that option. 

“Marketing is really just about sharing your passion” (Michael Hyatt)

Disclaimer:  This article should not be seen as legal advice.  Please consult your attorney before you rely on this information.