Ever since the social media platforms started picking up,
it gave rise to a new method of marketing, influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing is where a social media influencer subtly promotes your brand or product,
either by talking about it, using it as a prop or subtly mentioning it in their content.

Who is a social media influencer?

A social media influencer is someone who has gained a loyal following of audience and gained credibility in a particular industry.
A large number of audiences follow them thus giving them the ability to persuade their audience.
Influencer marketing is surely on rise with more and more marketers increasing their annual budget for this method.
From exposure, brand awareness to instant attention & publicity, the marketer is benefited for every penny spent.

So why say yes to Influencer Marketing?

Cuts through the Advertising Blindfold:

Decades of advertising has made the audience immune, blind to ads.
Nowadays the traditional methods are not persuasive enough for the people.
Influencer marketing on the other hand because of its not so pushy nature subtly
registers the brand or product in people’s minds.

Offers a great Return on Investment:

The marketer here is truly benefited for every penny spent;
rather it outweighs the cost making the ROI very high.
Apart from monetary return on investment it also
complements the brand with exposure, recognition, publicity.

Boosts Brand Awareness with its unlimited reach potential:

One can’t set the reach a social media influencer could have.
The audience reach is unlimited and that’s good for the marketer.
It instantly boosts brand awareness and makes your brand the sudden topic of interest.

Builds trust & adds credibility:

When a social media influencer who is known to a certain number of
followers promotes your brand or product it adds credibility & builds trust amongst
the audience about your brand or product, drives their purchasing behaviour.
In turn, increases business.

The post Why say yes to Influencer Marketing? appeared first on Value Direct.

Businesses today use social media as a tool to grow and connect with potential or existing customers. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are turning into an economical and productive platform for lead generation. Healthcare is the only sector which is in the inception phase of using social media for lead generation when compared to other businesses.

Digital Channels surpass Traditional Marketing for Healthcare:

• Radio or Television is so passe`, people are active on social media sites more than ever making it the perfect choice for target marketing.Apps like ‘Practo’ are widely used by Fitness Centres, Healthcare Centres, Hospitals and Speciality Clinics who list themselves over it.With gym, salon, spa and other services listed on the app, the people who use it for such services hover over Healthcare services resulting in Healthcare leads for the service providers.
• Fitbit, a fitness app used social media to get around 75K comments, likes and clicks through Instagram and Facebook. It engages the audience by posting questions related to Healthcare. Its social presence is generating more Healthcare leads for the company.
• Carilion Clinic, a US based Healthcare center has been promoting early breast cancer detection with its Instagram campaign #YESMAMM since many years. The campaign got them 4,605 followers on Twitter.
• Anne Arundel’s Medical Center started a facebook campaign “Stachie” to raise awareness for Men’s Health which helped their website gain more traffic. Apart from this, blogs and podcasts also further increased their website traffic leading to more Healthcare sales leads.

  Why is Social Media your go-to tool for generating Healthcare leads?

• 90% of the people in their early 20’s rely on the medical information shared over social media.
• 19% of smartphone users have apps related to exercise, diet, and weight on their phones.
• 54% of people look for virtual advice for their health problems.
• 41% people rely on social media while contemplating over the decisions regarding their medical treatment.
• There is an 119% increase in the diversion of YouTube traffic to hospital sites.
• 27% of people count on social media for sharing their health experiences.

5 ways in which Social Media Advertising can help the Healthcare sector:

1. Cost Efficient & Strategic Business Tool – Social media has emerged as the latest healthcare marketing solution for Healthcare lead generation. The biggies of Healthcare sector are paying a huge sum to advertise over social media.
   Alternatively, Target marketing using advanced targeting systems like Facebook and Google Adwords can prove to be an economical way of generating Healthcare leads.
2. High Customer Engagement – Most of the people today share their feedback over social media. Their decisions, opinions and trust factor are based on the facts posted online about the hospital or Healthcare center.
   Healthcare centers have noticed increased healthcare sales leads with a positive feedback about their service over Facebook. As we all know ‘time is money’ in today’s fast paced life so the quick reply to customer queries keeps them engaged over social media.
3. Instant Feedback helps both the Customer & Organization – Social media channels like Facebook allows your business to get real-time data about conversion rates, leads received and so on instantly. It helps the customer to get information relating to the hospital or service in a jiffy.
   A majority of people use social media channels like Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter for health-related information before visiting a hospital. For e.g. Mr.X may go to a Facebook page of a hospital to read reviews and user ratings of the center.
4. Higher Conversion Rates – Like other Industries today, Healthcare Industry is also looking for outcome based measurement. Social media enables quality based Healthcare leads for the businesses with its target marketing approach. For the customers, it’s a reliable and affordable care plus value based purchase with a quick feedback to their queries.

5. Increased Customer Satisfaction  – Using Social media, the Healthcare sector can connect to people almost instantly. Through Twitter, Facebook or Instagram they can immediately reply to the queries, comments or likes posted by the users. This real-time engagement with customers leads to positive feelings towards the company.

A right step of the Healthcare Industries with target marketing by improving their presence over social media can grab the attention of their prospects. With the number of social media users growing to 143 million by April 2015, it is the right medium for the Healthcare sector to target their potential customers. In the wake of cut-throat competition, social media is a brilliant way in which the Healthcare sector can connect to the new and existing audience and build goodwill in the market.

Social media is the 21st-century Healthcare marketing solution. As a popular proverb says, “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers”, social media helps in knowing what the customers really want and helps businesses build services around it thereby creating a winning strategy.

The post Social Media – A Silver Lining for The Healthcare Industry appeared first on Value Direct.

Nope! I am not defending social media here neither am I donning a lawyer’s coat. I am simply bursting some of the mythical bubbles that go against this ‘people’s medium’ – Social Media.

1. Social Media Is ONLY for Branding

This theory has been over sold since the times businesses decided to explore this territory. As a matter of fact, social media is primarily for branding and serves as an excellent reciprocative tool as far as direct feedback is concerned. But breaking the stereotypes, social media is not just restricted to building a brand anymore. It’s more about building an EXPERIENCE. It has eventually become an indispensable business tool for any of the marketing activities.
2. Social Media Isn’t for Marketing

This seems to be WRONGLY infused by agencies into the businesses. Why would they do that? Simply to avoid the question of ROI! While some agencies across the world have shrugged this off and are working only on ROI model, there are certain biggies who feel mention of ROI from social media will backfire. If your agency isn’t working on commitment, it’s time to switch your agency. Social media is a part of 4P’s of marketing and separating it from marketing is equivalent of making it handicapped.

3. Social Media Demands Big Bucks

WRONG! Social media is the cheapest advertising medium for any and every business today. According to Adweek.com, “It’s cheaper. A lot cheaper. You can reach 1,000 people for a fraction of the cost using social media than you can through television, billboards or even email.”

Proclamation: It’s possible to generate 1000 leads in a day for your business on social media, by spending ¼ of what you would spend on television, radio, OOH or any other advertising medium.

4. Facebook Is the Strongest Social Medium for Business

While Facebook is one of the top tools for business, it cannot be strongest tool for ALL the businesses. The reason – Audiences! If your business talks to business, then Facebook definitely isn’t an accurate tool. It would rather be served by LinkedIn, which is a B2B platform. According to Internet, there are more than 200 social networking sites and our world is still limited to Facebook

5. Social Media CANNOT Get Me Sales

If this is what you believe in, then you have probably not heard of Cost Per Acquisition campaigns on social media. Well, not only SALES but registration, leads, bookings, and lot more happen through social media.

Isn’t it cool to book a test drive on Facebook?

6. Social Audiences Aren’t Serious

Yo! There’s some cool gang of youngsters hanging out on social media sites to connect with friends and have conversations. Ever tried befriending them? They will surely respond optimistically to your gesture. It’s a just a matter of seconds that these stranger YO guys will turn into your biggest influencers and positive resonators. The audience is pretty serious out here when it comes to buying decision as there’s a lot of peer influence and organic viral promotion that makes decision authentic.

7. Social Media Contests Aren’t Serious

Like my earlier point, the contests may not lead to purchase but they are definitely serious if planned and executed well. Heard of Oreo’s super successful campaign on Twitter? Well, you must just Google it.

8. Social Media Won’t Foster My Offline Business

This is one of the biggest myths! Social media has been lending a helping hand to retailer’s big time. From creating brand awareness to getting targeted walk-ins, I just can’t stop going Gung-Ho about social media here. A well known pizzeria in Australia named Philadelphia saw a 41% sales uplift after resorting to Instagram for advertisement. Get started with social media marketing and let some new walk-ins pump in.

So, what stops you from being social? Go and get your brand shining on the top of the charts leaving all the stereotypes aside.

Author: Divya Arjun Gajaria

Breathing social media at the moment! Pursuing PhD in Social Media simply for the love of it  Driving innovation for businesses with social media strategies and strategic concepts. Always hungry for more knowledge.

The post 8 Biggest Social Media Myths Businesses Have appeared first on Value Direct.