Some entrepreneurs see social media marketing as the next big thing, a powerful but temporary fad that has to be taken of while it’s in the spotlight. To others, it’s just a buzzword that doesn’t have a practical advantage, and there’s a complicated, steel learning curve with it. Due to the rapid pace in which social media has developed its reputation, some business owners perceive this as a passing marketing interest; therefore, it is presumed non-profitable. However, the statistics are illustrating different results.

HubSpot reported that 92 percent of marketers in 2014 claimed social media marketing was imperative for their business, with 80 percent indicating social media marketing efforts have increased traffic to their websites. Ninety-seven percent of marketers, according to Social Media Examiner, participate in social media marketing, but 85 percent of participants are not sure what social media marketing tools are the best ones to use, as well as how they should be marketing on social media to begin with. This demonstrates that social media marketing has a huge potential for an increase in sales, but there’s a lack of understand among entrepreneurs on how to achieve those results.

Before we get into how you can insert yourself into the social media marketing arena successfully, let’s look at how social media marketing can benefit you and your business.

Increase brand recognition: Each opportunity a business owner has to syndicate their content and increase their visibility to their potential clients and customers, as well as their current ones, is of great value. Social media networks are just a new channel for your company to voice their opinion and boost their product and service’s exposure. This is imperative for your business because it makes your business more accessible to new clients and customers. It also makes you more recognized and familiar for those who have already done business with you.