An increasing number of companies tend to invest a larger percentage of their marketing budgets into social media. Here are some of the most important reasons to invest in the social networking area.

1. Social media marketing is just perfect for establishing your brand. Once you have loyal friends, fans, followers and other community members on social networking platforms, you can turn many of them into dedicated brand advocates. Studies show that about one in 10 consumers act as free brand promoters online and the number goes up to 90 percent for “millennials.” The younger generation uses social media for almost everything and future success will mean having a presence on the platforms that they use.

2. Market research suggests investing higher shares of their marketing budget into social media in the future. Companies that miss fully embracing this trend will be left at a competitive disadvantage. With the expansion of Wi-Fi hotspots and 3G/4G mobile broadband networks, an increasing number of people are using their laptops, smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices to access the Internet from practically any location. This means that companies using social media effectively will be able to reach these people at nearly any time of the day.

3. Social media provides a free and simple platform for surveying and testing public opinion. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook make it easy to search for consumers’ impressions on products and services. Companies can also post questions or surveys on their social media profile pages to see how their online communities feel about certain issues, products or services.

4. Social media can act as a customer service and support network. An increasing number of companies use these websites to provide product updates and news, and even to respond to customer help requests. Social media lets customers provide immediate feedback, which allows companies to respond in a timelier manner to important issues.

5. More consumers consult social media before buying products online. Research from the E-Tailing Group suggests that one in three consumers check with their social media communities before deciding on purchases. An Inc Magazine study found that about seven out of 10 online shoppers is more likely to do business with companies that have active social media profile pages.

6. Social media helps with search engine optimization (SEO). This factor can be important for businesses that sell products and services from their own websites. SEO is key to keeping a steady flow of traffic to your sites that can in turn lead to more conversions (sales). Changes to search engine algorithms place great emphasis on social media presence. In particular, websites can realize higher rankings in search engine results pages when the site has recommendations from the user’s social media friends.