As a social media marketing professional, do you sometimes find that you have to over-explain your role – to clients, individuals in different fields, and friends and family? Some people aren’t familiar with using social media platforms to market a business, and others still question just how much value social media brings to a business.

Our roles can be hard to explain, because social media marketing is a lot of things. A social media professional is an Editor, Copywriter, Publicist, Insights Analyst, and UX (User Experience) Specialist all rolled into one. Your role might also encompass Email Marketing and Web Design/Development. You could call these professionals Digital Gurus – but how can you prove that your heightened Digital expertise and awareness are game-changing for large and small businesses?

Here are some facts about social media marketing that are hard to ignore:

1. The internet population has reached 2.4 billion users. That’s an alarmingly huge proportion of the world population. If your business isn’t one of those users, you are an outsider to a very large, active community.

2. In just 1 minute, every minute of every day, users Tweet over 270,000 times, share over 2 million Facebook posts, and send over 200 million emails. That is some lively conversation, and if your business isn’t engaging with that conversation, you are missing endless opportunities to connect with and gain new customers.

3. Social Media pages rank the highest in Google search results due to frequent new content, use of popular search terms and trending topics, their sheer number of users and concise writing. If you’re not optimizing your business’ social networks, you are hurting your chances of appearing in search results queried by potential customers.

4. Online communication is a direct line to your customers. Within seconds of posting an update or an advertisement, you can assess how users engage with your brand. If your business isn’t taking advantage of this incredibly powerful form of customer service, then you’re operating without truly knowing your customers.

How do you prove your social media worth? Comment below!

Stats via Mashable & 101 Management