What is Social Media Marketing All About?
Social Media is all about engaging with your target audience, building your brand awareness and establishing yourself as a trusted company to your audience. You can do this in a variety of ways, but the methods and vehicles you use very much depend on where your target audience hang out.
For instance the median age of Twitter users is 31, and Facebook user’s ages vary considerably, so a bit of research is necessary before you start.
Social Media is not about bombarding your audience with a relentless stream of sales offers; it’s about providing them with relevant, valuable information that will establish your company as a trusted supplier.
The ratio of valuable information postings to sales messages should be around 80/20, or even 90/10
Advantages for Small Businesses
For small businesses it is a way of reaching a large, targeted market at very little capital cost. And because small businesses have a flexibility in the way that they can carry out their business that larger companies can only dream about, they can quickly adjust their offerings to fulfil rising demand, pick up on trends and create a product or service that meets those demands.
Social Media is a great market research tool, a reputation monitoring tool or even a competition spying tool: Social Media has many applications.
Twitter needs to be studied carefully.
The new advertising model is still in its infancy and is still being refined, but many corporates have jumped on board to try it out. To see it in action, go to your Twitter account and type ‘coffee’ in the search box and you will see the Starbuck’s sponsored tweet appearing at the top.
Risks
The main risk is in creating the wrong image for your company through social media. It is important to create a strategy first then build your social media networks slowly, because any errors you make will live forever. The internet has a good memory and it is difficult to undo mistakes.
Build your Social Media networks ‘right’ from the start and decide form the outset what your persona or image will be and remain congruent as you build your networks.
Top 3 Tips for Social Media Newbies
1. Identify your market and where they hang out or socialise on the internet.
2. Create a Social Media strategy before you start, then start slowly and continue congruently
3. Focus on the top four Social Media performers first:
- Your blog. This is a very powerful tool and needs to be updated at least twice a week
- LinkedIn – build your professional network and obtain recommendations from former clients; it is a great way to put yourself in the shop window to other professionals.
- Twitter – play with it, follow some industry leaders such as Guy Kawasaki and you will soon learn its power.
- Facebook – take your time with this, it is very powerful and easy to get wrong. Do your research first!
#1 by Patricia on May 23, 2011 - 3:55 pm
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