Social Media Marketing Madness – What a mouthful…

Welcome back for more of my musings with added visual loveliness this week – thanks for dropping by. Time to sit back, relax and possibly even put the kettle on to enjoy the latest edition of Social Butterfly.

It’s all very well all this social media malarkey but you’re probably still none the wiser on what this means for you and your business. But you’ve made your first step. You’ve joined up, learnt your way around and are now well on your way to becoming a social media mogul. Well, sort of. I’d love to hold your hand, tell you the worst is over and that it will all be plain sailing with wonderful sunsets from here on in but I don’t like to lie. The social media jungle gives the Amazon a run for its money and we have a long way to go.

Back onto the matter in hand – what exactly is social media marketing? The wonderful Wikipedia explains it as ‘the act of using social networks, online communities, blogs, wikis or any other collaborative Internet form of media for marketing, sales, public relations and customer service’ .

 

There’s a ton of benefits to be gained from using social media as part of your marketing strategy:

•    Global Reach with a wealth of opportunities to find new markets in the wonderful world of the Web, using some social media magic. Suddenly, the world is your oyster.
•    Lower Costs than traditional marketing avenues such as television, radio and print. However, there are no free lunches here – successful social media campaigns require planning, time and effort.
•    Measurable Results that are easier to track and measure – once you get the know how on the various platforms.
•    Customer Engagement that is unparalleled with participation and interaction being key ingredients to the social media pie. Audiences and potential customers are already actively engaged and comfortable with social media applications, making it easier to engage them in your brand or business.
•    24 hr Marketing as social media shops are always open and therefore your content is too – making it super convenient for potential customers to access it wherever, whenever. Just the way we like it.
•    Added Personal Touch combined with direct customer communication will make your business seem like it’s run by real people with real lives.

 

But what about achieving your marketing aims and objectives? The wonderfulness of social media can help in a number of different areas:

Sales
You can use social media to gain new business by driving traffic to your website, increasing potential sale conversions. It’s all about creating awareness of your site and making it accessible, so that a sale is never more than a few clicks away.

Marketing
Social media gives you the chance to promote your business to a more targeted and (hopefully) more receptive audience. Different audiences use different social media and by harnessing the power of different applications, you can create excellent awareness of your website and company.

PR
We all have a reputation to uphold and there is no better way to manage yours, whilst controlling your brand than by using social media. You can monitor online conversations about your company, respond quickly and provide excellent customer service in regards to any queries or problems.

Networking
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Good news is you can use social media as an excellent networking tool to build connections and relationships with key figures. Whether that is your client base, potential investors, would-be employees or just making some new friends – after all, you can never have too many of those.

Customer Engagement
In this day and age of pre-recorded messages and foreign call centres, it’s a rare thing to speak to someone who knows their stuff or is an actual human being. Social media provides many opportunities to engage in a two-way conversation with your clients – getting their opinion, building trust and increasing customer loyalty.

Market Research
Dipping your toe in a new market sector or planning to blow everyone away with your new product? Why not use social media as a market research tool to identify trends or niches within your customer base whilst also keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing. This way, you can make sure the world is ready for your next big idea.

 

Social media can be used extremely effectively to build awareness of your company, brand or website but this form of marketing takes a very different approach to traditional techniques. Participation is the key ingredient to social media and it is this audience engagement that makes it unique when compared to traditional media such as television, radio and newspapers. When wading into this world, it’s best to leave your hard sell techniques at the door because they just won’t cut it here (sorry).. Gone are the one to many messages of yonder year – it’s time to have a real conversation with your customers

Social media marketing is about establishing long-term relationships with clients and building your brand slowly– no magic fix here I’m afraid. This kind of marketing takes time, effort and above all planning. You need to choose the types of social media that will work best for you and it’s best to use these alongside any existing traditional marketing techniques you already use. But it is worth it, as people like people and they especially like being treated like people.

So how do you put all the above into practice? Stay tuned as I will be exploring each and every major social networking application plus how you can use it to get the results you need. But before this happens, it’s time to learn the rules of the jungle – Social Media Etiquette coming up next.