[https://www.mheroes.com/]], [[Social Media Marketing]
It struck me like a bolt when I realized the potential that social media marketing holds; it was an absolute eye-opener to me.
I was oblivious to the reach and power of social media marketing and the thought of it raised a lot of questions in my mind.
What Is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is a process of gaining traffic through social sites and is used by almost 80% of businesses for their marketing.
It is based on the electronic word of mouth and works through the content created which is shared across social networks.
When the message spreads across about a particular product or service, social media marketing takes place about the product or service and is very effective because the message is from the trusted source.
Why Is Social Media Marketing Important for Businesses?
Social media marketers understand buying preferences and know the pulse of the market through the analysis of these sites using semantic analysis.
It will tell the sentiment of the people regarding a particular product or service based on the posts in the site and provide:
- Increased brand recognition.
- Improved brand loyalty.
- Higher conversion rates.
- Higher brand authority.
Social Media Marketing vs Traditional Marketing
The reach of social media marketing is huge when compared traditional marketing and the resources needed is insignificant.
Social media marketing is very targeted and personal, can be customized to react to each customer action, and tailored for each market.
Such customization is impossible in traditional marketing without a large cash expenditure.
Social Media Marketing Strategies
The strategies for social media marketing usually falls into two types:
- Active Approach - Social media is used as a public relations tool and as a communication channel apart from direct marketing.
- Passive Approach - Social media is used to gauge the market by feeling the voice of the market through the blogs, tweets, and more.
Engagement is fundamental to the success of social media marketing, which makes the biggest challenge keeping customers engaged in the website because attention grabbing and retention is challenging.
Engagement is created using proactive posts with new content or through reactive posts sharing existing information.
What are the Platforms Available for Social Media Marketing?
Social Media Marketing Websites - These websites allow individuals to interact with one another and helps to build relationships and be more personal than the traditional method of outbound marketing and advertising.
- Google+
- YouTube
Personal interactions give the feeling of loyalty and credibility and mobile phones are another important part in the whole design of social media marketing.
People use cell phones to go online and since this usage is so widespread, content has to be presented to suit mobile users.
QR codes have become popular to make it easy for customer's to access a particular website.
How Do We Benchmark Social Media Marketing Results?
Tools like Google Analytics can be used to benchmark social media marketing strategies and in real time change the strategies based on the feedback you receive.
Do The Same Principles Apply to Traditional and Social Medial Marketing?
Yes, all the strategies and marketing principles still hold true in social media marketing; the platform and media are very powerful.
In essence, social media marketing has taken the world by storm yet carries with it a huge potential to be exploited.
What Should I Do?
Design a social media marketing strategy, find the social media platform, and execute the plan!