The New Social Media

Social media is changing daily the way businesses interact with customers. With the development of social media, companies are interacting with current and potential customers on a more personal level. This personal level of interaction through the use of blogs, networking sites, applications and online publishing to name a few brings marketing to a new level. Prior to the development of social media a business was left with one-way communication with its prospects. This one way communication was unable to develop “personal” relationships with customers. This personal relationship allows companies to gauge their performance within specific campaign techniques. Social media may be one of the biggest changes in business communication since the introduction of mass media. Social media continues to change and requires one to stay abreast of new developments. In Feb 2005 social media use was represented by only 5% of adult internet users. In April of 2009 that number had grown to 46% of adult internet users. Your company could be interacting and gaining personal relationships with 46% of adult users today! While social media is not perceived as a business requirement by some, I feel the numbers speak for themselves.

Social media was created to build communities and bring people with common interests and goals together are a virtual community. These platforms were designed to allow individual users to interact on a personal level and communicate directly with others. These networking sites create a perfect opportunity for a business to reach highly targeted consumers and build much deeper relationships in a fraction of the time required prior to social media. Social media marketing could be defined as a combination of efforts utilizing social media outlets to reach a targeted audience. There are several methods to getting your campaign started. A Facebook fan page is a great start but without proper implementation and management it will be perceived as unsuccessful by you. Social media changes daily, if not hourly, as new methods and tools are developed. It is imperative that your business stay abreast of current developments to achieve success.

Where exactly would a company get started is a question I get all of the time. This is a tough question to answer as every business requires a different strategy. One example of social media is probably one of the more known as it is on the news every night. Twitter. Twitter allows a company to build a highly targeted audience who is chomping to hear what you have to say. Now, comparatively, you could send out 20,000 postcard utilizing direct mail marketing and achieve about a 1% return on investment. You could send out a free message on twitter to your core followers advertising a sale or coupon. These consumers have already indicated they were interested in you to begin with. Do you think the results would be better? While Twitter is right for many businesses, it may not be for others. Be wary of people telling you they can build your Twitter list. A list built just to gain followers is as ineffective as sending postcards. A strong following is suggested but people interested in what you have to say are recommended. Another popular example of social media would be Facebook. Facebook allows us to create Fan Pages and Group Pages. Ultimately we are achieving the same core idea as Twitter, but allowing for a more personal interaction with the consumers thus building a stronger personal relationship. These are only two examples of social media. A social media marketing campaign needs to be designed utilizing not only these but many, many other methods.

Social media can be a bit overwhelming for the new business entering into the internet world. A company will quickly learn that they can’t be everyone’s answer. Customer involved interactions will assist the company in further targeting their social media marketing campaign. From polls to surveys, a business can further determine the consumer that is the best fit for their company. The information received from these polls and surveys is then utilized to better refine a social media marketing campaign.

A bit overwhelming, I understand. Your focus needs to be on running your company. There are marketing companies specializing in the development and implementation of social media campaigns. These internet marketing companies bring together highly skilled and qualified personnel that can assist you in the development of your personal campaign. A social media campaign, on average, requires at least 1-2 people to manage for a small to medium company. In lieu of hiring additional personnel within your company, you can simply outsource this to a company that is already experienced and knowledgeable in social media. The result, you get expert knowledge at a significant cost reduction.

Social Media Platform Has The Experience You Require. Are You Ready To Start Your Social Media Marketing Campaign? Contact Us Today For A FREE Consultation.