It is the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites. It is considered cheaper and faster than traditional marketing (newspaper ads, billboards, flyers etc.) as it relies more on word of mouth and less on paid advertising.
A social media marketing campaign can be as simple as blogging, tweeting or Facebooking about your company or involve more intricate strategies like video campaigns on YouTube or exchanging site links with your peers.
Why would it be beneficial to get an online campaign going? Who should make use of this?
Anyone can get involved. It doesn’t matter if you are a football player promoting yourself, or a business owner looking to put your company (small or big) on the map.
The internet is one of the biggest marketing playing fields the world has ever seen – it is even incorporating traditional media channels. Why buy a newspaper from a guy on the street if you can read it online? A lot of people are even arguing that online media might swallow up traditional media completely. Can you afford it to be left behind if that happens?
Social media marketing tips:
- Add the LinkedIn Company Follow button to your site. LinkedIn recently made this option available. It allows people to follow your company page without leaving your site.
- Have a set Facebook posting schedule. Research shows that posting on Facebook 2-5 times with about 80 characters per day, is a good idea. Keep it consistent.
- Make sure your links are working correctly. It might sound simple, but broken links or links leading to the wrong/ non-existing pages frustrates the heck out of everyone.
- If you follow more people on Twitter than are following you, this could potentially harm your Twitter account’s SEO potential.
- Don’t delete negative comments from your consumers. Be polite, even if the consumer is unreasonable, and try to sort out his problem. It shows you care.
- Keep your personal and business life separated. Don’t create negative posts about how depressed you are or how you have to deal with rude clients every day.
Social media marketing is a powerful tool in the right hands. Anyone can benefit from it – just use the right tactics and stick to it.
