What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing involves actively using social
networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to encourage
communities to visit your website and build consumer awareness of your brand.
Whereas marketing channels such as email and television ads
are seen as a one-way communication, where you are simply pushing advertising
to a consumer, social media is a two-way dialogue where you actively
communicate with your audience and they reply (and vice-versa).
As social media has grown, it is now commonly used as a
customer relationship management tool, whereby you can gain an understanding of
your customers' issues and feedback in regards to your business. Additionally,
having an active social media presence helps maintain a relationship with your
current customers and can assist in building relationships or gaining exposure
with potential customers.
Why you should do it?
Social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, are online
communities of consumers interacting with their each other. Research shows that
consumers are heavily influenced through social media, by what their friends
are interacting with (a term coined "social proof"). Engaging with
your current customers and maintaining a strong social relationship with them
will draw their friends to your business, increasing the potential for you to
gain new customers. According to Shareaholic, "referrals from the top 5
social media platforms have more than doubled" over the past year. This
highlights the large potential for increasing your business visibility within
the social space.
What to expect:
Once you have built a social media presence and audience, by
consisting offering valuable content on your website you can expect an increase
in traffic. You can also expect to learn about improvements that you can make
to your business' service or products as customers start to provide you with
feedback. The 'social signals' gained from links to your website from posts on
social media outlets can also give your SEO rankings a boost on search engines.
Bonus Tip:
Similarly with content marketing, make sure your social media
channels are engaging and above all are providing value to your audience.
Social media is a chance to give your business a personality and boost its
reputation in a highly targeted audience. Make sure you are constantly updating
and interacting with your network. Be sure to reply to any comments or
enquiries promptly.
Social media is a fantastic channel to use when establishing
your presence online. Like other online marketing channels, a little planning
up front will go a long way in ensuring a successful outcome. Consider things
such as; who you want to target, how you will interact with them, how often you
will post and who will be responsible for managing your reputation online. By
considering the purpose of your social media channels and what will be of value
to your customers, you'll see great engagement and a steady increase in traffic
to your website.
This article was taken from www.huffingtonpost.com
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