Social media has completely overtaken the online world in recent years. Everyone and their brother are using social media to connect with others and discover new and interesting things.
Social media marketing refers to the practice of advertising a business through a number of social media websites. This form of marketing allows a business to directly connect with their existing customers and work towards developing new customers, all through a medium that a large majority of people use every day.
It also lets you connect with your customers in a much more dynamic and personalized manner.
Social media marketing strategies can be very large or very small, depending on the company’s advertising objectives. The majority of social media marketing occurs on major social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google Plus. These are the online websites that a lot of people visit, use and depend on.
By using these mediums to directly connect with potential and existing customers, businesses are keeping up with the same trends that their customers are using. This is just one of the reasons why social media marketing campaigns are so successful and popular. However there are does and don’ts when it come to Social Media Marketing. Listed below are a few things to keep in mind when using social media for marketing.
- Don’t overdo it when sharing your business-related information through social media networks. The goal is create a more personalized connection between your business and its customers- not to overwhelm them with promotional ads and commercials.
- Always follow the rules and regulations for each social media site. Ignoring these rules and regulations could end up getting your business’s account terminated.
- Create a social media marketing plan, but adjust your specific tactics as you go. Be flexible and take the time to find out what works and what doesn’t work.
- Always be transparent with your intentions. Don’t lie to your customers or hide the fact that you are advertising to them.
- Commit the time and effort to maintain your social media marketing plan. While this form of marketing is relatively inexpensive, it does require time and effort to keep all of your social media content fresh and up-to-date. You will want to constantly update and re-fresh your content across all of your social media.
- Don’t intrude on people’s private space. It is one thing to use social media to interact with your customers- it is another to invade their personal online space and banter them.
- Always participate. In the world of social media marketing, you have to give to receive. Be sure to participate in your social media networks and to give something of use. This will ensure that you get back, usually in the form of increased revenue.
- Pay attention to social media ethics, and whatever you do- don’t become a spammer!
- Support the promotional campaigns of other non-competitive businesses on your social media sites in exchange for their support.
- Always use your social media marketing campaigns to promote goodwill and respect, rather than using as a form of negative advertising.
- Be prepared to deal with how online users change, alter or use your brand’s message. Have a plan for both good and bad customer feedback.
- Pay attention to the metrics and analytics of your campaign.
- Listen to your customers through your social media marketing strategies. Then respond accordingly.
- Pay attention to trends. Trends are something that appear, disappear and then reappear often in the world of social networking. Keep in touch with the times and alter your campaign to match the most recent trends.