SEO & Digital Marketing - 'Social' Media

When considering the pros and cons of different marketing methods, think of all the time and money that was traditionally spent on marketing your products or services, and compare it to what it now costs to market your business on social sites.

Originally, businesses paid out of pocket for advertisements on television, billboards, or in newspapers. Eventually, these strategies came to the point where they were not cost effective in the least. Of all viewers of advertisements, only one to two percent actually contacted the distributor and was interested in their product. Why was this? One of the most interesting advantages of social media marketing is that when viewing television, advertisements often irritate and interrupt viewers, causing most of them to be uninterested in the advertised product. With social media, the targeted audience not only watches the advertisement, but also participates in it.

Participation is a key advantage of social media marketing. Online, people willingly participate in activities and blogs that market your company for you. When the customers become involved with your business or company, they not only care about your products, the come to care about your business. Social involvement with customers usually leads to an increase in clientele and customer satisfaction.

Another advantage that comes with social media marketing is that online advertising with sites like Facebook is one hundred percent free. You no longer have to rent a billboard or air time on the television or radio. You do not have to pay for ink and paper and distribute fliers about your business. You can do it all electronically and be much more productive. The raw power of Social Media is being displayed daily, with shining examples including the solidarity shown during the Iranian elections and recent natural disasters where people have bandied together, shared information, and ultimately gone to the rescue of their fellow Social Media users. These are examples of how the 'Social' in Social Media can make an impact on the world, but how does it translate to the marketing environment? The answer is actually much simpler than the tactics being used by many major businesses.

To some companies, a simple presence on Social is enough for them to feel satisfied. They may have a Facebook page with a healthy amount of subscribers/fans, and a Twitter account with several thousand followers and feel that their efforts are being successful - and perhaps they are correct. Still, we must look closer at their execution in order to see where they are lacking. Upon closer inspection we learn that the company's Twitter account is filled with simple, predictable tweets. They are posting news stories from highly trafficked pages, and re-tweeting interesting stories. But, there is zero communication between them and their customer and they are not responding to people who mention their brand. In short, they are participating in Social Media, but not engaging.

The problem here is that engaging is what Social Media is all about. This is not a hands-off initiative like Search Engine Marketing, it is a personal and very human relationship. Using Social Media without engaging is like keeping a Ferrari in first gear...you are not truly experiencing what the medium has to offer. Marketers the world over must up-shift their Social Media efforts and begin communicating with their audiences.

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Jim Struber is a Social Media guru and Faith Based Marketing expert. #keep##randurls[3|1|new line|Money Site URL List 1|]# www.buzzplant.com

Posted on 2011-04-06, By: Clifton Hale *

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Note: The content of this article solely conveys the opinion of its author, Clifton Hale