Social Media Marketing

•Social Media Marketing

•The traditional marketing model consists of a business working with a third party, such as an advertising agency or public relations company, to deliver the marketing content to their customers. Web 2.0 has provided a set of social media tools that allow businesses and organizations build social and business connections, share information and collaborate online with their customers. Social media marketing has now become an integral part of companies marketing strategies.

• Social media marketing concentrates on creating content that encourages customers to share it with others within their social network. This way a corporate message can go viral as it spreads from user to user online because it is coming from a trusted source, not just the company itself. Some reasons why social media marketing has become so important for businesses include:

• Social media applications such as Facebook or Twitter are easily accessible to anyone with Internet access.

• Social media marketing is relatively inexpensive for companies to implement marketing campaigns.

• Social media marketing can go worldwide – e.g. Half of Twitter users are outside the USA.

• Companies can obtain direct feedback from targeted customers and markets.

• Social Media Optimization

• Social Media Optimization (SMO) is the method of maximizing unique visitors to Website content through the use of social media activity. SMO is somewhat like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but differs in that the aim is to drive unique visitors to Website content from sources other than search engines such as Google or Bing etc. The two main SMO methodologies are:

• Add social media features to the content itself (e.g. RSS feeds, Share buttons, User ratings, Photos, Video).

• Promote additional social media activities in addition to the content itself (e.g. Blogging, Discussion groups, Updates in social network sites).

• Rohit Bhargava was the first to use the term 'social media optimization' and he has described five rules for carrying out SEO:

• Create shareable content

• Make sharing easy

• Reward engagement

• Proactively share content

• Encourage the mashup

 Benefits of social media marketing for businesses

• Social media marketing has several benefits for businesses, and in particular, small businesses that have a limited budget for marketing campaigns. The main benefits of social media marketing include:

• Social media marketing allows small businesses compete at the same level as large businesses.

• Social media marketing allows a business communicate directly with the target market in an informal setting.

• Social media marketing allows a business build a relationship of trust and credibility with the target audience.

• Having built a relationship with customers social media marketing allows a business conduct detailed market research.

• Social media marketing gives a business the potential to reach customers worldwide

Social media tools that businesses can use

• Small businesses should try to use a variety of social media tools. It is important to decide which social media tools are exactly right for your business, and then use them appropriately and at just the right time.

• The most popular platforms include:

• Audio Sharing
Uploading audio files to a dedicated platform to share with larger audience and allow feedback.
Example: Podomatic, ITunes
Allows you to share your own audio content and discuss it with others; share, rate and discuss their podcasts.

• Microblogging
Writing short messages (e.g. Twitter: 140 characters).
Examples: Twitter, Punk, AudioBoo
Allows real-time communication; Enhances networking with any person, Is non-intrusive, allows sharing various content.

• Blogging
Writing an on-line journal with posts published in reverse chronological order.
Examples: WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, Posterous
Allows longer posts and all types of content (text, audio, video).

• Photo Sharing
Uploading photo files to a dedicated platform to share them with larger audience and allow feedback.
Examples: Flickr, Fotki, Picassa, Photobucket
Allows you to share photo documentation, create galleries, receive feedback and comment, rate and share photos of other users.

• Video Sharing
Uploading video files to a dedicates platform to share with larger audience and allow feedback.
Examples: YouTube, Vimeo, Hulu
Allows you to share video content, collect feedback, document events, share, rate and discuss content of other.

• Social Networking
Building and maintaining relationships based on common interests, relationships, and experiences.
Examples: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn
Allows you to connect through your networks, develop new relationships and share content to relevant audiences.