Harnessing Social Media for Your Business Through Sales and Marketing
Times are indeed a-changing. And so are the consumers of today. The pervasiveness of the Internet and its influence vis-a-vis traditional media and advertising has been growing at such a rapid pace that in certain areas the former has already eclipsed the latter. In a 2012 study published by mediabistro, one is surprised to learn that as far as consumer trust in the various forms of media is concerned, websites have gained a 58% rating as opposed to good ‘ol television with 47%! Clearly, in order to stay ahead, companies have to learn to adapt by hitching on the Internet bandwagon. As the study points out, while traditional media has been an important element in the mix since the birth of advertising, the consumers of today are looking for the fastest and most interactive ways to get information about the products and services they are interested in. But having a website simply won’t do. Adding social media to your sales and marketing strategy is already a must!
The Internet and Consumer Behavior
Now that we’ve been made aware of how the Internet has steadily overtaken traditional media and advertising, let’s take a cursory look at how the Internet influences consumer behavior. For this, a quick look at the some facts from the 2012 Digital Influencer index as complied by PR firm Fleischman Hillard and Harris Interactive.
1. The Internet Trumps Friends and Family When It Comes to Influence. In the U.S., the Internet is of nearly equal importance to advice from friends, family or colleagues (46 to 47 percent, respectively). More than half the time, the anonymity of the Internet holds greater sway with consumers in influencing purchasing and other decisions – greater even than the opinions of family, friends and co-workers.
2. The degree of influence varies by topic. The Internet is most influential when it comes to making purchase decisions about travel and leisure (61 percent), consumer electronics (52 percent), and personal finances (43 percent) – all categories that are significantly more important than advice from family, friends or co-workers.
3. Want to Influence Consumers Online? Reach Them on the Go. Nearly two-thirds of consumers now use their mobile/smartphones to obtain information about products, brands or destinations at least three to four days a week. Some 80 percent of smartphone owners have location-based services (GPS) on their mobile phones. Currently, half of these consumers use location-based services that provide offers, discounts and specials based on their current location – and more than three-quarters.
Generating Sales
Let’s now go to the crux of matter – leveraging social media in generating sales to improve your bottomline! There are numerous ways to go about this, but for you we’ve already selected useful advice as culled from wordstream and memeburn.
1. Start with a plan – Before you begin creating social media marketing campaigns, consider your business’ goals and list them down. From there, you can begin to create your social media marketing plan.
2. Developing your goals – What is it that you want to achieve from your social media marketing plan? Do you want increased web traffic? Brand awareness? Better communication and interaction with your audiences?
3. Create magnetic content – Make sure that your content draws attention and possess a unique selling point or USP.
4. Track Competitors — It’s always important to keep an eye on competitors—they can provide valuable data for keyword research, where to get industry-related links, and other social media marketing insight.
5. Know your platform – Do a careful study of the various social media platforms available out there – Facebook, Twitter, g+, Pinterst, etc. – and see how these tools and their individual characteristics can best work for you and your strategy.
About The Author
Mel Panabi is the Guest Content Manager for Performancing.com. The site now offers a guest posting service.
Image Credit: 1.
Posted in Social Networking. Tags: drive sales with social media, marketing
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