Should Social Media Be Part of Your Marketing Plan?
Marketing through social media is giving companies – especially small businesses without big marketing budgets—a more even playing field when it comes to reaching potential customers or clients.
So, in novice terms, how exactly is social media defined? Social media encompasses those internet or mobile-based tools that provide forums for communication and social interaction. Examples include a few that you have probably heard of include Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.
By now, it is the norm to at the very least have some kind of online presence whether it is a web site, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc. If you have yet to make the jump or are not using social media for maximum benefit, here are a few basics to know about this important component in your marketing plan:
Why Social Media?
Social media gives you an always-available forum to build your brand and lets you reach customers or clients a relaxed and very personal way. It enables you, in a visual way, to connect with people who may otherwise never know about your company, your products or the services you offer. You can control the message and change it on a regular basis based on the feedback you are getting from those with whom you are interacting.
People are becoming increasingly interested in the ‘story’ behind the company. Social media allows you to offer your history and company philosophy as only you can, and your online presence ensures that information is always available to those who seek it. Social media makes you real to your consumers. It gives you the opportunity to, yes, provide your company’s latest news on products or services; but also share your personality with them.
The Downside?
To be honest, it is tough to find one. If there is any downfall to social media, it may be that you literally should be constantly connected to devote adequate attention to be successful. It truly should be a part of your everyday schedule—or that of your designated social media marketing manager – to maintain momentum. The feedback you get, both from the interaction with your visitors and through the tracking mechanisms in place for users, will help you plan your resources. Remember, while it can be far more cost-effective than other more traditional marketing methods, to get results, it does not take care of itself.
Effectively Incorporating Social Media into Your Marketing Plan
To be clear, except in rare instances, it would be poor advice to tell you to depend solely upon social media as a marketing strategy. Rather, you can find great benefit in it when you integrate with other marketing tools in your plan. Down the road, if you are successful in social media, you may change the allocation of your resources.
When communicating online, be yourself. Be consistent, both in terms of frequency of message and content. Create opportunities to build relationships with your customer by inviting interaction through any number of means, including but not limited to offering coupons or special deals to users, hosting online events or workshops, taking polls, holding contests, etc. You will be amazed how many people will follow you and check in regularly if they are engaged and rewarded to do so.
Charlie Adams is a tech guru and electronics entrepreneur who loves to write about social media and its various applications in the modern world.
Photo Credit: some_communication
Social media is a way to reinforce your advertising by providing solid feedback to your customers. It allows you to join conversations with the community.
The thing most businesses forget, and you point out, is simply having a social media page is not enough. You still need to interact with your fans and engage with them regularly. This is definitely true with both Twitter and Facebook.
I open my facebook at least twice in the day and see what’s my friends are doing and what they have shared from the web. So social media plays a vital role ion my daily life.
Interacting with your social media page is a good practice to enlarge your business.
Social media is the wave of the future! I had to incorperate it heavily into my marketing, Thanks for the great read as always!
Should social media be part of your marketing plan? Definitely! It’s cost-efficient, and provides global reach and provide a platform for a more active interaction with your audience. With social media, businesses will have the opportunity to know more about their customers and what do they think about your products and services. Looking forward to read more informative piece on social medias!
I think the social media is more suited for B2C than B2B business. Social media presence for B2B is important but should not put in too much effort to promote it. This is because I find that people cannot associate social media with work, rather social media is more for friends which is more suitable for B2C businesses.