Social Media Marketing: An Overview

When it comes to reaching a wider target audience, the several social media networking sites will not fail you. There at least 7 famous platforms belonging to social media and each have millions of members all over the world.

You will have a better internet marketing strategy if you include this channel. Social media marketing is referred to the process of promoting or marketing your company as well as the products and services which you are offering.

This is also an effective method for gaining better company branding.  This is considered as one of the most affordable online marketing strategy. It involves content, photo and video sharing for the purposes of increasing web traffic, online presence and sales.

There are several things which you can do with social media. Each of these things will surely provide you with various benefits.

• Better company brand promotion
• Increase the public’s awareness about your products and services
• Interact, socialise and build a stronger relationship with your clients
• Gain new customers while retaining existing ones too
• A medium which can be used to provide customer support

Here are the other reasons why you should engage in social media marketing.

• Establish the identity of your company. You can also use this to make your products or services more recognizable to the public.  With social media, you can create the buzz for your business and attract several new customers.
• You also get more exposure. Several of these sites have a share feature which means that one person can help you out in gaining more exposure once they share your posts to other people whom they know.
• You also get to know what other people are saying about your company, products and services. With these feedbacks, you will be given the opportunity to improve your products and make it more well fitted to the needs of your customers.  Also, you will be able to answer the queries of your customers in a professional, timely and interactive manner.
• Also, if you make use of this medium accurately and you have implemented the right strategies, not only will you be able to gain all the benefits cited above, your website will also have higher SEO ranking. Google is now paying more attention to websites which has a good social media reputation and standing and if you take advantage of this aspect then you will have the chance to be on top of search engine results positioning.

As mentioned earlier, there are several social media marketing websites which you can use.  On this write up, you will be provided with some of the best and widely used platforms. It is actually up to you to decide which one to choose or use it all for the same purpose.

A Note on Social Media Managers

Although social media consultants can be worth their weight in gold, for many businesses and large corporations, for a newbie it can be a huge waste of money and ability to ask these experts to help with basic social media marketing setup, techniques and troubleshooting. In writing this book I hope it will serve as a handbook to those who feel they need an initial helping hand or a useful independent advice starting out. This can also save you money and offers you, the start-up or dabbler, medium experienced or just inquisitive an introduction into a rapidly evolving field. The tips here are aimed at those who are bewildered by the social-sphere and need some friendly advice and insight into the first tentative steps into a world of “Likes” and “viral” campaigns. It may also benefit those who have dived into Facebook or Google ads without assessing the situation or the options available through other platforms; and have spent a fortune on these ads that didn’t work.

Social media managers can be a Godsend to businesses, especially for those that really have no idea what they're doing on social media. Social media managers should be experienced in all things social media, and they will be able to help you get on the right networks and create the best strategies to engage your audience and generate interest in your brand. Beware there are many self-professed experts who soon fall at the first hurdle.

Any social media managers have to hold certain qualities and needs to get fully immersed into everyone's business. To effectively know how to promote your company, they need to know what everyone in your office does and what their responsibilities are. An outgoing individual will have no problem identifying the key traits necessary to learn more about what makes your office tick and how to tap into the energy and culture, and then reflect it in their work. Additionally outgoing social media managers will be able to reach out and engage better with your social audience, which is the ultimate point.

Social media management is not a light switch or something that can be turned on and off to create instant results, when you commit to social media management and campaigns, they have to be long term, usually a minimum of 6 months and they need to be managed constantly.

Hard working, knowledgeable, aware, your social media manager needs to be hard working and know the best ways to research the best social platforms for your business, creating accounts, creating and promoting an image for your brand on these accounts, and communicating effectively with your audience. They need to be able to answer questions and comments immediately or know who to engage to get an answer sent out quickly.

Most of your social media postings are going to involve copy and it is so important that your social media manager knows how to write in your native language and understand any taboo areas or subjects. If they can't string a sentence together or if they can’t spell people will associate the sloppy attitude with your brand and company. Your social media manager has to present an avatar of you and should understand the corporate position of wanting to come off as strictly informative, or maybe be witty, humorous and charming? If you start to mix up tone of response or suddenly go formal after having a chatty conversation with customers, it can be extremely confusing to your social following and they will drop you like a hot potato. Consistency of approach is expected and rewarded.

Social media is so much more than just Facebook, and it's vitally important that your manager knows this. A successful manager will have the skills, knowledge and expertise needed to run a campaign on any network. They should be able to use their knowledge to help your business determine which platforms are the best options for your goals. It is also important that you know the differences, even if at only a high level, but enough to hold a conversation with your manager and understand what they are telling you.

Confidentiality is also key to success and your social media manager needs to know the distinction between public info and confidential info. Your business may have some information that should not be public knowledge, and it’s crucial that your social media manager does not share anything inappropriate or confidential with your fans and followers. If you are in a regulated industry this can cost you dearly and even if you are not, loose talk can cost jobs and profits if your competitors get wind of it and use it to your disadvantage.

A good social media manager can greatly improve the success of your company's social media campaigns and improve your brand awareness, exploit new and different markets and engage with specific targeted audiences. If you want to hire a great social media manager, make sure they possess the above qualities and are not going to rely on a raft of inexperienced support people to do the mechanics of the job for them.

So let’s move on. The descriptions under each platform will vary but each will be followed by 10 TopTips to help you get the best out of using Social Media for your business.