It’s clear that social media marketing has grown dramatically during the last few years and that with more than 800 million active users, the quantity of Facebook users is easily more than twice the size of the entire population of america!
Its growth has been astronomical and today, thousands of people are posting more personal and business information online than previously. It’s happening at lightning speed with thousands of posts, tweets and uploads occurring every hour.
Recent research conducted by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) commissioned by Sensis Pty Ltd (May 2011, p. 10) indicates, that “62% of Australian Internet users use a variety of social media marketing sites, with many visiting every day and most at least several times a week.” It’s no surprise that with the millions of prospective customers from worldwide using these sites, each day, that so many businesses have decided to include social media marketing into their marketing mix. However it also important to get an understanding of how these sites are increasingly being used and what’s involved in maintaining or resourcing your business presence on these sites. Your web footprint can stick around for a long time so don’t underestimate how this may affect the perception of your brand available in the market place. Spend time upfront thinking about whether social media marketing is right for the business.
1. Seek first to understand – It is crucial that you understand the fundamentals of how is social media really works and how it’s used. What exactly are people and businesses doing with social media marketing? What gets them results? A few of you may be thinking, how do I do this? Perchance you could consider trying it out on your own by setting up an individual account, then testing a number of the features, or get a trusted friend to show you their account and guide you through. Alternatively you can find so many resources and ‘how to’ items online about social media marketing, that you could run a search on Google or on YouTube on a particular topic of interest watching the video tutorials to get informed.
2. Understand Lifestyle Enhancement – What is your purpose is for using social media marketing? What do you hope to achieve for your business by using it? It’s really essential that you identify your purpose so you can get involved in social media (or any other marketing activity for that matter). You need to workout why you are engaging. What do you expect to achieve? Do you simply want to build brand awareness, build relationships your customers or identify new sales opportunities? Remember to be realistic about what you believe you will be able to attain.
3. If you decide to take part in social media marketing, which sites are best for you personally? – With the plethora of social media sites available, those are best for the business? Think about where your target audience would socialize online, and think about the amount of time and resources you would realistically be able to commit to maintaining and administering your site presence. Which ones are right for you? You will probably find that some are a better fit than others.
4. Quality Content – In the event that you decide that social media marketing is right for the business, carefully consider the amount and quality of information you would like to share in the online sphere. Remember it will probably stay there for some time, so you need to make sure it accurate and reliable information that is valuable to your market. It has to be relevant, otherwise people won’t read it.