If you own a business or work as a marketing manager at a business, you’re probably intrigued by social media as a marketing platform. Hardly a day goes by that the “traditional” news media doesn’t talk about Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube, often in the context of some new way to reach customers and build buzz. Between TV shows like Ellen or radio shows like Marketplace encouraging you to “like” them on Facebook, or your next door neighbor or perhaps a business competitor bragging about their latest tweet, it seems like everyone is promoting their Facebook Page, their YouTube channel, their reviews on Yelp, or encouraging you to check them out on Snapchat. What do they understand that you don’t get? Or, even if you get a lot, what are secret tips and tricks that can improve your marketing even further? Social media is everywhere, and yet it can seem very confusing to the uninitiated. What is this magical marketing being conducted on social media, and how does it work?
Social Media Management and Promotion Company
Social Media Is Big
Facebook, the largest social media platform, has over one billion users worldwide and climbing; LinkedIn with over 35o million members is “the” network for B2B marketers. Every minute 30o hours of video are uploaded to YouTube, and nearly everyone goes to Yelp or Google+ to check out reviews on local businesses.
Your customers are on social media.
Nearly everyone uses Facebook —from teenagers to grandmas, business executives to flight attendants. Most professionals have at least a LinkedIn profile. Everyone reads reviews online, many post pictures to Instagram, etc. Fish where the fish are. By participating in social media, you can reach your customers where they “hang out.”
Social media is free.
Facebook, Yelp, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest… are, of course, free to use. Users love them because “for free” they get access to their friends and family, plus information on brands that they love. And in terms of marketing, there is a lot you can do, for free, to build your brand, spread eWOM (electronic word of mouth), help you stay top-of-mind with your customers, and even “get shares” or “go viral.”
Social Media can reach not only existing but also new customers.
Between organic (“free”) and paid reach on sites like Facebook or Twitter, you can not only stay in touch with your existing customers, you can also be discovered by new customers. Unlike on search engines like Google (where customers must pro-actively look for you), on social media, you can be discovered as customer No. 1 shares information with customer No 2. You can also be discovered not when a customer is pro-actively searching for you but when he just happens to be checking his Facebook Feed, or browsing photos on Instagram
