media is a whiff of fresh air breathing new life into the brand promotion of both B2B and B2C companies. The basic feature of social media marketing is to use media sites for building communities and forums where business matters are discussed and expertise are shared. It is a cost effective way of tapping the attention of social media users the number of which is increasing with every single day.
Brand recognition is vital here, it does not matter that customers are directly involved with your brand or not, only appearance of your brand name in their networking sites will do the trick of getting your venture an identity. The effectiveness of social media as a marketing strategy has been approved and proved but for beginners it will prove potent only when certain tried and tested practices are employed.
Before You Make the First Move
Merely shooting in the dark will bear no result, prudence demands that you segregate your target audience, decision makers and influencers. The next steps will be to locate the media sites they frequently visit and then built a platform on the one that will be most relevant to your enterprise. Moving ahead, the ultimate goal of any marketing method is brand promotion and the proper way to do it will be to decide upon the nature and extent of information that is to be exhibited on any of the social media platform. It is advisable to take the following steps before you set your social media campaign in motion:
- Study the successful social media marketing campaigns of the leading companies
- Analyze the reasons behind the failure of SMO activities in the past
- Most importantly gauge the SMO activities of your rivals
Selecting appropriate social networking tool is crucial too.The options available are plenty like blogging, networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, content sharing sites like Wikipedia, Flickr, and many more. Opt for those that will ensure maximum exposure to business, brand awareness, customer engagement and augment profitability.
Stay Active or Get Erased
Once you have taken the first step there is no question that you can stop and relax because people have short memories. Below mentioned activities can keep the buzz alive for you and keep customers engaged and attached:
- Regular updates on micro blogging sites
- Conducting survey polls
- Organizing contest and quizzes
In addition to this, the content should be specific and informational while it should be prepared keeping in mind the target audience that is different in case of B2B & B2C companies.
Even though social media market is considered to be swift one cannot expect instant results, patience will therefore pay great dividends. In this particular method of brand marketing thrust is on structuring a long term and consistent relation with clients and potential customers.