Like it or not, there has been a seismic shift on the internet, and more and more people are flooding into the realm of social media. Naturally, advertisers have followed right along, and social media marketing is now one of the best ways to reach a large audience. Not only is it a low-cost way to market, but the audience you can reach is virtually limitless. Here are some tips to help you get started on a marketing plan.
The first step to proper social media marketing is to actually select the right social network. The bigger and more popular the network is, the more word-of-mouth you have going on inside of it. This obviously means that a network like Facebook would be king, with other popular networks like Twitter and YouTube and Digg also making the list. The popular networks are the ones you should focus on.
Using Facebook as an example, you have a lot of influence with a page post. Fans of your site will receive your post updates in their news feed, and thus one post you make is advertised across your entire network. If you were to link people to destinations within this post, you can receive a lot of click-throughs and ultimately drive a lot of traffic back to your main site.
Just because you’re dealing with social media doesn’t mean that you can relax your business standards. Members of social media sites are still potential customers and they need to be treated as such. Cater to the needs of your social media audience in the same way you would cater to the needs of any audience. Be hands-on, respectful, and attentive with your audience.
With so many people having ready access to your social material, you’re going to encounter some negativity from time to time. This is just something that comes with the territory. You can’t lose your cool and get into a flame war with people who are negative towards your brand. You have to keep your professionalism on full display and defuse the situation calmly. Prepare for the negativity; it’s going to appear.
You may think that having social media profiles provides you with a great opportunity to get away from your business and to build fans by promoting popular material. However, this does nothing at all for your brand or business. You still have to be a businessperson here. You still have to explain your business and products in detail to your audience. It’s still business marketing, only done via social sites.
There are no guarantees that you can build a big social audience right off the bat. Even if you’re doing things correctly and are taking your time to ensure quality, you might struggle at the start. Don’t get discouraged. Keep your nose to the proverbial grindstone while continuing to improve your approach.
It’s not overly difficult to figure out social media marketing. As long as you’re willing to play the social game and provide people with what they’re after, you should be able to build up a strong network.