Further to my last post, I thought it would be worthwhile giving a bit of background information into the value of Social Media Marketing for those that have been living under a rock for the past few years.
Social Media Marketing, officially, is the creation of social interaction between a brand and the general public in a digital platform such as the internet.
So what does this actually mean to you?
Gone are the days of advertisers simply telling consumers their product is the best in the market, in the current climate consumers want to find out what products and brands are the best firsthand.
According to Forrester, nearly 45% of European internet users say that in the past three months they have researched a product online and then bought it in a shop (March 2009).
The time for creating an online presence and building your brand online is now. Many of the big brands are ‘having-a-go’ at Social Media Marketing, however very few are actually reaching their full potential.
A successful social media marketing campaign needs to utlilise a range of digital outlets, and effectively establish an online community for their consumers/potential consumers.
Setting up a Twitter account and hoping for the best is just not enough. The key to a successful campaign is establishing a connection between your Twitter account, Facebook account, your YouTube account and any other social networking sites.
Once a definitive network is created, it is important to initiate conversations, not campaigns, with your followers. You want to focus on 1:1 communication with consumers, and listen as well as speak.
Creating a solid relationship between your brand and your consumers gives you a captive audience who can be used for market research, consumer feedback, and ideally network building channels.
As important as Social Media Marketing is, it isn’t suited for every industry, so before you get caught up in the hype take a minute to assess whether or not it could benefit your business.
On a lighter note, and more an example of a viral video, the following is the latest Cadbury’s Ad… another stroke of creative brilliance, or have they just lost the plot this time? You decide!
