Where to Start with Social Media Marketing?

What is Social Media Marketing? Where should we start? Are we sick of hearing about it but actually none the wiser?

I have been enlightened by a webinar from Richard Duffy from Duct tape Marketing; “Leveraging Social Media to generate business”. My own perception of what it is and how we should use it has been cemented.

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing put it very succinctly when he described marketing itself as… “Getting People to Know, Like and Trust”.

I found his definition of marketing refreshing having come across many definitions of marketing throughout my University studies. It’s clear, simple, to the point and most importantly it makes immediate sense and can be more readily put in to practice than some of the more theory dense and frankly somewhat confusing descriptions.

He builds upon this definition and describes Social Media Marketing as a tool to support the accomplishment of these goals through the use of technology.

Social Media Marketing is ultimately about building your companies web presence, driving traffic to the company website which is seen to be the central hub of all your Social Media activity and supporting the your overall company message, building your brand, image and reputation.

The challenge for all of us is not to get overwhelmed. One step at a time is the advice being given. Get your website right and from there maybe start a blog, or open a twitter account. The key is not to do it all at once.

To fully utilise the world of Social Media as a marketing tool we need to research the market place, see what our competitors and customers are doing and how they are using it and try to get a better picture of what might be expected of us and how our presence might be of use to our target audience.

Objectives need to be set. What are we hoping to gain from Social Media Marketing? We all have different intentions and we to ensure that these underpin our Social Media activity.

We need to listen, interact and learn. We will then be more greatly informed and can feel more confident in the content we supply through the various channels.

Content was a key focus of the webinar, and the most crucial points where highlighted as being the following:

It Should be Useful
Address a Painpoint in your Target Market (A specific problem)
Speak your Target Markets Language
And it Should be Approachable; Accessible and Friendly!

I find it useful to draw a parallel with word of mouth communications, the value of which is potentially underestimated by all. Social Media Marketing is a way of harnessing word of mouth; a tool to utilise social interactions and influence the way your organisation is ultimately perceived.

Although some people may be sick of hearing about Social Media Marketing I think it is only the beginning of the phenomenon and that we are only touching the tip of the iceberg; we have so much more to learn and explore to fully utilise it as a marketing tool.

Tidy Up Your Social Media Identity

Those of us who have entered or are planning to enter the world of social media are unlikely to consider creating an identity on one single platform. Utilising multiple platforms and integrating them is now customary.

As with all marketing communications we need to ensure and remain focused on the identity of the company or brand and insure that messages support and remain consistent rather than conflicting each other.

Integrated marketing communications, IMC, is now a cornerstone concept in the world of marketing and one which companies strive to adhere to, some more successfully than others. The concept is one which should underpin and direct the way in which we manage our presence within and use of social media.

Here are a concise few tips that I came across on the Mashable website: www.mashable.com

Be Consistent

Your profile pages should remain as consistent as possible in design. Utilise the design and branding tools available.
Updates should also remain consistent, not necessarily verbatim but they should have a degree of uniformity about them with regard to the message content and tone.

Be Sure of Your Brand

Whether you are going to create a new brand online or further extend and promote your established brand/company identity the message needs to be strong, clear and consistent.

Optimise SEO with Social Media

Use inbound links from the various platforms to connect your profiles and content. Make sure that what you’re posting is what you want to be known for and will support the way you wish to be perceived. Again consistency will help you optimise SEO.

Use the Management Tools available

Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and Ping.fm are useful platforms that will reduce the time you spend managing your social media presence when you have established one across multiple sites.

Humanise

Social Media is about humanising your company and delivering direct messages from you to your target audience. Ensure that what you’re saying and delivering is honest and true to you.

Adapted from Zachary Sniederman, How to Clean Up Your Social Media Identity, www.mashable.com

Tips for SME Website Content

1. Pick one idea for an article and stick to it. Don’t meander onto other topics, save that content for additional articles.

2. Simplify as much as possible. Try to boil down content into its most simple form.

3. Avoid using jargon or theoretical terms. Remember that if people are bored then they will stop reading.

4. Provide ways for the reader to interact, either by replying directly or contributing to a public discussion.

5. Set a timetable for providing content and stick to it. Visitors to your website will then know what to expect from you.

Content from: The small Business Blog, Stefan Töpfer
www.sme-blog.com

Other tips for writing website content...
Use...

Shorter sentences, words and paragraphs

One idea per paragraph

Concise text - half the word count (or less) than writing for print
the inverted pyramid style, putting the most important point or the conclusion first

Simple words

Objective language to build credibility, rather than exaggerated claims or overly promotional words like "great", "tremendous" etc.

Bulleted lists

Highlighted text (bold or color, also hyperlinked text) for scannability

Meaningful headlines and subheads, avoiding cute or clever lines

To find out more visit:
http://www.entheosweb.com/content_writing/tips.asp

Digital Marketing isn’t just for the Big Players

Digital marketing offers huge potential for SMEs looking to increase their range and communicate with the audience who matters most to them. With the consumers now beginning to look beyond the recession, it is an ideal time for SME business owner to consider the options available to them.

There is such a great variety of online tools available that SMEs can choose the one suited to their needs to increase their impact on and within their chosen market.

It doesn’t have to be costly, which is a common misconception, but more about selecting the right campaign and tool, identifying clear objectives and deciphering how you can measure and acquire a true ROI.

Digital marketing is more accountable and measurable than its traditional counterpart and as a result, the return is more easily recognised. It is ideally used to complement existing marketing activities, supporting the strength of campaigns and fortifying a stance, position or message.

The key is to ensure that all activity is tailored to the company’s exact requirements: whether it’s a campaign based around key search terms on Google, an affiliate campaign promoting the business on relevant websites, or a campaign around a social network like Facebook.

Audiences can be more readily targeted with the use of digital marketing which is ideal for SMEs. They can reach out directly to interested consumers, in the long term reducing cost and improving efficiency of their marketing activities.

Digital marketing is also an ideal way for SMEs to create two way communications and interactions with their target market and existing customers. The humanisation of businesses has never been easier or of borne as much significance to the sales cycle and CRM.

The challenge for most SMEs looking to enter the world of digital marketing and utilise the available tools is where to start.

I would suggest with your website and from there it is up to the individual.
Google Adwords could be explored in order drive the optimum amount of traffic to your website.
The world of Social Media is continuously growing and SMEs would be hasty not to at least explore the many well established sites that now exist.

Digital media is rapidly becoming a vital element of the marketing communications mix.

With so much advice and support available SMEs should take advantage of what has been tried and tested by the bigger players in the market, delve into, test and find their place within the digital marketing revolution.