The question “what is social media marketing” is one that has been asked many times before and which will surely be asked many times again. And each time, the answer will always be a little different just because social media is continuously evolving and changing to fit into the current state of businesses and industries. If you want the simplest answer, it is simply Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and any other similar websites which enables groups of people to closely interact and to share different stories and ideas. Add in a business that wants to make just a bit of profit out of th
It’s a good way of getting feedback on your ideas.
Stuck on a decision and can’t seem to make yourself go one or the other? Rather than bouncing your ideas off a brick wall you can use your social media accounts in order to gather the opinion of the people who matter most: your customers. Not only will you be able to see if a certain idea will hit it off with the people, you would also be able to manage it in record time. Communication is key when it comes to social media marketing, and always remember that this is a two-way process.
Social media tip: Use social media to involve customers. Just be creative on how you do it.
80% of U.S. internet users are in reach of social media and blog sites.
When you take a look at all of the social media statistics just for the year 2012 alone, the results are surprising and impressive, to say the least. Just imagine how many people just in the U.S. are almost always within reach of a computer or a gadget in order to update their facebook statuses or post a tweet. Now try putting that many people in a line to buy something from a store and you’d find yourself faced with an impossible task. That is but a small taste at how far-reaching social media marketing could be.
Social media tip: Maximize your customer base by integrating different sites and accounts together. Use them cohesively instead of individually.
Selling is harder than you think.
Having taken a look at the statistics, the next point may be a bit harder to swallow because for all the possibilities and opportunities with social media marketing, only a really small handful of people really become customers in the end. While this may make it look as if social media is a big waste of time, it is not really true. You just have to know how to sell to your online audience just as much as you know how to sell online.
Social media tip: Check out why you can’t sell through social media and see what you can do to change it.
You can use it to build trust.
Building trust online is a hard and unforgiving task, but social media does provide a few tools in order to make it easier for you to do so. The bottom line here would be having a clear and open path between a seller and its customers because trust is only given when customers believe that you do not have anything to hide and have everything good to offer. Be transparent, be honest.
Social media tip: Check out how brands build trust through social media.
