Social Media Marketing And The Valuable Doors It Can Open For You

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Saturday, 30 of June , 2007 at 11:13 am

Found an excellent article on social media marketing. You’ve got to read this. I’m not going to recount the whole article, but I do have a few useful comments.

A key concept to social marketing is that it is not designed to immediately provide business but instead it provides the visibility your brand needs to ultimately convert fans into buyers. I often get clients saying “I don’t think being on MySpace will sell anything”. The truth is that often they are correct. Having a commercial presence on MySpace that provides great content and interesting free tools (aka. widgets) serves to raise the awareness of your brand so that users remember your service for later and/or provides you with a podium to share the benefits of your brand. In short, it is important not to forget this essential concept: social media marketing drives brand awareness which later translates into sales.

How true. In social marketing it’s all about getting your name out there. It’s not about making sales. In pre-Internet days it was called “top of mind awareness.” Companies spent thousands of dollars - and still do - to put their names on billboards, run television ads, radio commercial spots, and huge magazine ads, not because they thought those particular media would bring them business but primarily because they understood that each time a potential customer saw their company name that it would “stick” in their mind and be readily available whenever the customer needed it. It’s all about planting seeds.

Imagine this: A customer is reading her favorite magazine and sees and ad for Zales jewelry. Later in the day she is at the doctor’s office and watching the TV in the waiting room. A Zales jewelry commercial comes on and she remembers the ad in the magazine. She’s not interested in jewelry at the moment, but she is a huge fan of lapis. On her way home from the doctor’s office she hears a radio commercial from Zales. Similar instances of this type of marketing reaches her over the course of the next several weeks. Finally, a handsome young man she has adored for years asks her out on a date. She needs a new necklace to impress her date on Friday and today is Thursday. Where does she go? As she is headed to the mall, the only place she knows exactly where to find a piece of jewelry, she passes by a Zales. Suddenly, she remembers all of those ads she has seen and heard over the last couple of weeks and nearly runs two cars off the road to get over and go inside. That’s top of mind awareness.

The same type of thing happens online. Every time your name appears somewhere people will notice. They may not be ready to buy right then, but when they are ready to buy the name they have seen the most will likely be the one they remember the most. That is the importance of social media marketing. The more you do it, the more likely you are to attract new customers.

Types Of Social Media Marketing Online

When it comes to social marketing, there are various media that you can use. They all serve a useful purpose and will result in varying degrees of success. Some may be appropriate for your business while others may not be so good. You’ll just have to explore the possibilities. Nevertheless, here are a few methods you can try:

• Social Networking Sites
• Business Networking Sites
• Social (Collaborative) Bookmarking Sites
• Content Voting Sites
• News Sharing Sites
• Collaborative Directories
• Video Sharing Sites, and
• Photo Sharing

I recommend all of these methods, but if one doesn’t work for you or fit your business then don’t waste your time on it. Photos sharing is a great way to get your name known if you are a photographer. On the other hand, if you’ve never taken a picture in your life and your business has nothing to do with this visual medium then don’t feel like you have to rush right out and start taking photos.

The Difference Between Social Networking And Business Networking

The difference between social networking and business networking is minimal. They achieve the same purposes for different types of businesses. Do you teach dance lessons? You might do well with social networking because dancing is a social activity. Once you meet enough people who share your enthusiasm for dancing and they learn that you are the world’s foremost authority on the can-can then when they want to learn how to can-can who do you think they will call? Just because you put up a profile on MySpace and Facebook, however, doesn’t mean you can’t also put profiles up at LinkedIn and Ryze. The more places you put your face and name up for people to see the more you increase your chances of being noticed.

Viral Video Marketing Is The Next Big Thing

I think video viral marketing is the next big thing. It’s already catching on with the popularity of YouTube and Google Video. It’s not hard to do, but any time of social media marketing can be time consuming. That’s why you might want to hire an expert to help you with your goals. If you think of video advertising as somewhat like TV advertising (only less expensive) then you can get a little bit of an idea of what viral video marketing is. You put your video out on the Web and promote it like you would your business. If done correctly, viral video marketing can be a powerful force in promoting your business and getting your name out all over the Internet. If you create one video that is entertaining and delivers a powerful message then your video can be distributed to millions of people worldwide, promoting your name and business with every new viewer.

I hope this helps give you a little overview of social media marketing and the possibilities. I recommend taking one half day out of your schedule each week to pursue a few social media marketing opportunities and maintaining your profiles wherever you build them. In time, your name can be known as an expert in your field.

Affordable Internet Marketing Services, including SEO, Pay Per Click, Blog Marketing & More! For More Info Call Expert Nick Stamoulis at: 877-295-0620.

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Category: Social & Viral Marketing

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