Social Media Marketing
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more
According to Nielsen Online, social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular kinds of online activities. 67% of the world online population are now visiting them and the time they’re spending on them is growing by three times the overall growth rate of the internet. Social networks are now visited more often than personal email is read and some social networks have grown so much that they rival entire countries in terms of population—if Facebook, for example, was a country, it would be the fifth-most-populated in the world (right between Indonesia and Brazil).
Social media marketing campaigns can help you build your brand, draw in new customers, retain existing customers, foster search engine optimization, and generate a buzz that can sustain all of these.
There’s a variety of options of social media marketing campaigns. Some sites keep a very professional approach (like LinkedIn) while others have a more organic, free-form look. Most sites fall somewhere in between, allowing for some personalization (like Facebook and Twitter) while keeping a standard layout for all accounts. How can a social media marketing campaign benefit your business? Read on.
Brand Building
Social media marketing campaigns are an excellent way of connecting with customers to build your brand. Since users need to request to be connected, someone who does so already has some connection to your company. Social media can strengthen that connection through periodic communication, sales, promotions, contests, announcements, and product launches. It’s a great way to keep in touch with existing customers and generate new ones.
Generate New Customers
Content generated as part of a social media marketing campaign can be used to generate new customers through online sales and promotions. Offline promotions can send prospects to social media sites to connect and these sites can announce in-store promotions that can help generate sales.
Customer Retention
Social media marketing campaigns can be a great way to keep existing customers. Advertising and product labeling can promote your social media site. Customers can “friend” or “follow” you online to learn more, get discounts, read news—all the time strenthening your relationship with them. Plus, your content can be shared by your customers to drive new business.
Search Engine Optimization
It doesn’t matter how great your website is if no one can find it. That’s the importance of search engine optimization (SEO). SEO drives visitors and social media sites can drive SEO by creating a list of linked users interested in your company.
Generate a Buzz
At its best, social media marketing campaigns can become viral and generate a self-sustaining buzz about your product. YouTube can be particularly useful for this since popular videos can attract millions of visitors very quickly. Social media is a great way to introduce a new product to existing customers at minimal cost.