In the last decade, social media has transformed from being a passive observer to a dominant player in the marketing world. To put it into perspective, consider this story. In February 2013, the Twitter account of Burger King was hacked. During the period, the hackers posted tweets announcing that the company had been sold to fast food rivals, McDonald’s and substituted the Burger King logo for that of McDonalds.
Anyone would have expected that this would damage the reputation of the company, but it didn’t. Instead, the hack actually helped boost Burger King Sales. It became a trending topic in the Twittersphere and thousands of people were spurred to visit different Burger King restaurants all across the country.
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For the period of the hack, and several days after, Burger King became even more popular—so much so, that some people began to suggest that the hack might have been staged. It just goes to show how effective the social media world has become.
One of the benefits of the social media marketing is that there is no such thing as being too late or being ‘stuck’. It does not matter if your earlier efforts at social media have failed. You can transform your marketing campaign by adopting the right strategies.
A crucial first step is to decide on the type of marketing that you hope to achieve. This will affect the platform that you use. For instance, if you wish to advertise your business by posting pictures, then social media sites like Pinterest and Facebook will lead your marketing campaign.
On the other hand, social platforms like Spreaker and YouTube are perfect for audio or video podcasts. Twitter is great for short viral marketing and Digg is ideal for press releases. Regardless of which platform you choose, the following are some of the ways that you can improve your marketing.
It’s important that you integrate social media into your website and adding share buttons is a good way of achieving this. They give your visitors an easy way of sharing anything they like with their friends. To do this, you will need to have accounts with your preferred social platforms. Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are popular options because of the size of each network.
Do not wait for your customers to ‘like’ your business first before you start liking them. Being proactive increases your standing with your customers. It shows that you are more concerned with creating a warm relationship with your customers than you are with advertising and marketing. Of course, nine times out of ten, once you like your customers, they are likely to repeat the favour, and this will drive your visibility within social media circles—which was the point in the first place.
It is estimated that ninety percent of most businesses work rely on social media to some degree. But less than 20% actually experience positive results. That is because most businesses quit after only a few weeks of marketing. Do not be discouraged if you only have 100 followers after the first month. To succeed in social media marketing, you need to be committed for the long haul. It may take a week or a few months, but if you stick at it, the results will come.
This one is important. Social media marketing is not about you. It is about your customers. This is why you should spend less time talking about your business and more time listening to the views of your customer. If you had to work with a figure, the right balance would to spend 85% of your time listening to your customers, and 15% marketing your business.
Social media platforms are all about two-way communications. If all you do is posts pictures and status updates about your business, many people will lose interest in what you have to say. But if you are constantly listening and replying to their comments, you will win followers very quickly.
It is possible to manage a successful social media campaign without blogging, but owning a blog makes it a lot easier. That is because blogging offers many benefits that you cannot find anywhere else. It gives you an informal way of connecting with your consumers, and a reliable medium that you can use in establishing your ‘voice’.
Blogs are a great way of promoting your brand and building your relationship with customers. For blogs to work, you will need to ensure that you provide useful content that your visitors will appreciate and be willing to share with their friends. You can encourage blog sharing by adding ‘share’ buttons for your preferred social media platform at the end of each post.
Melissa Cameron is a freelance writer who lives in Austin, Texas. When she is not writing marketing articles, she can be caught surfing sites such as http://www.openwebsitetutorials.com, exercising or watching movies. She enjoys going on vacation with her lovely family, which includes a husband, a son, a daughter, and a dog.
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Great post! I really feel like how you put “Never Stop Listening” in your list. Many times in life we get so caught up with SEO and/or tracking our likes that we lose sight of the reason why we use social media in the first place. Sometimes you have to take a step back and realize why you are using social media- your customers.
on
That is interesting that any sort of media coverage, even negative can positively affect a company. It’s also a good point to bring up liking a business first. Inaction always leads to inaction!
on
This is excellent advice, especially tip #3 ” Stick with It”. Often times people dive into social media marketing expecting immediate results. Building up an audience and quality engagement takes time. Sometimes (often times) I have to remind myself magical social media gods aren’t going to build my audience overnight. I agree with you @fourmatic diligence and patience are important to remember.
on
Patience is virtue, much more when it comes to social media marketing. Results will be slow at first, but don’t get discouraged. Keep on blogging and updating your social media page. Potential clients and customers will admire you for it!
on
The stick with it part really hit home with me. I was/am getting really frustrated with how slow my twitter and Facebook follower/likes have been going. It’s good to keep things in perspective and not freak out when you’re not into the 10k likes within the first month. I really have to remember this but stay diligent and knowing if your patient it will happen.
on
I like number 4 the most: Never Stop Listening! In fact, by listening to your audience on facebook you don’t run out of ideas to grow your business by developing more products, writing new content, solving their problems quickly, etc.
Social media is the best tool an entrepreneur can use to make a strong connection with his audience and have everything at hand to keep growing his business.
on
I am trying to get into social media marketing and what the writer said is true. In some forms of marketing, it is important that you go and search for your potential customers and like them. Basically get them interested in you and your products.
on
As a stand up comedian in a country where stand up comedy isn’t very visible I find I have to rely a lot on social media to gain some exposure and hopefully increase ticket sales. This article really helped me, thanks 🙂
on
Very true. Social media marketing plays a big role in promoting a product. However, there’s one point in the article which puzzles me. The writer said to like the customers first. So far so good. Sound idea. In principle. The question is how to like the customer when you don’t even know who the customer is?
on
Awesome! This will really help me.
on
Great advice to anyone who is trying to market through the use of social media. It is hard enough with all the rules changes that seem to take place as to social media marketing best practices. When you have to deal with hackers as well, it can be difficult to keep up if you are not dedicated enough.