Over the last year, I’ve heard far too many great things about social media marketing (SMM) while working in the Denver Internet Marketing industry. We have listened to all the reasons why social media marketing (SMM) should be part of our integrated search engine market (SEM). Despite all the reasons why it should be an essential part of our integrated search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns, not many people have ever taken the time to ask the fundamental question: Why? Why integrate SMM in your igpanel com auto followers campaigns
The push to incorporate social media marketing in our igpanel video views efforts is growing as popular social networking sites such as MySpace, YouTube and Facebook continue to grow in popularity. We all know SMM can be a benefit to us. How exactly does it work? It can often seem more like a marketing gimmick than a real strategy, especially when clients tell us that they want social media marketing. Most people simply answer “Because our competition is doing it.” Others respond more blankety, saying “Because everybody else is doing it.”
This is a common phrase I hear from clients. I remember a saying my mother used to say to me as a child. Every time I wanted something because it was popular, my mother would ask me “Would it be possible to jump off a bridge if everyone else was doing the same thing?”
Even though I was quite troubled in elementary school, the truth was that it was not. Even though I wondered occasionally if jumping from a bridge would be fun I knew it wasn’t.
This was a lesson that stuck with me and I have since applied it to many situations in my life. It’s important not to follow the crowd and be complacent, but to remain above the influence of friends, school, and peer pressure. When integrating SMM into SEM campaigns, think again about the question that all online marketers must ask but often overlook: Why?
Let’s first define social media marketing (SMM). SMM is an amalgamation of the goals of Internet marketing and the capabilities of social media sites. It involves viral marketing that takes advantage of the large user communities and audiences of social media sites. SMM is about the creation and connection between users via content, regardless of whether it’s on MySpace or Flickr.
SMM can be used to create a network of connections, spread brand messages and increase visibility and awareness. It can also manage your company’s online reputation. These social media sites have millions of users and are grouped together into similar-interest communities. All you need to do now is find out where your target audience congregates online. What more can a marketer need? There is no other channel that allows companies to express their identity, services, value proposition, and location in such a targeted environment.
Social media marketing can be effective for many reasons, as we have seen. However, social media marketing is not for everyone. Before you even consider integrating SMM in any campaign, it is important to ask “Who are my target audience?” What do they want?
You may be considering a blog platform, joining, creating, or simply generating content. Your primary concern should be to identify the ultimate goal of your website or project, and how it relates to, appeals to, this audience. Take a look at the following:
1) Who are my users?
2) Why are they here?
3. What are they looking for?
This set of questions will help you to plan your SMM and content placement. You’ve created the foundation for a successful SMM campaign by positioning your content in front people who are interested.
However, before you start thinking about content placement, it’s important to find out which social media platforms your users use and then join them. This gives you a way to distribute your content, and also lets you know what content is most popular with these users.
The cardinal principle of social media marketing is to connect through content. How? It sounds simpler than it is, like many principles. These connections can come in many forms but the most valuable is a hyperlink. Links to your site from search engines improve its ranking and position. They are an essential part of search engine optimization (SEO). This strategy of link acquisition is called “linkbait”. Linkbait is a new way to acquire links. Gone are the days of trading and buying links. Linkbaiting, when done correctly, can yield dramatic results. It often gives you hundreds, or even thousands, of relevant and new links.
Similar to previous points, social media gives marketers an unique opportunity to build and foster trusting relationships and introduce prospects and customers to the company’s brand.
Your customers will be able to connect with you and your customers by carefully positioning your content on social media. This trend is gaining momentum thanks to social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us, which make it easier for customers to bookmark your site and return to it.
These conversations are initiated by users and allow them to share and ask questions. You have the opportunity to reply. You have the opportunity to connect with them and be there. Ask them to share their feelings with you and what they think is going well. Many people are discussing your company online, whether you realize it or not. Why not find out what the conversation is all about? Social media can be used to monitor your brand, image and keywords as well as competitors. This type of reputation management is especially possible with RSS feeds. You can make sure that the conversation is positive. If it isn’t, you have the option to use social media to try to make it positive through interaction.
This is the beauty of social media marketing. It connects customers and companies more than any other channel. It’s still a complex process, despite its many benefits. There is still a lot of overlap between social media sites and their functional offerings. No one has yet created a framework to work from. These sites often have multiple functions. Participating in social media is the best way to find out where your company should be placed. These sites are great for meeting people and allowing the conversation to flow.
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