Tips to Understanding Social Media Marketing (SMM)

The number one thing you have to realize when investing your time and/or money into social media marketing is that it is not a money maker in and of itself. SMM is not direct marketing and the sooner you come terms with that the more successful you will be. Don’t sabotage your SMM efforts by turning your presence in social media into a sales pitch or commercial.

Social media marketing is all about forging relationships- connecting to your audience on a personal level. It’s a conversation that helps your audience get to know you and your company and for you to get to know your audience better.

Social media marketing is here to stay. Instead of being overwhelmed by the options, just start out small and continue to grow with it.

Why take the time and money to invest in SMM?

• Builds Trust
  Fostering relationships with your audience builds trust and helps them get to know and like you. People want to do business with people they know, like and trust.
• Viral by Nature
  If you are offering interesting, valuable or otherwise useful information through your social media networks, you can bet that your audience will share it with their friends, offering exponential results.
• Positive Word-of-Mouth
  Word-of-mouth is much more effective (and much cheaper) than traditional advertising. We are surrounded by word-of-mouth these days, whether it’s a post on facebook, a Tweet or a review on yelp.
• Negative Feedback
  It might be scary to realize negative word-of-mouth is shared just as freely as the positive, but that will happen regardless of your involvement in social media. Look on the bright side- if you are a part of the conversation, you can: a) Swiftly address the issue with the customer; b) Listen to your customers feedback to make your product/service better. Often times people just want to be heard and if you did mess up, consumers respect companies that can admit they made a mistake.
• Visibility, Brand Recognition and Buzz
  An effective SMM plan keeps you and your company in the forefront of your audience’s mind. When they’re in need of your services/products, you will surely come to mind.

Keep an eye out for our summer newsletters featuring a Social Media Marketing series offering tips on how to use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to benefit your business. Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here and filling out the contact form with "sign me up for your newsletter" in the comments section.