What is Social Media Marketing?
Pretty much every business’s number one goal is to get more/new customers...right?
Right.
In marketing, there are tons of ways to do that. For example, you can take advantage of some of the tried and true methods, like mailed postcards, billboards, and TV ads. Or you can try something a little newer, unique and more hip - like social media marketing!
What is Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is the act of using existing social media platforms to reach new customers and communicate with existing ones. Generally speaking, the goal of social media marketing is to drive website and traffic and convert that traffic into more leads. It’s an interesting mix of content, display, and video marketing with a little bit of customer service thrown in.
Social Media Platform Summaries
Social media is constantly changing. Remember Myspace and Google+? Myspace was wildly popular but lost a lot of its users when Facebook appeared. Google+, on the other hand, never really caught on and is widely regarded as what us internet people call an ‘epic fail’.
The point is that the platforms that are around right now surely won’t be around forever. But for the time being, what follows is a brief summary for each of the social media platforms that are currently popular.
Facebook pretty much does everything. You can place ads, initiate sales, provide customer service through chat, and share media and content.
- Facebook is best for sharing pictures/blogs, advertising/tracking events, and running contests.
- The types of companies that use Facebook include B2B and B2C companies. It doesn’t matter if you’re a huge corporation or a mom and pop business with one location; pretty much any business can benefit from having a facebook page.
Twitter is a place to get a little more chatty. It’s ideal for companies who are looking to connect with their customers in a more fun, casual environment.
- Twitter is best for sharing pictures and GIFs, as well as for starting discussions. Retweets and hashtags are Twitter’s bread and butter.
- The types of companies that use Twitter are often those with tangible products they can share pictures of. Twitter is also a good fit for those who need to get information out quickly and succinctly, like news outlets and law enforcement agencies.
YouTube is the world’s largest online video sharing platform. It’s also owned by Google, which means you can serve advertisements on YouTube via Google Ads.
- YouTube is best for sharing videos.
- The types of companies that use YouTube are often both B2B and B2C companies wanting to do things like share detailed product info, provide instructions/lessons, or conduct Q/A sessions.
Instagram is entirely visual, i.e. there are no text-only posts. It’s a fantastic place for subtle (or not-so-subtle) product placement.
- Instagram is best for sharing pictures and getting more attention via hashtags.
- The types of companies that use Instagram are companies with products that speak for themselves. Since Instagram posts often don’t include a lot of text, users need to be able to understand the purpose of a post only from the context of a picture or video.
LinkedIn is heavily focused on education and networking between professionals and companies.
- LinkedIn is best for sharing articles and blogs that feature professional news/topics. LinkedIn is more about content than it is about photos or videos.
- The types of companies that use LinkedIn are typically B2B companies who are trying to connect with other businesses or individuals in their industry. It’s also a resource for those looking to find jobs on LinkedIn.
Pinterest is a pretty unique social media platform that appeals to a wide variety of people.
- Pinterest is best for sharing things like how-tos, recipes, crafts, DIY projects. Most of these things are accompanied by images, with little text present.
- The types of companies that use Pinterest are those trying to reach the kind of consumer that does crafts, cooks, is into woodworking, etc.. Craft stores and food magazines are two good examples of companies that might do well on Pinterest.
SnapChat is also a very unique entity. It allows users to post pictures and clips of videos for a very short period of time. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
- SnapChat is best for sharing product pictures or very short videos. It can also be used to serve ads.
- The types of companies that use SnapChat are mostly those that sell products or services that appeal to a younger audience, since most of SnapChat’s users are under 25.
Benefits of Social Media for Business
No matter what industry your in, chances are you can find at least one social media platform that will work for you. And why shouldn’t you? They are, on the whole, extremely cost-effective options for marketing and reaching new customers.
Aside from their economical advantages, there are several other benefits of using social media for marketing. For instance, you can use it to:
- Start conversations/discussions
- Develop relationships with customers
- Heighten brand awareness
- Strengthen brand voice
- Highlight new products and services
- Serve ads
- Drive website traffic
- Share content marketing efforts
- Promote and manage events
- Provide customer service
Why Businesses Should Do Social Media Marketing
No marketing solution is perfect, and social media is no different. It’s not a catch all and it’s not a solution that will magically get you out of the red; but that doesn’t mean it’s not beneficial.
Even if social media marketing doesn’t help you increase sales, it will help you increase awareness. Customers like to know that you’re involved in the community and, nowadays, online community involvement is as important as anything else.
Maybe your team has little experience with social media marketing. Or, maybe you have experience but you are on so many platforms it’s hard to keep track of things. In either case, BlueTone Media can not only help with social media management, we’ll also track our efforts and provide the insights and data needed to determine the value of social media marketing. Let’s talk about how to ‘share’ your company with the world.
