Social Media Marketing is the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites.
Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it across their social networks. The resulting electronic word of mouth (eWoM) refers to any statement consumers share via the Internet (e....
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A Joint venture of National Skill India Mission and The Career Development centre of Visvesvaraya Technological University ,Government of karnataka launched the Social Media sector in the month of December 2015. Nsim put forth a multi -pronged strategy to equip people with Social Media Skills sets to meet the challenging demands of the Industry. Being a major resource provider , India occupies a prominent position in the global human resource map for nearly a century . National skill India Mission is in a journey of developing a pool of skilled and industry ready people for the growing demands in the Social Media Sector. When all the players in the Business or service ramping up their operations through websites ,Socialmedia expert is inevitable in all entrepreneurships . This Nsim- VTU joint venture is envisaged as the launching pad to transform Indian youths in to a major human resource for the world in the Social Media Sector .
You get to see your target market, up close and personal. Part of what makes marketing with Facebook and Twitter so cool is the interaction you get to have with your customer base – you can read their tweets and status updates to get insights into their daily lives (and maybe adjust your marketing strategy as a result).
You can respond to problems immediately. If there’s a problem with your product or service, you want to know about it immediately. With the feedback you get in the process of social media marketing, you’ll be the first to know when there are issues – and you can take steps to resolve them right away. Study after study has shown that consumers appreciate companies that respond to customer complaints (and don’t hesitate to rant online to anyone who will listen when companies don’t take the time to make things right).
Your competition is Tweeting and Facebooking like crazy. The early bird gets the worm, and the sooner you start up Facebook and Twitter pages, the sooner you can start amassing a ton of fans and followers. This isn’t something you want to fall behind the competition on, because it’s much harder (and more expensive) to play catch up than it is to get in on the game early. Truth be told, your competition is probably already marketing with Facebook, and maybe even Twitter and LinkedIn, too.
People are receptive to your messages. People view Twitter and Facebook as social networks, not marketing machines. As a result, they’re less likely to see what you post as an advertisement and will be more likely to hear what you have to say.
It will get you more sales. Not surprisingly, when you stay in front of your customer base, they’re more likely to buy from you when they need the products you sell. Social media marketing doesn’t just keep your company’s name in front of potential buyers, but it also gives you the opportunity to constantly give them incentives to buy. Try Tweeting or posting coupon codes, good only to those who are your Facebook fans or Twitter followers (around The Content Factory, we call them “Tweeps”). You’ll be surprised at how many people make purchases using the code!
You will find customers you didn’t know existed. If you follow specific keywords in Twitter, you can find people who are looking for the products you sell (and then direct them to your site). Using Twitter for marketing is great that way – telling people who want your products how to get them from your company is just an @ sign away.
Customers you didn’t know existed will find (and buy from) you. In the process of marketing
with Facebook, you’ll probably join a ton of groups related to your products, industry and customer base. By posting links in these groups, you’ll help influence customers to check out your site. Post a link today, and two weeks later you might see a sale from it.
It’s free. How can you argue with that? If you handle your own social media management, running a social networking campaign is as cheap as it gets. If you hire a social media management or online PR agency, it will cost around $3,000-$7,000 per month, but it’ll be an investment that you’ll be likely to see a return on. If you’re intimidated by interacting with people online or your writing skills leave something to be desired, hiring an online PR agency is definitely the way to go. Posting poorly written content or conveying the wrong kind of messages on social networking sites can seriously affect your digital PR presence.
The social media marketing arena is a (fairly) level playing field.Unlike the brick and mortar world where you need to have millions of dollars to run traditional ad campaigns, all companies start off on pretty equal footing when it comes to social media marketing. The people who thrive and go viral in cyberspace are the people with the most clever, attention grabbing tactics and the most useful, link worthy content. If you want to get lots of traffic and really increase your sales online, you’re going to have to outwit, outnetwork and outwrite your competition while offering superior products and customer service. Isn’t that what business is all about, anyway?
Simply put, social mediaMARKETING is part of doing business in the new millennium. Marketing with Facebook has been hot for quite a while now, but recently more and more companies have been using Twitter for marketing. If your business isn’t already active on social networking sites, now is the time to start. Who knows, you could be missing out on sales opportunities right now.
Increase your online exposure and look legit
Your digital storefront isn’t limited to just your website. Your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all represent your company in the eyes Internet browsers and buyers. In fact, some may even say that your business’ Google results (relevant, irrelevant, positive and negative) all constitute parts of your digital storefront.
People expect businesses to have Facebook and Twitter accounts, and they expect to be able to use them to get in touch with company representatives, if necessary. If you don't have social networking profiles set up for your company, you look less legitimate. Ditto if your website looks like it was ripped off of somebody's GeoCities page circa 1998.
Social mediaMARKETING is a must-have for businesses, but it’s also just the tip of the iceberg. Having website content that drives sales, a solid SEO strategy and products that consumers actually want to buy are all important pieces of the web PR puzzle, too.
As if you needed another reason to use social media for business
At the very least, social media marketing will help drive traffic to your site and increase brand awareness. That’s a huge part of web PR in and of itself, and is an outcome anyone would be happy with. Have questions about how to get started? Contact us, and we'll help get you started on the right path.
Over the last few weeks, the skill set of social media specialists have been a hot topic.
There is so much debate about it is because there are so many different types of people, of widely varying experience, who can occupy positions with a social media remit.
On the back of these discussions, and to help organize our thoughts on the subject, We figured it might be useful to try and classify the different types of social media consultants as well as the pros and cons of each.
It is difficult to categorize these types without making some generalizations that may not capture the more diverse skills of some of the especially talented and experienced people out there. So, please take with a pinch of salt and help evolve and add to the categories via the comments section at the end.
1. Social media specialist with aCOMMUNICATIONS background
This type of consultant typically has aCOMMUNICATIONS degree and has spent a bit of time in a PR-style function.
Usually, the communications-shaped social media consultant has adapted quickly to the explosion of social media and has improved his or her knowledge/skill set in the area of online self-publishing and the creative use of digital assets.
Pros: A communications background helps these consultants provide advice about the potential pitfalls of over-zealous social media activity and are well equipped to construct strategies that enable sustainable long-term relationships with online participants/influencers.
Cons: Not a specialist in things like media buying, search engine optimization (SEO), digital design, and utility development. This may limit the person’s view of what is possible.
2. Social media specialist with a digital background
This type of consultant has the ability to see what can be built to capture the attention of online participants and often focuses strongly on campaigns.
Pros: Understanding technology and digital trends can lead to the creation of solutions and platforms that can change the way a organization interacts with its stakeholders.
Cons: The production focus can sometimes lead to a shortfall in understanding how to get people to engage beyond a bells-and-whistles solution.
3. Social media specialist with a SEO background
This type of consultant can look at social media from a very specific entry point, especially in relation to the visibility that can be created by well-resourced social media activity.
Pros: Understanding search habits and how to optimize content for visibility and interaction means online reputation management can be activated on a large scale. It can also lead to the development of solutions that consultants from other disciplines may not consider, such as using a pay-per-click campaign to reach online participants who may be vocal in the social space.
Cons: Content created by SEO experts can sometimes be developed with a quality first, quantity second mentality to tick the ever-changing Google algorithm boxes. They may also not focus on developing genuine relationships with influencers as the focus can be weighted towards reaching them en mass.
4. Social media specialist with an advertising background
The social media specialist with an advertising background can often develop the most creative and buzz-worthy solutions.
Pros: The big budgets often find their way into advertising teams first, so creating big campaigns with social value should be a cornerstone of this type of specialist.
Cons: The campaign focus can often mean the important post-campaign phase isn't considered. Additionally, the focus on creating big explosions may alienate the people who the campaign relies on because they haven't been considered until they are required.
5. Social media specialist with a direct selling background
Directsellers have a lot of experience in communicating directly with people as opposed to going via third parties. They also understand the importance of encouraging and facilitating loyalty.
Pros: Probably very solid at interpreting data and developing incentive-based activity to build audiences and communities.
Cons: Potentially not equipped to generate content strategies that rely on participation as opposed to one-way delivery.
6. The native social media specialists
This person is likely to be a little younger and may have studied something more traditional, but got their first job in a social media style role.
Pros: Social media is second nature and online participation habits can lead to socially shaped solutions.
Cons: Experience may be an issue, especially in dealing with challenges that derive from crisis management scenarios.
7. The integrated social media specialist
This person is not only rare, but also in very high demand.
While her or her career may have started in one of the places listed above, this social media specialist has spent a lot of time working across each of the disciplines to be able to provide the most complete advice possible.
Quite possibly, this person might be someone who has worked in the online communications space for a number of years and has evolved as the online space has evolved.
Pros: Self explanatory, but more than anything a person with this skill set can help organizations become more social as opposed to just helping them “do” social well.
Cons: Not many, but may find it difficult to stay on top of the nuances associated with every platform because he or she is doing the actual work on those sites.
The companies who dominate with social media are those who also dominate their markets, have the most brand loyalty and customer lifetime value. Get as much experience as you can managing social media and you can get a nice position, but be prepared for anything. In another answer Nsim wrote about anti-brand communities on social media,Nsim stressed the important of having an emergency plan in place for negativity - the way every building should have an emergency evacuation plan.Nsim do recommend reading that answer because, if you're serious about a career in social media management, it means a lot more than posting pictures of cats and bacon to keep people entertained. You also have to deal with irate customers with legitimate and bogus complaints alike, and as the saying goes, it's "10% about what happens to you, 90% about how you deal with it." What matters more than what people post (negative reviews, positive reviews, questions, comments, etc.) is how you represent the company in your response. You strategy - and yes, it's a full-blown strategy - determines whether you're in alignment with that company's branding, values and corporate identity.
Check out Social Media Manager Salary - a site on which you can determine exactly what your skills are worth based on your location, level of experience and other variables, and you can even look for job opportunities. Just don't take it lightly; a social community manager today is no different than a publicity manager. What matters far more than one person's post or complaint is the hundreds if not thousands of other people who see it and await your reply to see if you'll do the right thing. And what is the right thing? Watch this recorded webinar from Dave Kerpen - How To Turn Negativity On Search and Social Into Success. He masterfully gives options of how one can handle both the positive and negative in social media management, defines which options are the best and worst, and most importantly why. Finally, check out Camille Forte's answer to What's the difference between social media and social commerce?
Nsim have a lot of resources and information that can help you jump-start your pursuit of a social media management career. Good luck, and take in as much information as you can to increase your value and efficacy!!