What is Social Media Marketing (SMM) and how to use it
What is Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing – is a group of marketing activities that are aimed at generating website traffic using social media, i.e. popular websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube and Instagram or company blog.
In other words, it is nothing but the various well thought-out activities of the company, which aim is to build and maintain a positive brand image.
Often the concept of social media marketing is associated with running a Facebook profile. However, this is a very brief thinking. Social media marketing is conducting activities in social media that spoil the profile of the company.
Depending on what the company does, various platforms are recommended. It is hard to believe that a company would be able to support all the most popular platforms. It’s temporarily very difficult, unless you delegate this work to a marketing agency, for example.
By actively managing your company’s social profiles, it’s easier to find new customers and reach them with your ad. Social media will be used to redirect users to the company website, product subpages or blog. It is also an ideal place to COMMUNICATE with a permanent group of recipients and build relationships between the brand and the client.
Communication in social media
By communication, I mean real dialogue. Why Im writing about this? It is common on the profiles of large companies that a large marketing departments, completely not responding to comments from potential customers. Again social media its mean dialog, not monolog!
What are social media in marketing?
Generally, social media is considered to be websites and applications for mobile devices that allow the creation and exchange of content between individual users of a given portal or application. The interaction that occurs between users is usually unlimited and takes place in real time. In most services of this type, to create a private account you must be at least 13 years old (in practice it is different, because you can find accounts for younger people). However, most people are of legal age and this fact is used by companies – after all, they are potential customers. Reaching them takes a few moments and can have even spectacular effects.
Social media – which platform to choose
When choosing a social platform for a specific advertising campaign, first of all you need to ask yourself which of them is the best chance to reach the largest number of YOUR potential customers. The cross-section of users of a given website is also key, which should largely coincide with the planned target of activities. Insight into the demographic cross-section of social media users can help a lot.
Social media – blogging
Social marketing also includes the blogs – both actively conducting this form of communication and contacts with opinion leaders in the blogosphere. When discussing the first case, it must be said that company blog is a standard in modern times. It does not necessarily have to have a traditional form of text interspersed with photos – a great idea to reduce the distance between the customer and the brand (as mentioned earlier) is to run a blog in the form of video clips, e.g. on YouTube. People are happy to watch the “human face” of the company, getting to know its employees, the way they work, their passions and opinions. The blog should become a channel for providing longer and more detailed information that does not fit in standard short forms, dominating on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus. So you can treat blogging as complementary messages – e.g. full ad versions or extended product descriptions.
What are the pros and cons of social media marketing?
The main advantages of marketing in social media are primarily:
- direct contact with client;
- large range of information;
- acquiring new customers;
- a large group of potential recipients;
- speed of spreading information;
- the ability to build customer relationships.
The disadvantages of social media marketing include:
- the possibility of a crisis situation;
- high information noise;
- no control over the information provided;
- social media marketing activities take a lot of time.
Interestingly, most people who are asked about the disadvantages of social media are unable to point them out. And without seeing any danger, it’s easy to make mistakes.
Social media – summary
The development of social media has given advertisers unprecedented opportunities to reach consumers, as well as to mobilize them and shape brand ties. These enormous benefits have been offset by the dangers of not-so-attentive marketers – in social media, companies indulge in public judgment.
Many companies decide to conduct content marketing on social media on their own. They publish texts, posts, articles, photos. Sometimes they borrow graphics and content from other places or are inspired by competing companies. In social media, it is so that users respond to certain content, comment on it, share it, and others scroll forward. There are also some moves that completely do not support the brand image. An effective social media audit will show strong elements and those that are worth changing to strengthen the company’s message.
Presence on Facebook, Twitter and other communication platforms is a must for every brand, so it’s worth including comprehensive tactics in using your marketing plan.
