SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: Marketing Considerations for Small Business
It’s clear that social media has grown dramatically during the last few years and that with more than 800 million active users, the quantity of Facebook users is easily a lot more than twice the size of the complete population of the United States!
Its growth has been astronomical and today, millions of people are posting more personal and business information online than ever before. It’s happening at lightning speed with thousands of posts, tweets and uploads occurring every hour.
Recent research conducted by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) commissioned by Sensis Pty Ltd (May 2011, p. 10) indicates, that “62% of Australian Internet users use a variety of social media marketing sites, with many visiting every day and most at least a few times a week.” It’s no real surprise that with the millions of prospective customers from across the world using these sites, every day, that so many businesses are determined to include social media marketing into their marketing mix. However it also important to get an understanding of how these sites are being used and what’s involved in maintaining or resourcing your business presence on these sites. Your online footprint can stick around for some time so don’t underestimate how this may affect the perception of your brand available in the market place. Spend some time upfront thinking about whether social media is right for your business.
1. Seek first to understand – It is crucial that you understand the basics of how is social media really works and how it’s being used. What exactly are people and businesses doing with social media marketing? What gets them results? Some of you may be thinking, how do you do this? Perhaps Lifestyle Enhancement could consider trying it out for yourself by setting up an individual account, then testing some of the features, or get a trusted friend showing you their account and show you through. Alternatively there are so many resources and ‘how to’ items online about social media marketing, you could run a explore Google or on YouTube on a specific topic of interest watching the video tutorials to obtain informed.
2. Understand your purpose – What is your purpose is for using social media? What do you hope to achieve for your business by using it? It’s really important that you identify your purpose so you can get involved in social media marketing (or any marketing activity for example). You need to workout why you are engaging. What do you be prepared to achieve? Do you simply desire to build brand awareness, engage with your visitors or identify new sales opportunities? Remember to be realistic about what you think you will be able to attain.
3. If you decide to engage in social media marketing, which sites are best for you? – With the plethora of social media marketing sites available, those are best for your business? Consider where your target audience would socialize online, and take into account the period of time and resources you would realistically be able to invest in maintaining and administering your site presence. Which ones are right for you? You might find that some are a better fit than others.
4. Quality Content – If you decide that social media marketing is right for the business, carefully consider the amount and quality of information you need to share in the web sphere. Remember it will probably stay there for a long time, so you must make sure it accurate and reliable information that is valuable to your target audience. It must be relevant, otherwise people won’t read it.