Social networking pays big dividends
New media offers increased opportunities
Syed Gilani
Everyone today seems to be addicted to social networking websites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Youtube etc. People wanting to stay in touch with family and friends are sharing more than enough information online, providing an opportunity for marketeers to promote a plethora of products and services to a screened set of targeted consumers.
This has given birth to social media marketing, which, according to Wikipedia is “engagement with online communities to generate exposure, opportunity and sales.”
The number one advantage of SMM is generating exposure for businesses, followed by increasing traffic and building new business partnerships.
Forrester Research predicts that SMM will grow from $455 million dollars to more than $3 billion by 2014. Due to its low cost-high impact nature, many small scale businesses are integrating these campaigns into their marketing mix. According to a recent study, more than 84 percent of small businesses reported better exposure using this medium with 81 percent indicating that SMM generated more business for them.
Benefits include:
More online conversation
You can generate more talk about your brand online with a successful social media marketing campaign. When your message works with your users, they will spread your message more effectively than traditional methods.
Quick turnaround
Hitting a front page of major social video, news and bookmark sites will send you huge amounts of traffic almost instantly. This doesn’t mean the traffic will equate to conversions, but it should generate momentum in the right direction.
Low cost
A comprehensive SMM strategy may provide a partial or full replacement of traditional approach at a fraction of the cost.
Impact on search engine rankings
SMM campaigns bring you large amounts of back-links that benefit your ranking in search engines.
Compatible with traditional marketing
No one says you have to approach and embrace SMM full on. SMM campaigns can be run along side traditional marketing and advertising.
The power of recommendation
Would you rather buy from a faceless company or from a company that people recommend? We know that influencers play an important role in the buying process and you can reach these people with SMM.
Sidestepping ad blindness
Traditional online advertising methods are seeing drops in the level of effectiveness. As ad blindness increases, SMM can send visitors to your website.
Syed Gilani is president of BIZVI, a Virgin Islands marketing, technology, training and research company.
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