Posts Tagged ‘internet marketing’

Unlike any other source, Social Media sites have given organizations the opportunity to create their online image and in turn, build their brand image.  Social Media Marketing lends organizations the skills to develop relationships with clients, insight into the company, and global exposure to the essence of what their company is.

Why is this beneficial to a business? It is beneficial because it gives organizations the tools and resources to build the image of what they see their company as of today, and what they see their company as in the future.

Several tools used within Social Media that will help a company build their image include:

• The physical image of a companies brand like logos, pictures, and videos are tools used several times a day on social media sites to help build a companies image.  Unlike a website which is usually static everyday, Social Media sites such as twitter and facebook are updated several times a day driving a company image into the minds of their audience.

• Brand image can also be developed through words.  Status updates, blogs and tweets to name a few are ways a company can develop their brand image. Through stories and descriptions their audience will have a grand picture of what their product is and how it  benefits them.

• Communication will also help develop a company’s brand image.  The unique benefit of Social Media compared to other internet marketing tools is that it directly speaks to the audience and encourages feedback.  Through this feed back an organization can measure if their brand image is being conveyed correctly and what type of steps can be taken to ensure a strong brand image.

The combination of images, words and communication that Social Media Marketing has to offer is genius, it gives all the right ingredients an organization needs to build and maintain their online image.  Used correctly, Social Media can ensure a company’s brand image goals will be successful goals.

My, my, my… how the term social media marketing has grown in the past year! A year ago many people on the continent didn’t really know what social media was much less how to use it for business related purposes.

Now-a-days it seems like everyone is the expert.  Internet Marketing guru’s are popping up everywhere. The most recent trend I can compare this to is the SEO craze that happened a few years ago. Boy did a lot of people jump on that bandwagon. Now even those companies are claiming they have the “hidden” secrets to social media marketing.

And with the hidden secret means more money in their pocket. The same strategy that works for SEO and link building, doesn’t exactly apply to the social media world. They are two separate worlds that work best when integrated into an overall strategy. Just because a person understands Google’s algorithms, does NOT mean they understand how to communicate a company’s message through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The largest, hidden secret of all time in social media is the communication part. Yes, there are strategies that work and yes, there are certain things to avoid and even yes, there is an element of optimization that goes into SMM; however what really makes social media successful is being able to spend valuable time communicating with your audience. That is what all these ’social media experts’ are claiming to show you how to do for big bucks!

Everyone is trying to make money while the buzz around social media is hot, but the fact of the matter is social media isn’t going anywhere. Time will only tell who the real experts are in the social media world and who was just kicking around dust.

What to look for in a Social Media Marketing Company:

1. First and foremost, do they know social media? Do they know what techniques work well and which ones to stay away from?
2. Do they have a proven track record?
3. How long have they been a ’social media expert’? Just for the past year or have they used it successfully since its origination?
4. Do they know how to communicate via the internet with a targeted audience?
5. Most important of all, ask what the measurements of social media are. If they can’t answer that in detail, they don’t deserve your money or time.

Don’t get caught up in the social media craze and bite at the first person who calls themselves an expert. Interview them and ask them detailed questions to find out if they really know what they are talking about, or if they are just blowing smoke.