If we have to talk about a very authoritative and dominant method for marketing and revenue generation, it is undoubtedly the social media.
In order to catch up potential clients, undoubtedly social media has been gaining huge acceptance.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is a kind of internet based or we can say online marketing promotional platform for creating an immense success for branding your products and generating business.
Presently, millions of people are using different social media platforms every day. This helps in making showcase your products to the account holders.
Significantly, these numbers are multiplying manifold. Another advantage with these networks is that promotion is reachable to visitors based locally, region or state wise, within the country or even all over the world.
Conventionally available media provides very brief information due to short time slots. However, on social media every detail of the product or services description is provided. Also, the commercials which subsequently helps in taking decisions.
Further, reviews and comments by others are also contributing factors for concluding the conversion. Similarly, there are many buyers who are influenced by referrals from their friends or known circle. In fact, this leads to multi-tier marketing indirectly.
Benefits of Social Media Marketing
Social Media confer boundless opportunities for professionals, self-employed and business houses to showcase their products and services.
Social media provide a significant media for a seller in getting connected with their prospective buyers. Additionally, this is such a fantastic system of making interaction possible between seller and buyer.
On the other side, being on social media, things will not happen by own, a proper strategy, clear cut goals and grasping the needs of buyers can make it possible. Additionally, gaining customers give a push in inculcating confidence and create a long-lasting association and brand intimacy.
Types of Social Media Marketing
The two types of social media marketing are:
A. Organic social media marketing
In this type, posts, updates or any other content published on your social media pages is unpaid or unsponsored. However, there are certain free tools available at every social media platform. Accordingly, making use of free tools allows you to set up your social groups and interactions.
Further, sharing posts, blogs at your web site and replying to reviews and comments enhance developing continued engrossment among users.
Organic contents can be posted on all social media networks in different forms which include:
1. Posts using hashtags
2. Texts
3. Videos
4. Images
5. Linked Posts
6. Events
Organic social media posts can be useful in
1. Increasing traffic on web sites
2. Sharing your blogs
3. Sharing your other write ups
4. Sharing specific information
5. New product launching details
6. Endorsing available products
B. Paid Social Media Marketing
Paid social media marketing is when you incur the cost or sponsor the contents. Likewise same contents of organic postings can be used by making payments in order to increase the reach to the prospective customers.
Through the paid advertising and marketing, it becomes convenient for the marketer to catch up with the bigger number of followers as paid social straightaway displays your content material.
By and large, the probability of exhibiting the interest by the prospective clients gets better. Also, the social media trigger the influence or target particular customers demographically and also based on the gender and age. Paid social media is very useful in maximizing the visibility.
Paid Social Media Marketing can be:
Text ads
Video ads
Image ads
Sponsored posts
In fact, it is very important to keep the audience engaged; you can also get back to the users falling in following categories:
1. Reciprocated to interactions on your social media page
2. Became a subscriber to your emails or news feed
3. Product added to the cart but did not go ahead to buy
4. Has visited your website previously
5. Has given comments on posts
Social Media Marketing Approach
It is significantly required to draw an action plan and constructive approach much ahead of leaping into the process of attracting and connecting potential customers.
Further, find out what kind of content formats will be useful and workable, choose from text, graphics, videos or images. Some of the points to keep in the mind:
Additionally, produce mixed media-based contents. As per the need, decide which format will be more contributing, video or a catchy image can be better than script.
Simultaneously, create campaigns and contests. As a matter of fact, people find this very interesting as they look for rewards and the activity certainly gives addition in customer base.
Conducting online surveys or polls are necessary to understand the nature of customers which helps you to design your listing. Moreover, by maintaining the posting schedule, continuity is observed, and viewers are engaged appropriately as they anticipate and look out for your posts.
Additionally, quick replies to comments give a lot of confidence to customers which further helps in getting associated on long term basis. Making use of Virtual Private Network helps in tracking the competition activities, assessing rankings in search engine.
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9 Important Social Media Marketing Platforms:
1. Facebook
Facebook is one of the top social media and extensively used platforms. For entrepreneurs this is very useful for placing advertisements,
content marketing and digital media marketing.
Facebook offer business page which is mandatory for professional use. Further, reviews on Facebook are very helpful in improving the contents.
2. Instagram
Instagram is fast growing social media platform for advertising through photos, images and small videos. Brand building is prime aspect of Instagram.
Most important, bulky written content and posts with links does not work. Hashtag # is very prominent mode for reaching out masses. Publishing sponsored post makes a great impact. B2B and B2C marketing operations work very well on this platform.
3. Twitter
Twitter has gained popularity manifold in the recent past. This has a very wide usage for getting live updates on sports, news and entertainment.
It is character limit post platform as used for real time information. Advertisements on Twitter can be placed in the form of promotional tweets and on paid basis. Attractive business statement with hashtag # gets prominent effect.
4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is truly a social media platform which has a large presence from entrepreneurs and professionals. It is highly recommended for connecting B2B prospects and working professionals. simultaneously, advertisements and drive for lead generations can be done here.
Here, videos, images and texts can be posted. For job recruitment purpose, this is the best social media platform. This provides in depth details of companies and business.
5. Pinterest
If you happen to be the owner of e-commerce functionality, then you must be present on pinterest. Furthermore, this platform allows uploading product photos with brief information on the product and also can be linked to product page.
Interesting fact about pinterest is that it attracts more of women for buying their merchandise. Availability of new brands, new products are always welcomed by pinners.
6. Snapchat
If you are dealing with products which interests teenagers and youth, then snapchat is right social media platform for you. Short and sweet ads work well on this platform.
Youngsters prefer and appreciate meaningful photos and videos than skillfully designed advertisements. Moreover, time slot for post at snapchat is one day only, hence for product launch or a time-based program snapchat is ideal platform.
7. YouTube
YouTube has a viewership by countless people and countless time periods. Undoubtedly, a fantastic platform for promoting your caliber with highly accepted audiovisual mode. Above all, business and products can actually be demonstrated for better understanding.
If you are a coach, then uploading tutorials can give your business for courses. Anything to everything can be promoted on YouTube. Influencers on YouTube create content and talk about your product goes out as a convincing promotion aid for followers.
8. Whats App
Whats app is another new member in the group of social media platforms for development of business. It has made its way in the
field at high level. It accepts all type of media like image, videos and text.
Creating awareness about business via any of these modes is effective. Whats app has a facility to form groups. Secondly, all the members in the group have access to view the posts. Further, these posts are forwarded to others as referral.
9. Google+
Google plus is very useful in promoting business. Users can create their profiles and that can be visible to public. Further, they have the facility to upload the information in the form of location, area of interest, relevant photos and some other brief details.
Besides, location feature allows searches near me method to make your business reachable. By joining private or public groups with similar portfolios, you can gather latest developments and statistics. Google+ has facility foe video conferencing also.
Conclusion
If used properly as per niche and as per target audience, social media marketing is boon for making business digitally successful. In general, all platforms are convenient to use but with their terms and conditions and policies.
