Now that we have defined what Social Media is we can now move on, look at it from a marketing point of view and explore further Social Media within our e-marketing campaign.
To be clear, the definition of Social Media Marketing is as follow (source: Wikipedia):
“Social media marketing is an engagement with online communities to generate exposure, opportunity and sales. The number-one advantage is generating exposure for the business, followed by increasing traffic and building new business partnerships.”
The main tool of Social Media Marketing includes the use of many different types of Network platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Blog, Digg, Friend Connect ... and each types has its own specification, goals and usage.
Important note:
Social Media Marketing is different from Social Network Marketing. Many people are mixing and confusing the two, thinking that working on networking is Social Media Marketing, but it is not. As Charles Heflin (founder of Social Media Science) mention it in his post The Big Social Media Marketing Mistake is that “Most business owners are interested in the marketing benefits of using social media but become quickly confused because they are trying to build friends, create fan pages, set up Twitter accounts, set up LinkedIn profiles, etc...
Social media marketing and social media networking are two VERY different initiatives. If you try to do one inside the other you are bound for disaster. Much like mixing baking soda and vinegar together with explosive results.
Most people have it wrong. They network with people in an attempt to build their business (prospecting)… This is the most inefficient way to use social media and a great waste of time and energy. Not to mention it is hard to track results… It’s not completely measurable!”
Social Media Marketing is not about chatting on line, not having 10 000 followers on Twitter, Social Media marketing is all about brands or blogs being exposed and noticed. Blogs that will create a Marketing Buzz”. As Lloyd Salmons, first chairman of the Internet Advertising Bureau social media council, says "Social media isn't just about big networks like Facebook and MySpace, it's about brands having conversations."
As a result when using Social Media Marketing you will focus on 2 fronts:
- Create good and relevant content for your blog.
- Syndicate your content via Social Network
Social network will be used as a tool to expose your content to your audience.
Keep in mind that Social Media Marketing is still a fairly new concept and a new way of developing and promoting your blog. Some think that because you have a great number of followers you will succeed, I think that if you focus on quality, expose your blog to the Social Buzz, get noticed it is the best way to build a long lasting success.
In the long run you will have 1,000 and 1,000 of followers, but these people will follow you for what you write, what you give them, for your knowledge, expertise and leadership. They will be there because they chose to, not because of an automation process!...
Next: The 5 Elements to your Social Media Marketing Strategy
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Related Reading:
Social Media Science: The revelation Report
Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing
