Social Marketing: when does it work well?
Social Marketing is an indispensable business tool both for companies whose business involves the web and for more traditional firms wishing to become known to a wider audience. In order for it to be efficient, entrepreneurs should be aware of the fact that an experimental approach will not be sufficient go successfully deal with the online environment.
Unfortunately, many company owners (and freelances) use traditional parameters when assessing the results of their ventures into the world of social networks. This approach tends to lead to an insufficient provision of management training, something which needs to be set up as soon as the company embarks on the use of new media. Another aspect which should not be overlooked regards the allocation of an adequate budget for advertising campaigns, which should not be viewed as a one-off option.
In order for a company or individual’s presence on social networks to be efficient and helpful to business, it is important to test strategies over the longer term. If you are expecting to obtain concrete results within the first 3 months, you should think again. Such a short period of time is only sufficient to try out strategies and decide for example what image works best.
It is clear that in order to maintain a presence on social networks which is useful to business, it is fundamental to use a consistent professional approach. That is to say, investing in advertising and staff training is absolutely essential. Social Marketing therefore requires a re-think of company philosophy.
Social Media Marketing: how to use it intelligently
It is important to avoid falling into the trap of thinking that nothing will change. Regardless of the sector, the market is subject to strong competition. Thanks to the option to purchase products or services online, if the client is not satisfied, they can change supplier in a matter of minutes. The web has no limits, which is why it is no longer viable to rely on clients located near your company premises.
In the space of a few years, many barriers have fallen and currently, anyone running a business must reckon with competition not only from larger companies, but also from those smaller companies which have a blog on an official website or an e-commerce business in a marketplace. In order to deal with all this while maintaining your market share, it is advisable to keep in mind that nowadays, markets are conversations. Users no longer buy from companies, but from people that they interact with on a daily basis to discuss the distinguishing features of their business.
To put this into practice, a new organisational model is required and it is essential to remember that you only have a few seconds available to convince potential clients to choose your business.
Basic technical aspects
Another crucial point to consider for efficient Social Marketing involves images, which play an increasingly important role at the heart of the user experience. When planning your company or business’s presence on social networks, it is essential to check that the images you want to use are not subject to copyright.
The sharing of images taken at random from the web can in fact be dangerous and lead to financial penalties and damage to the company’s image. For this reason, it is worth noting the numerous sites offering royalty free photos, which can be used (including for commercial purposes) with no requirement to pay for the rights.
The same principal also applies to video and audio clips. If you want to avoid sanctions being imposed by the authors – in blocks created by the social networks themselves, who analyse films and sound clips in search of violations – it is best to use portals with clips and audio files which can be used freely.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
