Social marketing has
made millions for those who adapted early, but it’s not too late to jump on
board and benefit from the marketing potential social media have to offer. You
may be wondering why social marketing is so powerful. Well, mostly because you’re
able to reach prospects in new and creative ways on their terms, giving them a
sort of home field advantage, if you will.
Buyers have fun on Facebook; they enjoy
networking on LinkedIn. It’s their choice to include you, to follow your
twitter posts, to like your Facebook page, to invite you to send them marketing
messages. That alone provides a receptive audience no other media can offer.
So, how do you harness the marketing potential
of social media. The most important factor when it comes to social marketing is
your audience. If they’re not on Facebook, social marketing probably isn’t
going to work for you. So assuming your target audience is on Facebook, or at
least some segment of it, you should consider the following reasons for
advertising to prospects through social media.
Profit
The main goal of most marketing efforts is to produce capital, and social marketing is no different. Yes, it can be fun, but the bottom line is that for businesses social marketing can be a boon. Social marketing allows you to create interest, showcase your benefits, educate buyers, and can even close the sale. There are a variety of ways to efficiently sell on social media sites. Using Facebook apps, links on twitter, coupons as status updates, etc, you can close the deal without buyers ever even reaching your main website or picking up the phone.
The main goal of most marketing efforts is to produce capital, and social marketing is no different. Yes, it can be fun, but the bottom line is that for businesses social marketing can be a boon. Social marketing allows you to create interest, showcase your benefits, educate buyers, and can even close the sale. There are a variety of ways to efficiently sell on social media sites. Using Facebook apps, links on twitter, coupons as status updates, etc, you can close the deal without buyers ever even reaching your main website or picking up the phone.
No More Cold Calls
With a new client base found socially, you can take the surprise out of the message. It can also save a lot of time. Calling 10,000 people can take weeks even with a decent sized staff, while posting 5 messages on Facebook every day can take a matter of hours and be read by even larger numbers. This is not to say cold calling is obsolete; the numbers say otherwise. The real point is you can save on man-hours and reach a receptive audience by using social marketing.
With a new client base found socially, you can take the surprise out of the message. It can also save a lot of time. Calling 10,000 people can take weeks even with a decent sized staff, while posting 5 messages on Facebook every day can take a matter of hours and be read by even larger numbers. This is not to say cold calling is obsolete; the numbers say otherwise. The real point is you can save on man-hours and reach a receptive audience by using social marketing.
Go Viral
Messages go viral on the social web every single minute. The big example used in marketing circles today is Blendtec blender, which, with a crazy-low budget, used YouTube and social buzz to boost the company bottom line incredibly with its Will It Blend? campaign. Blendtec simply showed how its blender could cut through anything, from cell phones to marbles. It went viral on the social web, turned a small budget into tens of thousands of blenders sold, and now it’s history.
Messages go viral on the social web every single minute. The big example used in marketing circles today is Blendtec blender, which, with a crazy-low budget, used YouTube and social buzz to boost the company bottom line incredibly with its Will It Blend? campaign. Blendtec simply showed how its blender could cut through anything, from cell phones to marbles. It went viral on the social web, turned a small budget into tens of thousands of blenders sold, and now it’s history.
How Cheap is This
Approach?
That depends on what’s more valuable to you, time or money. Social marketing is very cost effective in terms of ROI. It can cost nothing to set up a Facebook business page or a twitter account. But the one thing it does take is time. It takes time and a lot of effort to build a quality following. Sure, you can attract a thousand fans with a free give-away or buy a cheap program to build your follows, but is that going to help you build a receptive following full of real prospects? For social marketing to pay off, you need to be willing to invest a great deal or time, or hire a company to manage your social profiles for you.
That depends on what’s more valuable to you, time or money. Social marketing is very cost effective in terms of ROI. It can cost nothing to set up a Facebook business page or a twitter account. But the one thing it does take is time. It takes time and a lot of effort to build a quality following. Sure, you can attract a thousand fans with a free give-away or buy a cheap program to build your follows, but is that going to help you build a receptive following full of real prospects? For social marketing to pay off, you need to be willing to invest a great deal or time, or hire a company to manage your social profiles for you.
Engaging New Clients
Many companies use professional social marketing campaigns to find new clients on a daily basis. It’s a good investment for creating interest from all ranges of prospects. When combined with other forms of online and offline advertising, social marketing can be a valuable venue for marketing to new prospects. Create content, interest and even more buyers with social marketing.
Many companies use professional social marketing campaigns to find new clients on a daily basis. It’s a good investment for creating interest from all ranges of prospects. When combined with other forms of online and offline advertising, social marketing can be a valuable venue for marketing to new prospects. Create content, interest and even more buyers with social marketing.
