People’s eyes are drawn in by visuals.
Congratulations! You have started your own business and are now diving into the world of social media marketing. Worldwide data shows that 83% of those using the Internet watch videos online, 78% read blogs, 57% are members of social networks and nearly 40% subscribe to live feeds. That’s a huge market for your business to tap into, but before diving in head first, you need a plan.
Understanding what social media marketing (SMM) is should be your first step. This may sound simple enough, but many business owners are still confused about it. According to WordStream.com, social media marketing is a form of marketing that uses various social media channels in order to achieve marketing communications and branding goals. It primarily covers activities involving social sharing of content, videos and images and is an important part of the communications environment; it can also be overwhelming. Here are four tips to help get you acquainted with social media marketing in stages.
- Monitor & Listen – The key to social media is to listen to what kind of chatter is happening about your business and your industry on social networks. Think about setting up Google Alerts to make that process easier. Google Alerts allow you to monitor industry news, your competition and media relations for your own business by setting up specific alerts that search for any related news that pops up on the Internet. You can set up Google Alerts to update you once a day, once a week or as news happens.
- Sharing Is Caring – Every industry talks about the importance of building a community. Social media gives you that opportunity, and the best way of building relationships is to share your knowledge. Many social media networks have tools to help you share a blog or updates; whenever possible, make sure to use them. This will help you build an online community that could potentially turn fans into customers.
- Visuals Boost – A picture is worth a thousand words, and on social media networks, a picture on your updates can mean the difference between getting views or not. It’s important when you are writing updates or blog posts that you include an image. People’s eyes are drawn in by visuals. If you only have a sheet of text for readers to look at, they may just pass your business blog by. It’s extremely important to make sure your posts are visually appealing.One of the most popular photo sharing sites is Flickr. Here you’ll find a collection of photos, many of which are available through Creative Commons agreements for the public to use with attribution. Think about using Flickr’s Creative Commons as a source for pictures whenever appropriate.
- Engage – It’s not only important to share on social networks and have great visuals. It’s also important to engage with your audience. These days it’s not just enough to post great content, an awesome photo or a great video on your social networks. As a business that is building their online community, it is important to engage with your readers or fans. You can do this by commenting on blog posts or updates that are of interest to your and your business. You can also start your own conversations on Facebook or Twitter. If you need help finding blogs that fit your interests, check out Technorati.com. It is a search engine for content that tracks 112 million blogs.
Do you think these tips will help you get started on your social media marketing? We want to hear from you!
Special Offer: Complimentary Consultation
Three Girls Media, Inc. is a public relations and social media management agency with teams in Silicon Valley and the Seattle area. We love working with small and emerging companies across the nation to raise their brand awareness and name recognition. We offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation with our CEO and can answer your questions and discuss your specific marketing needs.
Call 408-218-2391 or Contact us today to arrange yours!
Photo Credit: Maria Reyes-McDavis