It’s clear that social media marketing has grown dramatically over the last few years and that with more than 800 million active users, the quantity of Facebook users is easily more than twice the size of the entire population of america!
Its growth has been astronomical and today, thousands of people are posting more personal and business information online than previously. It’s happening at lightning speed with thousands of posts, tweets and uploads occurring every hour.
Recent research conducted by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) commissioned by Sensis Pty Ltd (May 2011, p. 10) indicates, that “62% of Australian Internet surfers use a variety of social media sites, with many visiting every day and most at least a few times a week.” It’s no real surprise that with the millions of prospective customers from around the world using these sites, each day, that so many businesses have decided to include social media into their marketing mix. Nonetheless it also important to get an understanding of how these sites are increasingly being used and what’s involved in maintaining or resourcing your organization presence on these sites. Your online footprint can stick around for a long period so don’t underestimate how this can affect the perception of one’s brand available in the market place. Spend time upfront thinking about whether social media marketing is right for your business.
1. Seek first to comprehend – It is very important that you understand the fundamentals of how is social media marketing really works and how it’s being used. What exactly are people and businesses doing with social media marketing? What gets them results? Some of you may be thinking, how do you do this? Perhaps you could consider trying it out for yourself by setting up an individual account, then testing a number of the features, or get yourself a trusted friend to show you their account and show you through. Alternatively you can find so many resources and ‘how to’ items online about social media marketing, you could run a explore Google or on YouTube on a specific topic of interest watching the video tutorials to obtain informed.
2. Understand your purpose – What’s your purpose is for using social media marketing? What do you hope to achieve for your business by using it? It’s really important that you identify your purpose for getting involved in social media (or any marketing activity for example). You need to workout why you are taking part. What do you be prepared to achieve? Do you simply desire to build brand awareness, engage with your customers or identify new sales opportunities? Remember to be realistic about what you think you will be able to achieve.
3. If Luxury Travel Tip decide to engage in social media marketing, which sites are best for you personally? – With the plethora of social media marketing sites available, those are best for your business? Consider where your market would socialize online, and take into account the period of time and resources you’ll realistically be able to commit to maintaining and administering your site presence. Which ones are right for you? You might find that some certainly are a better fit than others.
4. Quality Content – In the event that you decide that social media marketing is right for the business, carefully think about the amount and quality of information you want to share in the online sphere. Remember it’ll probably stay there for a long time, so you must make sure it accurate and reliable information that is valuable to your market. It has to be relevant, otherwise people will not read it.
