Many people have heard of social media but how many know how to use and what it is?
In case you’ve just arrived on the planet – we’ll spell it out:
Social media marketing is the art of leveraging social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube etc to communicate with, engage with, and broadcast to the millions of people who use them. Social media includes magazines, internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, podcasts, photographs or pictures video, rating and social bookmarking.
Collaborative projects like Wikipedia.
Blogs and microblogs like Twitter.
Content communities like YouTube.
Social networking sites like Facebook.
Virtual game worlds like World of Warcraft.
Virtual social worlds like Second Life.
Users can use blogs, picture-sharing, vblogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, the list goes on.
If Facebook was a country, its 800 million active social media users would make it the third biggest country in the world: that’s over double the size of the US and 13 times the size of the UK. Over 33 million people in the UK have Facebook accounts: that’s over half the population!
Twitter launched its social media service five years ago and now has over 300 million users and is one of the most effective ways of getting your marketing message out there super fast!
Google+ went public in September last year, to rival Facebook, and was the fastest growing Social Media platform EVER. It attracted over 50 million users in less time than it took its rivals to add 10 million.
LinkedIn, regarded as the most valuable and frequently used B2B networking tool, has over 100 million users globally. If you’re not active on LinkedIn, you’re missing out.
Social media isn’t a fad. It isn’t going away. Like the internet, it has changed the way the world communicates, how businesses approach online marketing, and how they use traditional media forever.
Most businesses that choose to ignore social media (or do it wrong) will not be achieving an online marketing presence and risk having to close their doors and shut up shop in the next FIVE years.
Businesses sometimes refer to social media as consumer-generated media. One thread running through all definitions of social media is the blending of technology and social interaction for the development of value.
People obtain information, education, news and other data from electronic media and print media. Social media are distinct from industrial or traditional media, such as newspapers, television, as they are quite cheap and accessible so everyone can publish or access information, compared to industrial media which requires significant resources to publish information.
Reach - both industrial and social media are capable of reaching a global audience. Industrial media, however, typically use a centralised framework for organization, production, and dissemination, whereas social media are by their very nature more decentralised, less hierarchical, and distinguished by multiple points of production and utility. Accessibility - the means of production for industrial media are typically government and/or privately owned; social media tools are generally available to the public at little or no cost.
Usability - industrial media production typically requires specialised skills and training. Whereas most social media does not require specialised skills and training; in theory, anyone with access can operate an online social media strategy.
Immediacy - the time lag between industrial media can be long compared to social media (which can be capable of virtually instantaneous responses; only the participants determine any delay in response). However, as industrial media begins adopting aspects of production normally associated with social media tools, this feature may not prove distinctive over time.
Permanence - industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is printed and distributed changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas social media can be amended instantaneously.
The key to successful online marketing is building a "social presence". Social presence is developed by creating an online marketing campaign using social media and establishing yourself, or your business, as an ‘expert’, thereby becoming an someone of influence in that field or area.
Using this process of ‘building social authority’ is what makes your online social media effective. That is why you cannot completely control your message through social media but rather you can simply begin to participate in the ‘conversation’ expecting that you can achieve a significant online influence in that conversation.
This conversation must be cleverly executed because people are resistant to marketing in general, and even moreso to direct online marketing through social media platforms. This may seem counter-intuitive but is the main reason building social media authority with credibility is important. A marketer can generally not expect people to be receptive to a marketing message in and of itself. In 2008, the majority (58%) of respondents trusted information coming from "people like me". In 2010 the majority switched to 64% trusting information from industry experts and academics. This loss of trust of “people like me”, and the accompanying turn towards experts and authorities, seems to be coinciding with the rise of social media and networks."
We offer full online social media marketing for all individuals and businesses alike. Whether you need a little social media tuition to help you manage your own online campaign, or are a small, or large, business who would like to test the online market and generate a strategic online social media presence, we have the perfect online solution for you.
We will teach you everything you need to know about how to use social media effectively in your business.
You can go through the training step-by-step in your own time and at your own pace, at home or in your office.
Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced dabbler, our social media blueprint for business will help you get on the right track so that your business doesn’t get left behind.
Get in touch now and make your business count with an online social media strategy from the experts.
Talk to us today (0191 226 7321) about social media for your business. We are based in Newcastle upon Tyne covering the whole of the North East and further afield.
