Social Media: Marketing Considerations for Small Business
It’s clear that social media has grown dramatically over the last few years and that with more than 800 million active users, the amount of Facebook users is easily more than twice the size of the entire population of the United States!
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 users use a variety of social media marketing sites, with many visiting each day and most at least a few times a week.” It’s no real surprise that with the an incredible number of prospective customers from across the world using these sites, every day, that so many businesses are determined to include social media marketing into their marketing mix. However it also important to get a knowledge of how these sites are increasingly being used and what’s involved with maintaining or resourcing your business presence on these sites. Your web footprint can stick around for years so don’t underestimate how this can affect the perception of your brand available in the market place. Spend time upfront thinking about whether social media is right for the business.
1. Seek first to comprehend – It is vital that you understand the basics of how is social media really works and how it’s being used. What exactly are people and businesses doing with social media marketing? What gets them results? A few of you may be thinking, how do I do this? Perchance you could consider trying it out on your own by setting up a personal account, then testing a few 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, that you could run a search on Google or on YouTube on a particular topic of interest watching the video tutorials to get informed.
2. Understand Luxury Travel Guides – What’s your purpose is for using social media marketing? What do you desire to achieve for your business by using it? It’s really essential that you identify your purpose for getting involved in social media marketing (or any marketing activity for example). You need to workout why you are engaging. What do you be prepared to achieve? Do you simply want to build brand awareness, build relationships your visitors or identify new sales opportunities? Remember to be realistic about what you believe you will be able to accomplish.
3. If you decide to engage in social media, which sites are best for you personally? – With the plethora of social media marketing sites available, those are best for your business? Think about where your target audience would socialize online, and think about the period of time and resources you would realistically be able to commit to maintaining and administering your website presence. Which ones are right for you? You will probably find that some certainly are a better fit than others.
4. Quality Content – If you decide that social media marketing is right for your business, carefully consider the amount and quality of information you would like to share in the web sphere. Remember it will probably stay there for a long period, so you must make sure it accurate and reliable information that is valuable to your market. It must be relevant, otherwise people will not read it.