What is Social Media?
Before launching into your Social Medi marketing campaign and so that you are absolutely committed when you do start you will need to be convinced that social media marketing does actually work for business and that you are going to be able to make it work for yours. In this blog post you will learn why social media marketing has gained so much attention, why so many brands are using it and why it is so different from other forms of marketing. The aim here is to help you to truly appreciate the power and importance of this relatively new method of marketing. Once you are totally convinced that the time you will be investing will be truly worthwhile you will be ready to launch into your Facebook marketing campaign with strength, confidence and conviction.
So what is social media exactly? Social media is the place where people connect with other people using the technology we have today. It’s where people engage, share, co-operate, interact, learn, enjoy and build relationships. The number of ways in which we connect with each other has grown massively in recent years from telephone, mobiles, email, text, video, newspaper or radio to what we have today, the social media networks.
As humans the majority of us want to belong, be accepted, loved, respected and heard. We are social animals and social media has provided us with new tools that allow us to be more social even if our lives are more hectic and we are living a long way from our friends and family. It’s now not unusual for family and friends to be located at opposite sides of the country or even in a different country. Our lives have become far busier and more transient than ever and yet we still crave the same social connections as we did 100 years ago when we would probably have been living in the same village or town as our family and friends.
The impact that social media is having on our lives and on businesses is massive, social media has completely changed the way we communicate and the way we do everything. It has made connecting with people and building relationships so much easier, now staying in contact with someone we may only have met once is straight forward, we can find old friends we went to school or college with and the opportunities for making new contacts is limitless. Social media has given us the ability to quickly and easily share ideas, experiences and information on anything we like and we can find out about anyone, any business or anything. With the massive growth in smart phone ownership most people can now access the internet instantly, we are living in a virtual world and we can literally connect to anyone, from anywhere, at anytime.
Understanding the reasons why people love social media so much will help give you a really good idea about how, as a business, you need to engage so you can connect with your audience and grow and maintain that audience. Most people are on social media to be social, to connect with other family and friends and have fun. However here are a few more reasons why so many use and love social media:
To be part of a community or common interest group
To express their feelings and have a voice
To reconnect with old college or school friends
To find out where their friends are
To tell their friends where they are
To announce a piece of news
To find out if a product or service is good
To connect with thought leaders
To make business contacts
To follow brands
To keep up to date with current affairs, football scores
To connect with famous people
To find inspiration and motivation
To learn by reading blogs, watching videos and listening to podcasts
To help other people
To launch a business
To advertise and grow a business
To make new friends
To make new contacts
To connect with others in different countries
To make a difference
To be entertained
To communicate quickly and save time
To support important causes or people
To find a job
The power and enormity of social media
Everyone is doing Social! Ok, so not everyone is doing social media but the majority of people are! Wherever you go you will see somebody with their heads down looking at some device and you can bet your bottom dollar that they are accessing some social site whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest or Snapchat.
The growth in social media is huge and it's no wonder that it is being called ‘The Social Media Revolution.’ Without going into too much statistical information it’s safe to say that your customer is probably using at least one social network either for personal or business use and very likely to be accessing multiple sites.
All the social media platforms are growing at incredible speeds and you only have to type ‘Social media statistics’ into Google and you will blown away by the millions and billions. Facebook now has over 1 billion users and 95% of those users access it at least once a day and some more than 5 times. More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube per month and Twitter has 215 monthly active users. The most popular websites are social. The world loves Social.
What is Social Media Marketing
Not long ago promoting a business could feel very much like being alone on a desert island. You could have a great idea but unless you had vast sums of money for television, magazine or direct mail advertising then frustratingly your idea was very likely to remain a secret. Today it is totally different and social media has given businesses endless opportunities to reach their target audience, connect with new prospects and enter new markets. The playing field has been levelled out and now anyone with the right knowledge has more chance than ever of making their business a success.
Social media marketing is a relatively new form of marketing and refers to the processes, strategies and tactics used by businesses on social networking sites and blogs to gain attention and ultimately increase their revenue. Businesses and large brands are now using the fact that people love to engage and connect with other people with the other very important fact that they are very likely to find their target audience on social media so that they can do the following:
Find, reach and connect with potential customers.
Drive traffic to a website or blog.
Stay connected with, and communicate with, existing customers. It is a well known fact that existing customers are far more likely to purchase and also pay more for a product than someone who has not bought before.
To build trust, interest and loyalty by interacting with your followers (potential customers) so that ultimately they will purchase your product, continue to purchase your products and hopefully recommend your product to their friends.
To produce content that users will share with their social network or recommend to their friends. Social media marketing strongly centres around the creation of content for a particular audience with the intention that it can be shared, liked and commented by on the user. When this happens the content is being passed to other users by word of mouth, the most powerful form of advertising.
To listen and find out what your customers want.
