What is Social Media Marketing, and How Can it Help My Business?

Social media marketing is the process of building your brand equity & awareness via social media channels, including:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Youtube
• Social Bookmarking sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious)
• Interactive blogs

What are the benefits of social media marketing?

Social media marketing has several significant benefits:

• Increases brand awareness
• Gives your brand an organic, human feel
• Allows you to tune in to what’s being said about your brand
• Facilitates word-of-mouth marketing
• Gives you a medium through which to communicate with your customers & potential customers
• Increases customer loyalty
• Builds consumer trust

Let’s explore each benefit in detail.

Increases brand awareness

When you enter social media channels, your brand will appear in search results across the Web; not just in search engines. Many social media channels, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, feature “group” functionality which allows users to search for topics in which they are interested and opt-in to updates for those topics. Furthermore, social media channels facilitate the process of instantly sharing information with a large number of contacts. So if a reader finds your content useful or interesting, they can share it with their contacts quickly and easily, creating organic exposure for your brand.

Gives your brand an organic, human feel

Participating in social media channels brings your brand closer to your customers and potential customers. Your social media “voice” defines your brand image and separates it from a distant entity to a hip, trendy, “in-the-know” brand. Think about what Apple did with its famous “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” commercials.

Allows you to tune into what’s being said about your brand

You may not know it, but your customers are saying lots of things about your brand. But do you know what they’re saying? Social media channels like Twitter and Facebook make that sort of “brand buzz” readily available. If you’re not tuned in, you could be missing out on crucial information about your target market.

Facilitates word-of-mouth marketing

There’s no stronger marketing message than an endorsement from a friend. Social media facilitates word-of-mouth marketing by making it quick and easy to tell your friends about your positive experience with a brand. But social media doesn’t just make it easy to tell a single friend; it’s just as easy to tell all your friends what’s on your mind.

Gives you a medium through which to communicate with your customers & potential customers

Twitter and Facebook have become the default customer-service media for many companies, and more companies are hopping on the bandwagon each day. By using these channels to communicate with your customers, you project a transparent, trustworthy image which also shows that not only do you listen, but you care.

Increases customer loyalty

One independent study, which appeared in the March 2010 issue of Harvard Business Review found that Facebook pages can increase customer loyalty by 36%. The study also found that customers connected with the brand’s Facebook page had higher emotional attachment and greater psychological loyalty toward the brand.

Builds consumer trust

The transparency inherent in social media builds trust with potential consumers.

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