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Social Media Marketing
Marketing in a Web 2.0 world
Article describing the basics of social media marketing, outliningreasons for undertaking this new channel, what goals you should setand pitfalls to avoid.
Contents
Embracing Social Media MarketingHow Does Social Media Fit With Your Marketing Goals?Is Social Media Marketing For You?Hitting the Trail: Here’s What You’ll Need to Get StartedTime, Time and More TimeBoss Buy-InConclusionSimply put, social media marketing is using the tools, sites and services of social media topromote your company and its products. What are those social media channels? One way tothink about them is usingRobert Scoble's social media starfish:
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It qualifies as a subset of your online marketing campaign, and tends to complement searchengine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM) and other traditional web-basedpromotional strategies, like email newsletters and online advertising campaigns. Socialmedia marketing also qualifies as a form of viral or word-of-mouth marketing.Like old fashioned word-of-mouth, viral marketing relies on us to tell our friends aboutproducts or services we love (or loath). Here’s the difference. When you tell your sister abouta great new sushi joint, only she hears about it. She may tell her boyfriend or a neighbor, butthe news moves slowly. But, if you have a popular restaurant review podcast with 5,000 dailylisteners, your review travels a lot further, a lot faster and that little Japanese place could bepacked by Friday nightBecause social media tends to live online, the vast majority of social media marketinghappens on the web. But don’t be fooled, there are occasions that these strategies result inreal-world interactions. To get attention for the release of 
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 
[2]in Melbourne, Australia the film marketing and distribution company, Buena Vista, produceda ‘flash mob’. A flash mob happens when a group of people, who may or may not beaffiliated, show up at the same place at the same time to complete a short activity or task.Once the task is complete everyone disbands and goes their own way. Buena Vista usedtext messages and email forwarding to organize a gathering of about a hundred people in abusy Melbourne square. The participants simultaneously waved towels in the air andshouted phrases from the movie like, “The Vogans are coming,” and “It’s the end of theworld!” Believe it or not, flash mobs are already considered passé. In the ever-changingsocial media sphere they’re so 2003!
Embracing Social Media Marketing
If tradeshows, media relations, direct mail and telemarketing are old hat, then it’s time to trysomething new. Social media marketing provides a new marketing channel for you toexplore. And, if our philosophical rhetoric doesn’t convince you, then maybe these stats will:More people, particularly young people, are spending less time watching television andlistening to the radio, and more time online. Ina survey of consumer digital media andentertainment habitsrun last year by IBM, TV and personal Internet usage were neckand neck in a heated battle. Sixty-six percent reported viewing one to four hours of TVper day, while 60% reported the same for Internet usage. We’re guessing that Internetusage will sneak ahead of TV watching in 2008.Offline advertising has always been expensive and difficult to measure. The future of online advertising is highly debatable. Regardless, just as public relations is cheaper than billboards, so too is social media relations more economical and effective thanwhack-the-monkey banner ads.The days of the brochure site are long-gone. Markets are conversations, haven’t youheard? Conversation is happening, whether you like it or not. There are, at bestestimate, at least 112 million weblogs in the blogosphere. Facebook currently hasabout 80 million active users (people who have accessed their Facebook accounts
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within the last 30 days). Flickr, the popular photo-sharing site, published its two billionthphotograph earlier this year. That’s where the money’s going.A recent study by PollaraStrategic Insightsindicated that, “one in two Canadian business leaders say socialmedia is becoming more important than mass media.” A similar study by ProsperoTechnologies indicated that, “88% of businesses expect to increase social mediaspending in 2008.”
How Does Social Media Fit With Your Marketing Goals?
You’re a marketer, so you know that having clear goals in mind and tracking campaignoutcomes is critical. So, what are your social media marketing goals, or what should theybe? Why would you want to trek through the swampy and sometimes treacherous socialmedia marketing landscape when you’re already so comfortable on the paved, tree-linedpaths of lead generation, webinars and media relations? The answer is—drum roll please—increased online visibility. A stronger web presence should be the primary goal of everysocial media marketing campaign. So, what are the metrics of a ‘stronger web presence’?What does ‘increased online visibility’ really mean? These are the concrete outcomes thatshould persuade you to get off the beaten path.[1]More visitors to your websiteMore subscribers to your RSS feedsMore incoming links to your websiteMore views of your content on video and photo-sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr More references to your company, products and services on blogs, podcasts andsocial networking sites like MySpace and FacebookBetter search engine optimization and an improved Google rankingMore genuine interactions with your customers
Is Social Media Marketing For You?
So, you’re convinced that social media marketing is for you. That’s great, we’re glad you’reinspired. But, before you jump head first into the social media sphere, please consider thefollowing to make sure that a social media marketing program is really right for your organization:Where are your peeps? Are your customers online? One of the reasons social mediamarketing has taken off so quickly in the high tech space is because many technologyproducts can be purchased online and immediately downloaded. The Internet is anideal marketing medium for companies selling products online. If you’ve got a websitewith a shopping cart or reservation system, then social media marketing shoulddefinitely be on your ‘to do’ list. On the other hand, if you’re a corner store with a veryniche market (say, the people who live within a five-block radius of your store), thenyou’ll find limited returns from social media marketing. Remember, social mediamarketing is about building reputation online and bringing more people to your website.If you website doesn’t play a key role in your sales and marketing efforts, then think
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wendyp5

You should allow us to download. I like to gather lots of stuff, then sit back and read it. So I won't bother with this now.

reply05 / 01 / 2009
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