Social Media Marketing is the fastest and hottest way to get the world talking about your products! Nothing can spread as fast or reach as many customers as social media marketing. Social media marketing encompasses several different mediums which are; Viral Marketing, Association-based Interaction, User-initiated Conversation, Identity-based Interaction, and Provider-initiated Conversation.
Viral Marketing was coined its phrase after several video campaigns spread through the internet like a virus. A Viral Marketing campaign usually encompasses an emotionally intense video relating to people by the any basic form of emotion whether through humor, fear, anger, or excitement. If it can make a strong connection with the user then it has the high potential to spread. New websites are popping up all over the place that include viral marketing campaigns such the Butterfingers Comedy website that you can find at the following link. http://video.yahoo.com/network/100284668/
At this site through displaying humorous videos that people are naturally attracted to, Butterfinger gets the benefit of subconsciously embedding its brand in the visitors mind as they watch. One could say that watching a video wouldn’t make them susceptible to purchasing a Butterfinger but studies show otherwise. People who view an advertisement have almost a 30% chance of purchasing the product within a week. So whether your using humor or fear to connect with the public, you can embed your logo, website, or tagline right into the video with a simple overlay that will attract customers. And if the video is exciting enough, it will spread through the internet like a virus.
Association based Interaction allows consumers to relate themselves to you by wearing your brand, becoming your friend, or displaying your logo within their personal pages. Site such as MySpace, Facebook, and Youtube work well with this as people have the natural desire to have friends and especially to have friends who either look cool, are attractive or that they can relate to in some way. We have tools that can search these vast databases and collect users that have relative information to your target market. We then can promote specifically to those people who would have interest in your product or services. Other great sites for association based interaction are social bookmarking sites such as Delicious, Furl, Magnolia, or Blink list. These are sites where people bookmark their favorite locations on the web and share their findings with others. People who share similar interests can browse through each other’s links and find new products or services that they already feel inclined to accept by choosing from associating the bookmarks with a person who has similar interests. Association based interaction works well because people get to choose for themselves which businesses they want to be associated with.
User Initiated Conversation is one of the most effective forms of social media marketing. It is so effective because it gives you the chance to actually help the end user by providing them with an answer to a question. This form of marketing takes a little more time because an effective strategist doesn’t just go into a Blog, Forum, or chartroom and start posting advertisements, he strategically helped members out by providing answers to their questions, even if it takes a little research. After building rapport in the community one can then influence the users by mentioning the product or service up for promotion.
Identity-Based Interaction is where you create a profile that typically includes a picture, an about us section, a brief description of yourself, and a few other facts such as age, hobbies, likes and dislikes. When a profile is written accurately describing who the company is and what it has to offer, it is then essential to tweak the elements to match what your target audience is looking for. For instance, consumers looking to purchase office supplies would expect a picture of someone entirely different that someone looking for hair products. The written content as well as the photography should accurately portray what the consumer is expecting. The text in your profile should also address questions customers might have and provide solutions to the most common problems. Most Identity-Based sites allow you to change the background on your profile. This creates an environment for the visitor and can also one up the attractive quality of your identity. If your selling Flowers then you should have a nature background where as if you were selling insurance you would want something more structured and concrete such as a skyscraper. Make sure you know your target market and have an attractive identity to its audience.
And last Provider-Initiated Conversation is a great way to learn what your customers think about your products and services. This can be done through a variety of mediums, such as Blogs, Forums, and Social Marketing Communities such as MySpace and Facebook. Anywhere that you can find people interested in your products or services is an open book for constructive criticism to help improve your business and tailor it to what the consumer wants. The best way to create the best services and products out there is by listening customer and providing products and solutions to their problems.
I hope this gives you a good overview on what social media marketing has to offer in this new age. Today as computers take over more and more of our lives you can take advantage of this by connecting to your customers more frequently and tailor your message so it specifically addresses the answer to the questions that they want to hear. When I was in high school when that last bell rang my friends and I would stay outside until dark playing basketball or soccer. Now days all my step-sisters get right on their instant messengers to chat with classmates about what happened at school. They not only do this on their computer but they now have access from their mobile phone which usually stays with them 24/7 god forbid they lose it.
The fact is we are living in a new age and Social Media Marketing is the fastest, easiest, and most successful way to stay in contact in your customers and raise awareness about your products and services.
