Marketing has changed. Consumers now want to have conversations with brands.
Not long ago social media was a specialized field in marketing only to be undertaken by the most experienced practitioners. Today the lines between social media and traditional marketing have blurred. Social media is now just another tool in the marketing toolbox. This is very good news for small to medium sized businesses as it levels the playing field between them and big business competitors because social media marketing techniques don’t require big budgets to achieve a measurable impact.
Many companies are reluctant to engage in social media for fear of not having control of the message or conversation. The truth is you have already lost control of the message. The very conversations you fear are going on whether you are engaged or not so why not participate. This will allow your company to have a seat at the table where your customers and prospects are already exchanging feedback and ideas about your product, service, brand and company.
Still don’t believe social media is here to stay? Here are some quick stats that may change your mind:
• The top three social networks—Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn—collectively received more than 2.5 billion visits in the month of September 2009 alone. Twitter grew by more than 600% in 2009, while Facebook grew by 210% and LinkedIn by 85%.
• As of this writing, Google and Yahoo are the only websites that receive more daily traffic than Facebook. Current trends suggest that may not last much longer.
• The most recent count of blogs being indexed by Technorati currently stands at 133 million. The same report also revealed that, on average, 900,000 blog posts are created within a single 24-hour period.
• The video sharing site YouTube receives more than 1 billion views a day.
• The online photo sharing site Flickr now hosts more than 3.6 billion user images.
Learn the social media pyramid and create a social media strategy:
Blogging: The foundation of the pyramid. Read blogs, comment on blogs, and then blog. This is the doorway to all other social marketing.
RSS: Aggregate and filter content around subjects and use RSS technology as a tool to help you repurpose, republish, and create content.
Social Search: This is often ignored in this discussion, but I think it’s become very important for small-business owners. You can participate and should stimulate and manage your reputation here.
Social Bookmarking: Tagging content to and participating in social bookmarking communities can be a great way to open up more channels to your business as well as generate extra search traffic. But it takes work.
Social Networks: Branching out to take advantage of the numbers of potential prospects that you might find in sites such as Facebook or MySpace will frustrate, at least as a business tool, if you don’t have many of the above needs met. These networks take time to understand and thrive on ideas and content. You’ve got to have much to share if you wish to build a business case.
Micro: Platforms such as Twitter, Thwirl, Plurk, and FriendFeed have become a very important part of the social media mix as they allow for quick tracking, joining, and engagement. However, they still reside at the top of the pyramid because without content, such as that created on a blog, the engagement on Twitter may not go very deep.
LiveWire Marketing, a Denver marketing firm, works with large corporations, smaller companies and everything in between. Founded 11 years ago, this team of senior-level talent continues to drive results for its clients. LiveWire has successfully completed a diverse set of projects including brand development, name creation, marketing strategy, social media initiatives and integrated marketing campaigns. To learn what LiveWire Marketing can do for you call 303.221.1912 or email info@LiveWireMktg.com. LiveWire Marketing, a leader in Denver advertising.