Most of us have heard this phrase before, “social media marketing”. WTH does it mean? Um, poking people with deals on Facebook? Sounds about right, right? Not quite. Social media marketing generally means using social media services for relationship selling. Its a new technique of marketing, a different avenue or strategy to reach out to your audience.
There are different types of social media channels.
- Blogs-They let you update and change content instantly. Bloggers normally post about personal experiences or expertise. For instance, this blog explores MY personal experiences AND expertise in marketing and being majestic. I use WordPress to spread my Randallessence (its a word because I said it is)
- Social Networking Sites- We have all come accustomed to these. These are the Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn places of the world. There are also other networks based on industry, demographics or activities. Im sure you all have an account on one or all of these. Im on all 3. Find my links over here——>
- Social Media Sharing Sites- These allow for posting and commenting on audio, video and pictures. Familiar sites are Youtube, Ustream, Flick, and Podcast Alley
- Social Bookmarking- These are public bookmarks so people can see what others recommend for your viewing pleasure. My ex-girlfriend spent more time fondling StumbleUpon and Delicious then me sometimes.
- Social News- People recommend articles from news sites based on lists that are developed. Digg and reddit come to mind that do this exceptionally.
- Social Geolocation and meeting sites- Bringing people together is what they do. Gowalla, Loopt and Meetup offer people to bring the cyberspace love to real life. Platonic and non.
Web 2.0 enables technologies and provides tools that allows people to share information, develop social and business connections, and team up on projects online has given social media a means of implementing integrated marketing communications.
Cheers,
Randall Jefferson
Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
So now that we know what social media marketing is and we have a plan of action in implementing it, I want to show you an outline on what a good social media marketing strategy looks like. This will be a good source to look back on when measuring your plans success and evaluating your goals and success criteria. I put this together based off several outlines and tactical forms. Feel free to edit and share.
Randall Jefferson 