Social media is the general usage of web-based social media websites and applications to advertise a product or service. Although the terms’ digital advertising and e-marketing are still very dominant in academic circles, social media marketing has become much more popular for researchers and practitioners alike. There is no doubt that many of the larger players in the digital advertising space – Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter – have a major influence on what people search for and when. For example, the new Google search feature Now shows users what searches they might have performed in the past, in order to suggest similar products to them.
As well as search results, social media marketing strategies can help you advertise via networks. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are all viable options, although the relative strength of each varies considerably. Social media allows you to reach a much broader audience than you would by any other means, but this should not blind you to the costs involved. In fact, it is well worth investing money in your online marketing efforts. The following article offers some advice on how to improve your social media marketing strategy.
One of the best social media marketing examples that you could look at would be that of McDonald’s. In a world dominated by fast food chains, it’s perhaps only right that a giant restaurant such as McDonald’s should be active on these channels. It is possible for smaller brands to have an active presence on these channels, which gives them a real chance of building a loyal customer base. This can be highly beneficial when brands want to extend their range of offerings, or when they are looking to launch a new product into the market.
Some internet marketers have tried to use social media marketing in the context of paid marketing campaigns, but these efforts have not been successful. The problem is that most of the people who sign up for social networking sites do not view these as a serious form of marketing and are more likely to be annoyed by ads that appear on their page. This makes the campaign more of a casual interest, and not something that will create real long-term results. However, there are ways in which marketers can attract customers to these platforms. One example is that the company can encourage people to ‘like’ its page on Facebook, which will allow it to be featured more prominently in future searches.
It may be in your best interests to avoid social media websites when you are just starting out. There are too many potential distractions for inexperienced marketers, and they can end up spending a lot of time responding to negative feedback from users. In some cases, marketers have used negative feedback as the basis for their own campaign launch, which is generally not recommended. Instead, it’s far better to wait until you have built a considerable level of contacts on these platforms. That way, you will know what your demographic is, and you will be able to establish the tone that you wish to set.
The best thing about social media platforms is that they are hugely flexible and allow marketing to be conducted almost anywhere. Mobile advertising, for example, can be carried out virtually anywhere, at any time, which is a distinct advantage over other forms of advertising such as television, radio and print ads. If you wish to take advantage of the mobile market, then it’s certainly worth investing in Google AdWords campaigns for your Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as PPC on all of the other social media platforms. This will give you the best chance of making a large profit from your advertising, and it will also work out very economically on your part. As the industry continues to evolve, the competition between marketers will only intensify, meaning that you can rely on mobile advertising to put you in first place at a lower cost per click.