The Secret of Social Media Marketing

Social Media Web sites have been the craze since MySpace became popular. And now we have Facebook, Twitter and many many more sites! The phrase, Social Media Marketing has recently been coined to describe a new type of online advertising.There is virtually limitless marketing potential from the myriad of Social Media Web sites that exist today.

So for the average do it yourself marketer out there, where do you start? I like to refer you to my mantra... KISS; keep it simple sam! My advice would be to select two or three social media sites for your business and keep them updated regularly. If you try and do too many, none of them will look professional and you will do more harm than good.

The idea of Social Marketing is to "socialize" with friends online and weave your product or business into the online relationship. Many business people use there social markets to sell directly to their online friends or networks.

The first and most important thing to do after you selected your social networks you are going to be involved with (facebook, myspace, linkedin, ning, etc); is to set up your profile. Profile Content – The first place to be concerned about marketing on Social sites is the profile area. The picture and description are the initial items other users of the site may see. Profiles should be completely filled out with valuable information. In the case of corporate profiles, include an abstract of what the company does and good keyword-based links back to the company’s Web site where possible.

Friends – Many social media sites are based on networking principles. It is beneficial to increase “friends” that are associated with the account. Approved friends become the network that can easily be marketed to via email, bulletins, conversations, or other online interaction.

Groups – This can be a faster way to increase the network of friends associated with the account. Groups can be organized by common interests or other unifying factors. Groups can be another target for marketing.

Comments – A very common communication channel in Social Media is some type of comment area for each member. This area can be used for marketing purposes with banners, text ads, or links.

Bulletins – This is a creative way to let all of the friends in a network or group be notified about something through a mechanism that is in between an email and a comment. This is a very efficient path for marketers to get their message across.

Every Social Networking Site has it's strengths and weaknesses, and it is up to you to decide what is best for you and your business. Social networks work well to inform and educate people about your business, and drive traffic to your main website. This traffic will hopefully convert to sales!

Gerard Fairley
11-03-2009