Benefits of a business depend on the marketing strategies followed by companies or service providing agencies to promote a product or service. Marketing strategies adopted makes the service provider reach the objectives of the business irrespective of their business potential. Though there are so many well established strategies adopted by service providers of all scale, Social Media Marketing (SMM) can be known as best adopted marketing strategy by service providers of all magnitudes. SMM became best suit for small scale service providers due to the advent of Internet technology and online communications. So many companies around the world benefited understanding SMM and its best strategies. Many of the small scale service providers used SMM to engage and interact with online communities or social networks created on a specific task or Interest. Now few of the small scale service providers recognized the importance of SMM and are in search of best strategies in it. SMM can be thought of as a best marketing method or tool to be used by small scale service providers for a successful awareness campaign.
SMM uses social media as the base platform to promote a business product or service through marketing. Social Media marketing can be simplified as an online marketing method that uses World Wide Web technology for marketing a product or service. Before going to know about SMM, it is must to have the knowledge on the core platform of SMM, the social media.
Social Media
Social media can be referred as a combination of web sites or applications or distribution channels on Internet or World Wide Web. Social media (SM) include all sorts of online communication media that lets the users, persons registered with website or software application to create and share the content or a message with their groups or networks in the social networking website or software application. As we discussed above, SMM mainly depends on Social media. We can now refer what is SMM.
Social Media Marketing
Social Media marketing can be defined as process of marketing a product or service through social media. Since social media include websites or applications letting users to create and share content with their groups of networks. SMM can also be defined as a marketing method that uses social networking websites as a tool to market or spread the awareness info or message on Internet.
Social Media marketing not only depends on the social networking websites such as Facebook, twitter, Google+, friends feed etc but mainly on the social networks and the strategies also. A social network can be simply a network or group of people of similar habit or taste or interest registered with a social networking website. The product message or service content shared among networks increase the brand exposure and customers reach of the company. SMM not only involves creation of social networks and sharing the content but different strategies to be adopted to share the content also. Though there are many well established strategies have been adopted by small scale service providers. Mainly there are five advanced strategies to be adopted by all scale especially small scale service providers. The five advanced SMM strategies can be listed as Multimedia messaging, Integrated advertising, Adapted messaging, Social network targeting and Event campaigning.
Below discussion may provide important advanced strategies to be adopted among the already generated online communities or networks or groups etc. Advanced SMM strategy is entirely different from normal social media usage. SMM is different from the normal usage of social media in such a way that it reinforces or introduces a marketing message while pushing a user to another profile or website. It is must to have a basic understanding or little experience in engaging consumers through social marketing before adopting advanced SMM strategies.
Multimedia messaging
Online communication technology let the consumers to search for multimedia content such as pictures, videos and audios about the product or service. Consumers interested to have more information and want to have audio-video representation of what they are considering buying. Publishing videos and pictures and few of the office events not only highlights the company but creates brand image linked with brand promotion etc. Multimedia messaging may improves sharing between consumers or members of different interests and requirements.
Integrated advertising
It is a well known fact that service providers use all sorts of advertising mainly offline advertising such as jingles on radio, visiting cards or business cards printed on hard papers or scrolling flash news on cable network etc. Including or publishing Facebook page info or blog URL on visiting cards or business cards and brochures not only integrates both online and offline advertising but helps the membership to consumer conversion process building the community also.
Adapted messaging
Business promotion became bit easier with the advent of social media and social networking websites etc. But it is good to remember that each social media or social networking website got specific user agreement policy. A message or content acceptable on Tumblr might be spam on Facebook timeline etc. Similarly specifications of Twitter are different from Friend feed etc. Publishing or posting customized content adapting the specifications of the social networking website spreads the multiple and identical content among users. Sending messages adapted to the specifications of different social networking web sites such as Facebook and twitter maximizes business potential.
Social network targeting
Submit the blog URL or Face book page details in local business directories maximizes the visibility to consumers searching for a business product or service in their area. Social network targeting can be achieved through off page SEO such as submission in local business directories, social bookmarking sites etc. Submit the blog URL or Face book page info in the sites giving inbound links to the competitors blog in the area targeted for business promotion. Submitting blog URL or Face book page or G+ page in the local business directories along with Google Maps and Local Business center with updated news leads to acquire new members and customers in the area targeted for the business.
Event campaigning
Using social media to drive sales propagating marketing content is the most advanced method in business promotion. Social media can be used to excite online communities messaging about a contest or time bound discount offer etc. Business promotion goes viral on publishing a message or content that gets most comments in order to win the contest. Allow consumers to suggest prize winner domain name for your business through Social media. Announce to add the participated members in the prize drawing to make your business promotion viral.