Why you need social media marketing
Published: September 7, 2010
Font size: [A] [A] [A]
More often than not when I am discussing internet marketing with small business owners I hear them say they know they are missing out on marketing opportunities online because they don’t have a social media marketing strategy… but they just
don’t have time.
With 500 million Facebook users and Twitter reaching 20 billion tweets, my one piece of advice is: You’d better start somewhere.
Depending upon your business, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Fastpitch Networking
and Merchant Circle are necessary and required for any serious business
owner wanting to market their services.
The cost on the front end may be higher than you want to pay: hours of
your time or hundreds of dollars and up for a social media specialist to set your
company up on the right social media sites and train you or your staff on the
nuances of each platform.
Social media marketing is a marathon, not a sprint; just like when you purchased
your first website — things won’t happen overnight.
However, it is such a powerful marketing tool, especially for small business,
that it cannot be ignored.
Social media marketing is based on the theory of inbound marketing, which is
another column in itself but contends that instead of only using the shotgun
approach of outbound marketing — buying as many print/radio/TV ads as your
marketing budget will allow and hoping that your prospects see it and seek you
out, you add the rifle approach of a much more targeted campaign that will pull
prospects to your website.
Again, having a website that will convert said prospect is another column
as well, but if your website is designed properly and you pull prospects to it,
they should convert into customers.
Perhaps not the first time, but the beauty of Social Media done properly is that your
contact won’t be fleeting or one time only. Instead, it’s conversation that continues,
and continues to pull prospects to your site where eventually they will buy.
Once you find the right combination of platforms and develop a comprehensive social media marketing strategy, you will begin to understand that social media is primarily about relationship building with your clients and prospects.
The old saying that “people buy from people they know” has never been truer than it is today. We are sick of being spammed and sold to, and we just want to be able to learn, decide, and purchase in a medium that makes us comfortable. Social media gives you the opportunity to have a conversation with your customers on a level that
was impossible before.
Additionally, just because you’re not on social media doesn’t mean your company
is not being talked about, so you need to be there to keep your finger on the pulse of what is being said about you and your company.
Yes, it may seem like a colossal task, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Whether it’s by taking classes or learning on your own through the countless books and websites available (www.Mashablecom, www.Inbound Marketing.com etc.), you’re not getting
anywhere just thinking about it. If time is that precious, bring in a consultant who can develop a strategy with you and implement it.
Understanding social media marketing and then developing and implementing a strategy is a lengthy process, but it’s inevitable that you get involved unless you want to ignore this powerful tool and be ignored by millions of internet users.
So make a choice and start somewhere. Start targeting and building relationships with your customers in a way that is impossible with traditional marketing methods and you’ll ask yourself, again and again, why you didn’t start sooner.
Amy M. Tobin is a principal at Ariel Marketing Group LLC, Lake Ariel and specializes in Web development and Internet marketing. Visit the website at www.arielmarketinggroup.
com or e-mail her at amy@arielmarketinggroup.com. The ideas and opinions expressed are the author's and not necessarily those of the Business journal.
