It’s clear that social media has grown dramatically over the last few years and that with more than 800 million active users, the quantity of Facebook users is easily a lot more than twice the size of the entire population of the United States!
Its growth has been astronomical and today, thousands of people are posting more personal and business information online than ever before. It’s happening at lightning speed with a large number of posts, tweets and uploads occurring every hour.
Personal Growth conducted by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) commissioned by Sensis Pty Ltd (May 2011, p. 10) indicates, that “62% of Australian Internet surfers use a variety of social media sites, with many visiting every day and most at least a few times a week.” It’s no real surprise that with the millions of prospective customers from everywhere using these sites, each day, that so many businesses are determined to include social media into their marketing mix. However it also important to get an understanding of how these sites are being used and what’s involved in maintaining or resourcing your business presence on these sites. Your online footprint can stick around for some time so don’t underestimate how this may affect the perception of one’s brand in the market place. Spend time upfront thinking about whether social media is right for the business.
1. Seek first to understand – It is vital that you understand the basics of how is social media really works and how it’s being used. What are people and businesses doing with social media marketing? What gets them results? A few of you may be thinking, how do I do this? Perhaps you could consider trying it out on your own by setting up an individual account, then testing a few of the features, or get a trusted friend showing you their account and show you through. Alternatively you can find so many resources and ‘how to’ items online about social media marketing, that you could run a search on Google or on YouTube on a particular topic of interest watching the video tutorials to obtain informed.
2. Understand your purpose – What’s your purpose is for using social media? What do you hope to achieve for your business by it? It’s really essential that you identify your purpose so you can get involved in social media marketing (or any other marketing activity for that matter). You need to workout why you are engaging. What do you be prepared to achieve? Do you simply want to build brand awareness, build relationships your customers or identify new sales opportunities? Remember to be realistic about what you believe you will be able to attain.
3. If you decide to take part in social media, which sites are best for you? – With the plethora of social media sites available, those are best for your business? Consider where your market would socialize online, and think about the period of time and resources you would realistically be able to commit to maintaining and administering your website presence. Which ones are right for you? You might find that some are a better fit than others.
4. Quality Content – If you decide that social media is right for the business, carefully think about the amount and quality of information you intend to share in the online sphere. Remember it’ll probably stay there for a long time, so you must make sure it accurate and reliable information that’s valuable to your target audience. It has to be relevant, otherwise people will not read it.