There is no doubt that you have heard of how social media is developing in the world, or at least Internet marketing in the world. This development can be hostile to you, especially if you are new to internet marketing and have started building your own business on it. The sheer volume of different types of social media and websites can be overwhelming for startups.
There is no doubt that you have heard of how social media is developing in the world, or at least internet marketing in the world. This development can be hostile to you, especially if you are new to internet marketing and have started building your own business on it.
The sheer volume of different types of social media and websites can be overwhelming for startups. Among Digg, Reddit, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, and many others, even seasoned Internet marketing professionals may have trouble keeping up.
It is important, however, not to let fear and inexperience prevent you from taking advantage of a marketing channel that could do wonders for your business. You may be "socially awkward" now, but you don't have to stay that way. I am going to give you some techniques to help you get started marketing your site through social media, starting with the first and most important one:
Don't try everything at once
The biggest marketing mistake with new social media is trying to catch up by creating social media accounts for every site you've ever heard or read. This is a sure way to get quick wear.
- The amount of time it would take to maintain all of those accounts would make your free time out of your business zero. Also, when trying to juggle profiles and network on too many sites at once, you would have to do more than effective marketing work.
Start slowly. Maybe even start by studying your current clients to see what social media most of them use, it would be a good step. Once you get an idea of how a certain social site works, how its users behave, and the type of content and conversations they have, you will have a better idea of how that site fits in with your message. And once you know how, you will know if it is a place to keep and feed or a junk.
You can boot from there.
If you run a blog or website policy, for example, Reddit members may respond to your content better than Digg members.
If you are a photographer instead, you may think that it is better to open an account on Flickr, or also find that you can get more information from Google Picasa users.
Then there is Twitter. What can I say about Twitter? Well, I'm not going to lie… I hate Twitter. But it may be because I have not discovered a good use of this network.
But that's the beauty of social media. There is no right or wrong way to use it. It is like any other marketing channel. You have to test to find out which one works best for your business.
The message must be different
Another marketing mistake that is being used in different social media is simply to regurgitate the same message over and over again!
How could it be of use to your clients? Why would they want to connect with you via Twitter or Facebook, just to get the same thing you can see on their site or in your newsletter? That's like telling someone to turn on the TV, radio, portable DVD player, iPod, all at the same time to watch the same movie.
Customers want the equivalent of the special features of a DVD movie. Understand? Not its main content.
Now, to really get to know you and build a relationship with your business and your products, they want the interviews, the deletion of the scenes, the pranks, tricks, etc. Do you understand the idea?
For example, we can provide unique content for our subscribers through our newsletter. Including things like other business and tips, conference clips, and even the opinions of other readers.
The point is to use social media to deliver a different message, a twist showing your personality. Make sure the message is remarkable so that it is somewhat different from your regular content, thus keeping your customers interested. In addition, you will thus attract new prospects to start a relationship with you and your business.
Be authentic
I have mentioned this before, when I have talked about using social media for link building. It is especially important when we are trying to build relationships with clients and leads. No matter which site or sites we choose to use, make sure that you are really connecting with them and not just making advertisements.
You are online, after all. You shouldn't go in search of a networking business by handing out flyers at every step. Do not do it. Your clients have needs, they have needs of their friends and their friends too. Meet those needs, even in the smallest of media, as a friend and not as a seller. This is how you are connecting to your audience in a meaningful way, experimenting and having fun.
