Social networking sites have been used by many people for years to connect with other people. It has evolved into something that marketers can use in order to improve their brand awareness and make profit out of it. Facebook for example, is not only used for personal profiles but business and brand profiles as well. It helps a lot to let people know more about your brand and what you have to offer. If you're still new when it comes to social media marketing, you probably didn't visit the web for a year or two. It's because almost all people know about the things they can get from a social media marketing campaign.
Through the years, social media marketing has matured and gone through its trial-and-error phase. Nowadays, it's a very important factor of an online marketing campaign. If web experts have to choose, they are willing to give up their own websites for social profiles (although this is not really advisable). For starters, you should understand how to manage your social media campaign properly. Here are some of the things that you should remember.
Create Social Profiles
Social networks provide a virtual persona of you. From big to small social networking sites, it allows you to create a profile - your description, brand, looks, etc. However, you have to bear in mind that social networking sites have a different idea about the kind of information you can have, share to other people. They also differ in the amount of space you are entitled to have in your social profile.
Twitter and Facebook are social networking sites but they differ a lot. Facebook gives people a limitless amount of space to introduce products, services, and brands. On the other hand, Twitter only gives two sentences to their users. That's why, it's really best to develop several different profiles of different lengths in your social marketing campaign. It will not only guarantee that the information and messaging is consistent, it will also allow you to broaden your reach.
Your Voice
In most companies, the marketing department claims that they should be the one to manage social media marketing campaigns. Sometimes, the Public Relations department makes a buzz out of this because they specialize in people and they carry the voice of the company. Search engine optimization experts also claim that they should be the one to manage social profiles because they know how to use social media very well and they can create a strong link portfolio and online brand visibility. The brand manager, creative team, and so forth, have the similar reasons in managing social profiles.
The truth is, it doesn't really matter who you decide to hand your social profile. You just have to make sure that the person involved is accountable of and in charge of everything that goes through your social profile. This will makes sure that your branding stays strong and your messaging remains consistent.
The Big Three
Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are very popular social networking sites for years. These sites have been providing tools for social media marketing for a long time and they were able to develop a stronger approach in this field of marketing strategy. Although these sites are very powerful, it doesn't mean that you only have to stick with it. In fact, there are hundreds of smaller, niche networks that you can use to develop a community - just because they're small, it doesn't meant that they aren't valuable.
If you take some time to recognize smaller social networking sites, you might even find something that directly appeals to your target audience - making it more powerful than any other social networks you could use. If you join a network, you have to remember that there is much more value in taking your time in building a community around your brand. If you're just creating profiles to get links, you are not doing much to make the most out of your social media marketing campaign.
Social media marketing isn't rocket science. It takes time and effort to make significant effects to your brand visibility. A successful social media marketing campaign is accompanied by patience and dedication. The moment you do something wrong will make a drastic effect to your campaign. You have to be careful and choose the one that will manage your social profile the best.
