Some thoughts after reading ‘How to Begin Integrating Social Media into Your Marketing Mix’ by Olga Andrienko.
I believe nowadays most companies around the world realize the great importance social media brings to the modern marketing. Social media gives chance to marketers to communicate with current and potential clients on a completely new level – deep and personal.
So before jumping on the social media wagon a good strategy is needed.
“Communication without a specific focus is just noise” (David Amerland – Google+ Hangouts for Business).
Selecting the hottest trend may give you this initial win, but as history has shown us a long term strategy is ‘the name of the game’.
And social media is a game.
Find a reason to play this game with your customers, get them involved, interact with them so you give them a reason to come back to you.
Get everybody involved.
I am talking about two way interaction.
“Marketing and social media truly belong to the realm of artful dialogue, open two-way communication and meaningful creation” (Teodora Petkova).
Create a buzz around your brand and people will start talking about you to others – online and offline.
“Your branding really ultimately is what other people say about you, no matter what you think’ (Mark Traphagen)
While embracing social media do not forget your website. There is a reason Olga Andrienko talks about your website before anything else.
“Your website is an asset. A business asset.It’s the single online property you can own and control” (Gina Fiedel – Why Your Website Is An Asset For You & Customers).
I see many companies devoting all their efforts to social media only. Social media platforms are coming and going. Your website should be ‘your home, base-camp, hub, anchor’.
Sometimes you may get lost in the social media jungle. You need a safe place to go back to.
Which reminds me straight away that when a customer arrives at your doorstep (normally your homepage) he comes there for a reason. The reason is Google sent him there to find an answer to his question/problem/need.
Why did #Google send him to your website?
The answer to this question is very simple – your content.
Without content you will only get search traffic from people already aware of your brand, who are searching for you by name. Content (marketing) gives you the chance to attract search traffic from broad range of search terms, massively increasing the number of inbound clicks to your website.
By the way when the Google people were talking about creating valuable, relevant, and in-depth content they meant write articles like Olga Andrienko – leave no stone unturned about the subject you are talking about. In the words of Nina Trankova ‘Great article, very supportive and systematic’.
This is the reaction you want from your future customers.
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