SOCIAL MEDIAL MARKETING

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites. Social media marketing involves using peer recommendations, building brandpersonality, and addressing the market as a heterogeneous group of individuals. It also uniquely encourages customers to create their own content and buzz around a product. In other words, programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. Hence, this form of marketing is driven by word-of-mouth; this means it generates results in earned media rather than paid media.

Some examples of popular social media sites are:

Twitter

Twitter allows companies to promote products on an individual level. The use of a product can be explained in short messages that followers are more likely to read. Messages can link to the product's website, Facebook profile, photos, videos, et cetera. This link gives followers the opportunity to spend more time interacting with the product online. This interaction can create a loyal connection between product and individual and can also lead to larger advertising opportunities.

Facebook

Facebook profiles are more detailed than Twitter. They allow a product to provide videos, photos, and longer descriptions. These also can include testimonials, as other followers can comment on the product pages for others to see.

Foursquare

Foursquare is a location-based social networking website where users can check into locations via their smartphones. Foursquare allows businesses to create a page or create a new venue or claim an existing one. A good marketing strategy for businesses to increase footfall or retain loyal customers includes offering incentives like discounts or free food/beverages for people checking in to their location, or provides special privileges for the mayor of that location.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn, being a professional business-related networking site, allows companies to create professional profiles for themselves as well as allowing their business to network and meet others. Through the use of widgets, members can promote their various social networking activities, such as Twitter stream or blog entries of their product pages, on their LinkedIn profile page. LinkedIn provides its members the opportunity to generate sales leads and business partners.

By Kingalu Avin

 BAPRM 42697