E-dreamz Company Blog

At E-dreamz we try to cover a wide range of subjects with our blog posts. Many marketing blogs have great information but are meant for other peers in the industry. This post is written for the businesses that really don't know anything about Social Media Marketing.

So what is the biggest buzz in marketing right now? We hear it all the time at E-dreamz and you probably do too...Social Media Marketing. Most clients are coming to us because they are confused about Social Media and are interested to find out if it makes sense for their business.
 
We know the impact Social Media Marketing can have on a business but most companies have some basic questions they need answered before they decide to try out this new approach. The top 5 questions we hear are:

1. What is Social Media Marketing?
2. Is This Just a Fad That Will Fade Away?
3. Does This Make Sense For My Company?
4. Is My Target Audience Participating in Social Media?
5. How Do You Prove ROI?

What is Social Media Marketing?
We can tell you what it IS NOT. Social Media Marketing is not simply setting up your Facebook and Twitter accounts even though many agencies would lead you to believe that is all you need to do.

Social Media Marketing means different things to different companies. I don’t even like to define “Social Media Marketing” because it really is just marketing in new ways to reach an untapped audience. A good agency will create a unique strategy to match your company’s identity and goals. There should never be a set social strategy for every client.

At the core of Social Media Marketing are two things: conversation and relationships. You want to focus on interaction with your audience and develop lasting relationships instead of pushing out a marketing message with an agenda. The type of word of mouth that can be produced from this marketing can impact your business in so many new ways.

Is This Just a fad That Will Fade Away?
Facebook has now surpassed email. YouTube is now considered one of the largest search engines in the world. If that does not speak volumes for Social Media's staying power I don't know what will. However, those are just two of the thousands of Social Networks, and there are more launched every day.

There will be many unsuccessful networks, but this approach to marketing is here to stay. The public wants to be heard and to interact with businesses. The smart businesses know that they need to listen too. These simple principles are the reason that Social Media is not a fad and is becoming a primary form of marketing.
 
Does This Make Sense For My Company?
Yes, but the level of engagement may vary depending on the company. Each Social Media strategy is going to be different for each unique business. However, there are some basics that say that this approach makes sense for every business in some way. 93% of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media and 85% think that businesses should interact regularly with their audience.

If your company could benefit from positive word of mouth than this makes sense. If your company could benefit from learning what the public thinks about your business, services or competitors than this makes sense. If your company could benefit from retaining customers as well as expanding brand awareness to potential customers than this makes sense.
 
Is My Target Audience Participating in Social Media?
Yes. Not only is your audience active in the social media community but they use it to help with buying decisions. Over 90% of the buying audience is active on social networks. Over 70% use social networks to help them make decisions on purchases. The question is not whether your audience is online, but how and where can you find them.
 
How Do You Prove ROI?
Proving ROI for Social Media is a little different from search marketing, because one of the main goals of Social Media is to increase positive word of mouth. With over 90% of word of mouth happening offline it can sometimes be challenging to track the full impact of Social Media Marketing. However, it is not as difficult as it is to prove ROI for traditional marketing.

We can still track a percentage of direct action from Social Media Marketing and we can also study analytics to determine how it is impacting other areas of business. If you are looking at ROI just based on sales you may also be missing the impact Social Media can have on saving your business money in other areas like increased customer service and market research.

Now that you have the basics down you are ready to move onto figuring out a strategy to fit your business.

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