Watch enough Youtube, and you’re bound to come across an ad with one of the gurus preaching about social media marketing (SMM). Using eye candy like exotic cars or glances into their lavish lifestyle; all in efforts to sell their product or service. You’re either left skeptical or interested in the opportunity. Read on to learn the truth about social media marketing.
What Is It?
Social media marketing is the use of platforms like Facebook or Twitter to promote a product. Its applications stretch far beyond the promotion of a product though. In fact, a large part of SMM is about building a relationship with your intended audience. Social media is run by its users, so engagement and relationships are more important than the promotion of any product.
What is it Used For?
There could be many reasons why an organization would decide to use SMM:
- Build brand awareness
- Build relationships
- Obtain feedback
- Increase traffic to websites
Pros:
- Cost – If you have some sort of social media account, you know it was free to create. It’s no different for businesses. Although, when ads are being used, social media is no longer free. However, paid advertising can be relatively cheap. For example, with Facebook, you can budget for exactly how long you want the ad to run and how much you want to spend each day.
- Targeting – With most platforms, you can be very specific with the audience you’re targeting. In particular, Facebook does a great job of getting your content in front of who you want. With paid advertising, demographics, location, interests, behaviors, and more factors can be used to define your audience.
- Relationships – Above all, social media is a great way to interact with people. Social media is a hot commodity nowadays. Thus, it can be used to build trust, branding, and more.
Cons:
- Time – Unfortunately, building a presence on social media can be very time-consuming. There’s a lot to learn when it comes to SMM. If you want to be successful, you should learn your medium inside-out. Also, it demands consistency which takes time as well.
False Beliefs
You don’t need to be on every social media platform there is. For one, it’d be almost impossible to manage all of that. Second, not all platforms are right for your business. Even though it seems like a smart idea to be on every platform, considering the time SMM takes; it’s best to stick to the two most effective platforms for your business.
Applications
Every business can use more customers. Your local businesses, brick and mortar, and mom and pop stores may be oblivious to the benefits of SMM. Especially older owners, who may not have as much experience or desire to use social media as others. If you can sell yourself and your services, it’s possible to start your own agency like the gurus on Youtube.
So Who Are These SMM Gurus?
Most of these self-proclaimed experts are well versed in the world of SMM. They usually run an agency and have landed some marketing contracts with big brands. When you see them in ads, they’re usually trying to do one of two things: sell their service or sell their education course. Both can be effective but look forward to spending a pretty penny.
These gurus tend to be quite the salesmen as well. Their ads can be very enticing when they’re showing all the money they make. For some, their services or courses can be beneficial. However, we contend that it might be better to learn the skills on your own. In fact, setting everything up can be easy depending on the platform. All that’s left is experimenting with different campaigns and seeing what works for you.
SMM is not the only way to market your business. If you already have a strategy that’s working for you, it may not be necessary at all. But as more things start to go digital, it could be beneficial to take advantage of social media marketing. For entrepreneurs, it is possible to create a business out of SMM. Some things to keep in mind are: Is there a demand for your service and are you willing to put the time into learning and mastering the art of SMM?