If you ever hear someone saying that social media is a fad, you should smack them in the teeth. Do you like statistics? Three recent studies have shown that Internet users now spend from 16 to 25 percent of their Internet time engaged with social networking. Ninety percent of all Internet users now use social media. From personal use to business applications, social media is a permanent part of the technology and media landscape. Businesses love it because it can help to take a company to the next level in creative (and affordable) ways.
But how can a business best target their customer base using social media? Businesses just getting started with social media as a marketing tool can initially feel confused and overwhelmed. Here are five important points to help you get started targeting your audience with social media:
1. Know Your Customers
Before you begin your social media efforts, you should first clearly identify your customer’s preferences and behaviors. Recently, research organizations have started to provide business intelligence and information about how users tend to behave on social networks. This information will be invaluable in strategizing your company’s social media marketing plan going forward.
Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is well aware that its users are a conscious and socially-aware bunch who happen to be fond of using Twitter. That’s why their #Fair Tweets campaign did so well. They set up a site where users could enter tweets for their personal account, and if the tweet was shy of the maximum 140 characters, they would fill in the rest with promotional information about Fair Trade Day. Their customers got to feel good about contributing, and Ben & Jerry’s promoted their brand as well as a good cause.
2. Find Content that Sparks Buzz and Keeps the Conversation Going
It is not uncommon for social media users to multi-task and watch videos and other content while using social networks. People who use the Internet seem to have shorter and shorter attention spans and they’re always on the lookout for fresh content on current events and entertainment news.
You’ll want to tap into this enthusiasm through your social media efforts. Tie your brand into current trends, topics and events. Stimulate “buzz” on your company’s social network by starting conversations about current TV shows, sporting events or blockbuster movies Try and make your company and brand a trusted authority on a cultural trend or “hot topic” that organically relates to your brand.
3. Focus on Facebook’s More Sophisticated Tools
As of this writing, Facebook is still by far the most-frequented social media site on the Internet. Needless to say, your business should have an active and engaged Facebook account. Facebook should also be considered (along with Google AdWords) for “pay per click” advertising.
What Facebook offers is a deep pool of user information that can be parsed and distributed in an extremely granular way. It’s this service that led to the recent valuation of the company before its public offering. It’s this service that you pay for when you want a high ROI on your Facebook advertising. Owning and operating a fan page and harvesting “Likes” is one way to go about disseminating your brand, but utilizing the powerful tools inherent in the analytics software of Facebook is how you gain an edge on using the largest social network
4. Viral Videos?
As bandwidth and streaming technology improves, more Internet users engage in watching videos online. Consider starting a YouTube channel and creating a dynamic, catchy or even edgy video campaign. Create interesting characters that are connected with your business and give them a storyline that reflects positively upon your businesses. You never know — one of more of your videos could go viral!
5. Integrate All Day
In case you didn’t know, the Internet is big. There are literally hundreds of people on it at any given time. If you want to target all of your customers, you’ll need to have a multifaceted advertising approach that includes social media, email marketing, remarketing and any other appropriate media you can afford. What becomes a problem is tracking all that data effectively. There are marketing hub platforms that track conversation about your brand across the Internet and present that information in a clean format that you can execute on.
Integrating your multiple campaigns might be the most valuable tip to the business getting started. You’ll be putting lots of balls in the air and keeping track of them is the only way to prevent them crashing to the floor.
Marketing on the Internet isn’t a new practice but it is a constantly changing one. If you have any hope of success, you must be creative, persistent and most of all relentless!
