Introduction

What does social media marketing mean?

Advertising and promotion of products through social networking sites on the Internet. This industry of online marketing can be viewed as word of mouth marketing through the World Wide Web. Also known as email marketing or digital marketing, there are special tools that have been created to help marketers find out how effective their social media marketing methods are, and what improvements they can make to increase efficiency.

Considering that in the past, people relied on word of mouth to find out where best to find a product or service, people now use social networking sites to tell their “friends” about services and products. Business owners can create social networking pages for free, getting into a global audience without the overhead of other ways of advertising. In addition to finding new customers, social media channels are also used to keep in touch with existing customers and provide support.

All social networking sites, as well as dozens, if not hundreds, give digital markets the means to easily promote their content and communicate with other people. Many of the social networks will provide marketers with extensive information, from geographic and demographic information to personal information. This allows the digital marketer to tailor their message to specific groups or people, hoping that they increase their reach and conversion. Social network segmentation ensures that a company message reaches the right audience.

Social media marketing campaigns have an additional advantage that is attractive to a wide audience. One campaign may appeal to both potential and current customers, the media, individual bloggers, employees, and the general public. Social networking sites often provide their own indicators for analyzing campaign performance, but there are also many third-party applications that can analyze reach, customer responses, return on investment, and many other indicators.

Social Media Marketing Strategy

One of the widely used social media marketing strategies is creating viral content. This is content that was designed specifically for users to share with their family, friends, and colleagues. This is a word of mouth strategy for the digital age, and it can be quite effective when it is executed correctly. In addition to spreading the message widely, this type of viral campaign also provides implicit approval when it is shared by someone known and trusted recipient.

Viral nature begins with content called “sticky” from digital marketers. Decent content is what attracts the user’s attention and encourages them to act, usually sharing content with others. Social media marketing can also encourage users to create and share their content in the form of reviews or comments.

Social media can have great benefits, but if it is used to share information that can harm a company, it can be a double-edged sword. Even if negative evidence is immediately considered, and even if it turns out to be false, it can have long-term negative consequences.

Directions of effective social media marketing

Not all categories of business are considered relevant areas for product distribution in communities. Marketing works most effectively in certain categories:

1. Attracting customers for small and medium businesses . Social networks have some ready-made capabilities that ensure the implementation of marketing tasks: active 24/7 interaction with customers – the ability to quickly respond to changes in demand for a product (service); distribution of information in a geometric progression – information about the product (service), interesting content is transmitted from one user to dozens or hundreds of others, etc .; “Point” advertising is the selection of a user segment by criteria (gender, age, interests, preferences, place of residence) and orientation of the advertising company in this segment; Hidden advertising – the promotion of a product (service) can be carried out in the form of tips, advice and stories about personal experience, which productively affects potential consumers.

2. Internet sites for sales . The active development of direct sales sites was made possible thanks to the emergence of new services in social networks. Users can not only communicate with each other, exchange opinions, but also choose products or services offered to them by reading reviews and comments from other customers.

Social Media Marketing Directions

Social media marketing is in constant development. The most relevant areas:

1. Development of social networking sites . Historically, the first function of social networks was the restoration of online connections between old acquaintances. To date, communications have long been restored and social networks have changed the direction of development. They are the online representation of a person. This requires new services. Many developments are in great demand: searching for information, storing and editing files (including images), the ability to blog, community, geosocial services. For many, social networks have become almost synonymous with the Internet. This is good ground for marketers.

2. Increasing interest in blogs . It is not enough to upload single images with short captions and publish individual posts. It is important to have space for copyright publications, united by a single topic, with the ability to search and organize information. It attracts attention, creates a certain image, sets up not only to contemplate something of an entertaining nature, but also to receive informative content.

3. The growth of B2B, business with the presence of spontaneous transactions. The data obtained by the research company Eloqua suggests that for 82% of B2B brands, working in social networks is the main way to increase company awareness. The real audience and goals of B2B companies in social networks: decision makers (top managers of companies); employees engaged in the search for potential partners and customers; potential employees.

The following objectives are pursued: increasing brand awareness; the organization of a community of brand-loyal users of networks for repeat sales; tracking and responding to brand references (services) on the web; increase the number of positive reviews about the brand (service); increase traffic to the company’s website from social networks; lead generation or direct sales.

4. Turning entertainment content into educational . Entertainment content does not solve business problems and does not lead the user to the next stage of the content marketing funnel. He can never turn a subscriber into a potential customer. In addition, the unique entertainment content is rather difficult to create, and a bad illiterate joke can negate many previous steps. Therefore, the next logical stage is cognitive content, which is characteristic of solving problems that are unattainable entertaining.

5. Specialization of individual areas of marketing , the formation of the profession SMM – specialist. Social networks are actively developing, but there are still not enough good SMM specialists. The cadre market can often offer either self-taught, or those who have managed to master the profession on the basis of their own bitter experience. We still have nowhere to give a full-fledged specialized education on this subject.