Social media is continually evolving, so in order for us to utilise this tool for our online business growth, we need to keep up to date with the changes. There are some trends that change quicker than the UK weather, and others that are here to stay for a while. Trendspotting is an activity vital to devising your online strategy.
Understanding where your customers reside within the social media village is also essential to your internet marketing strategy. Once you’ve found where they are, you must learn how they interact and communicate. As with any strategy, what makes them tick? Get into their heads. When they are using social media, how do they react to advertising, and what type?
Always remember this is their personal space. Try not to invade their social retreat, encourage them to follow YOU! It is time to be clever and more creative than ever before. If you get your marketing angle right in cyber space, you could create a global phenomenon in a fraction of the time it takes for more traditional advertising methods.
Make sure you log on to the leading news sites everyday and interact with information from ‘Mashable’, keeping up with the trends. You may come across a story that relates to what you are offering, or a trend that creates a spark of genius within you. Take time to look around the social web sphere yourself and take note of what others are doing, and with what success? What attracts you or what makes you press X? Who and what are people following and why?
One of the biggest trends about to explode in 2011 is branded content. Internet marketers have the potential to engage and inspire thousands of consumers through creating content that enriches the user’s social media experience. Subtle selling, through offering beneficial information to your target audience in an appealing format is one of the most successful routes, and should not be overlooked. Shouting messages and orders at customers is unproductive. Adding value to people’s lives will get you far, both on and offline.
When building customised branded content, link the information via the key sites to include Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and YouTube (the future of internet marketing is linking everything together in a cohesive, unified experience). Make the information beneficial, consistent and ensure your content inspires the user to take action, clicking the link and hooking them back to YOUR site, (and ensure the link takes them directly to the page of interest). It is vital that you determine who your target audience are and use the latest internet marketing and social media tools to target your content towards them.
Video sharing is now a crucial part of this process, and one of the most successful ways to market online. With more and more users willing to spend that extra bit of time interacting with your beneficial visual messages, never forget how are you adding value to their lives within these moments? How are your products and services going to help them? That is all that matters. (Click here to view our video sharing tips).
Key Words to Remember & Research:
- Trends
- Value
- Benefit
- Targeting
- Online Strategy
- Branded Content
- Video Marketing
- Cohesive Experience
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About Lilach
Similar content to my own recent blog post, so I like it
. The times for interruptive marketing are over, and “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – John Maxwell.
Brian Vickery recently posted..Social Media – And Workout Etiquette
Thanks Brian – loving the quote by John Maxwell:)
Lilach
I think that in the realm of branded content, brand marketers are going to have reinvent themselves a bit: learn how to become videographers, relearn how to write personal letters, perform unexpected acts of kindness…
As far as giving beneficial information to their client base, I like to suggest that the information could be to help resolve a real-life problem — in an area that is, of course, relevant for the brand.
Thanks Minter, appreciate your comment. I think all businesses are continually learning and having to change the way the work as the online and offline world is evolving so quickly.
Hi Lilach. I really like your post here. Businesses should keep updated with the latest features, strategies, and tools useful in social media marketing. And I agree with you with the branding of names happening in in Internet. There is so much things to know and learn. Thankful to those blog owners too. It is easier for me to get useful and helpful information. Thanks to you. Cheers!
Great article again, Lilach! Always full of value,. Thanks!
Valuable insight! Always good starting the day with some well thought out content.
Have a great Monday!
Deep Current eMarketing Solutions recently posted..Social Media: 5 reasons you should use it for business?
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