Many companies have set up Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, listed their products/services on web based directories that provide interactive customer reviews and use Google+ and LinkedIn to make professional and personal connections. Some also start blogs and create YouTube channels to share information through videos that now appeals to the masses.
Even so, many businesses are still trying to integrate social media into their old ‘marketing mix’ rather than understanding the whole purpose of social media. This traditional, one-way marketing doesn’t work anymore. Consumers are already bombarded with thousands of marketing messages on a daily basis but the majority of them are ignored. Newspaper circulations are down, television commercials are easily skipped, nearly half of all direct mail is never opened and there are over 200 million Americans on the ‘Do Not Call’ list which prevents any outbound telesales calls. Even the best banner ads are only getting about 1% click through rates now. So what else can you do to get your business out there?
Today, we are all connected and smart companies make business personal by becoming a 'social business' rather than applying the same old marketing techniques to the new medium. They realize that ‘social’ isn’t a new way of marketing, it’s a new way of doing business and they use an analytics culture to shape and adjust their strategy on the go. This is quite different from the traditional ways of brand building in the past.
Companies that get it right by becoming social see great success. Nearly two thirds of businesses have acquired a customer through their blog and a quarter of B2B firms have gained a client through Facebook. Company websites that have a blog get more visitors than those who don’t. Web visitors from social sites often have higher conversion rates than those who aren’t communicating directly with their customers.
It’s not just about going social it’s about becoming a social business. Creating the right presence, exposure with a Call To Action on the web is critical in branding your company to gain new business. It’s realizing that marketing doesn’t work like it used to and today, successful companies have to become social ones. Diversifying your web exposure and keeping your online presence filled with new and interesting content is the key. Just by having a website, blog and web profiles will not produce business unless you drive traffic to them and encourage engagement.
Living in this socially connected, real-time and mobile-enabled world, creating a compelling web based presence is critical for success. Even if you are a small company or entrepreneur with limited finances, cost effective marketing strategies can be implemented to help you achieve a social media presence.
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