Social Media Marketing changes marketing communications by using online applications to identify or create prospects and reinforce brand awareness. Social media marketing can also provide public relations services to help build and maintain strong, positive relationships with a company’s network. Lastly, but perhaps as important, social media marketing provides SEO value by link building.

Social media is more familiar than formal; this means the perceived ROI is sometimes less tangible, usually measured in new relationships or web traffic.

The term “social media” refers to a growing number of applications accessed on the internet that are interactive, conversational, and sharing-based. Examples might include commenting, sharing information, and linking. These applications offer an opportunity to converse with and engage your prospects and clients.

Some use the terms “social media” and “web 2.0” interchangeably. Rather getting caught up in the technology, clients must understand that using social media requires changes in focus, participation, user control, sharing, openness, and networking. Without adaptation, a social media campaign cannot be successful.

The social media applications that are most useful to marketing include:

• Blogging, micro-blogging, & RSS (open platform, Wordpress, Blogger)
• Wikis, & web office tools (Internal or public)
• Social networks, (such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc)
• Social bookmarking, social news sites (such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit)
• Online photo sharing, (such as Flickr & PhotoBucket)
• Podcasting/videocasting, (independently or though sources such as iTunes)
• Crowdsourcing (using these tools)

Biznet’s three service offerings for social media marketing (strategy, launch, and maintenance) offer a scalable program of success. Please consider that campaigns are more successful when the client is closely involved in the maintenance process. Social media use training is included in the launch, when necessary.

Strategy

• Complements existing advertising mediums and initiatives
• Identify which target markets will best respond using social media tools
• Identify tools that will compliment themes and attitudes of the client project
• Map a strategy to employ best effective tools using viral marketing techniques
  

Launch

• Create accounts and profiles
• Develop content for profiles and tools
• Provide training for each medium and tool
  

Maintenance

• Maintain and update social media seeding, linking, conversation, and content
• Adjust campaign strategy to maximize effectiveness and value
• Conversation & buzz marketing