It’s clear that social media has grown dramatically over the last few years and that with an increase of than 800 million active users, the amount of Facebook users is easily a lot more than twice the size of the complete population of america!
Its growth has been astronomical now, millions of people are posting more personal and business information online than ever before. It’s happening at lightning speed with a large number of posts, tweets and uploads occurring every hour.
Recent research conducted by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) commissioned by Sensis Pty Ltd (May 2011, p. 10) indicates, that “62% of Australian Internet surfers use a variety of social media marketing sites, with many visiting every day and most at least several times a week.” It’s no surprise that with the an incredible number of prospective customers from everywhere using these sites, each day, that so many businesses are determined to include social media marketing into their marketing mix. However it also important to get a knowledge of how these sites are increasingly being used and what’s involved in maintaining or resourcing your organization presence on these sites. Your online footprint can stick around for a long time so don’t underestimate how this may affect the perception of your brand available in the market place. Spend some time upfront thinking about whether social media is right for your business.
1. Seek first to comprehend – It is very important that you understand the fundamentals of how is social media actually works and how it’s being used. What exactly are people and businesses doing with social media? What gets them results? A few of you may be thinking, how do I do this? Perchance you could consider trying it out for yourself by setting up an individual account, then testing a few of the features, or get yourself a trusted friend to show you their account and show you through. Alternatively there are so many resources and ‘how to’ items online about social media marketing, you could run a search on Google or on YouTube on a specific topic of interest watching the video tutorials to obtain informed.
2. Understand your purpose – What is your purpose is for using social media marketing? What do you hope to achieve for your business by using it? It’s really important that you identify your purpose for getting involved in social media marketing (or any other marketing activity for that matter). You need to work out why you are engaging. What do you expect to achieve? Do you simply desire to build brand awareness, engage with your visitors or identify new sales opportunities? Be sure Premium Vacation Packages be realistic about what you believe you will be able to achieve.
3. If you decide to engage in social media, which sites are best for you personally? – With the plethora of social media sites available, which ones are best for your business? Think about where your market would socialize online, and think about the amount of time and resources you’ll realistically be able to invest in maintaining and administering your site presence. Which ones are right for you? You might find that some certainly are a better fit than others.
4. Quality Content – In the event that you decide that social media is right for your business, carefully think about the amount and quality of information you want to share in the online sphere. Remember it’ll probably stay there for a long period, so you must make sure it accurate and reliable information that’s valuable to your target audience. It has to be relevant, otherwise people won’t read it.