subject: Social Media Marketing For SMEs Into 2010 [print this page] Social Media Marketing For SMEs Into 2010
On the 31st September 2009 there was lots of noise about advertising spend on the Internet overtaking ad spend on television, interesting articles were written and many comments were made. What this shows is that businesses are seeing a positive return on their Internet advertising investment and this should give confidence to SMEs and local businesses to begin putting at least some of their marketing budget into raising and maintaining their online profile.
When talking to business owners about the Internet, a lot said that they had spent money on building a website but had no traffic or they'd paid for Search Engine Optimisation/Pay Per Click but found that the ongoing costs were not worth the return. But Internet years are like dog years; developments are announced on a weekly basis. A problem that SMEs have is that they might hear these announcements but not understand how it could benefit their business. Buzz words like social media and social networking mean very little unless you have more than just the gist, and business owners question why they should know and understand about sites like Bebo, Facebook or Twitter when all they really seem to be is pointless, adolescent noise- a distraction from the 'real' world of their business. Yesterday's announcement suggests that it's now time for SMEs to revisit marketing and advertising online.
Five years ago, getting your website onto the first page of search engines like Google and Yahoo was the only way you'd be found online. Marketing on the Internet has moved on since then, nowadays anyone can post content on line (this is User Generated Content or UGC) whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Flickr or any of the multitude of social networking sites. User generated content is the basis of Social Media Marketing (SMM); this is where it starts.
The most important thing about SMM is that you don't sell. Social Media is not about selling; it's about getting involved in the conversation, making friends or connections with people who share the same interests as you. It's about breaking down the barriers of distrust in the virtual world. If you are active in conversations and help sort out people's problems then you become Known, Liked and Trusted- the basis of networking. When people know, like and trust you they will come to you if they are in need of a product you sell or a service you provide. The difficulty is understanding how it will work best for your business and finding ways to make it time efficient.
Whereas the question with Search Engine Optimisation was always 'how do your customers find you?'- The question now is 'how do you find your customers?' and the answer is social media. Do you actively look for your customers on line? Where do you look? The answers to these questions not only depend on the type of business and your location but also on your ability to utilise Twitter, Facebook and a blog.
So, if you're a small to medium sized business owner or even if you're the CEO of a large company it's time to reassess your opinion of social media and see how it can work for you into 2010.
Phil Girdlestone, based in Bristol, UK uses Web 2.0, Social Media Marketing, Video Marketing, Press Releases, Blogging and more to promote your business whilst ensuring that your on page Search Engine Optimisation is up to date.
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