With the high amount of users on Facebook, YouTube, Flicker and other social network platforms it seems that some businesses are putting their money into the wrong areas of marketing? I am going to focus here on the Australian market as it the market I am interested in. There is great debate as to the value of internet advertising however one must understand the shift in culture of the use of the internet. Australians love Facebook with over 6 million users.  That is 30% of the population are using Facebook.  Google has also done some research into YouTube users in Australia.

This video not only highlights what changing in the culture but also should set alarms to your marketing campaign.

The trend in Social Media Marketing has seen a major shift in the way we do business. The keyword is “Social”.  Marketing to Social network users is something you done all your life and that is create conversation.  Twitter has become the conversation platform of recent times and soon to be released to the public Google Wave that makes claims to be an email killer.

Strategies

The most important strategy of Social Media Marketing is becoming a part of communities online. Make connections with other users and build a following that become interested in your product range and services.  This is not about selling directly as you do with other media but about participation in the media.

Creating a Facebook page and a YouTube channel will not bring people rushing to your door. It requires a strategy that will create interest in what you’re doing.  Take for example you sell Children’s clothing.  A couple of YouTube Video, a Web site and a Facebook page will not get you any business.

The strategy requires 1st an insight into the culture of Social Media. The culture is very astute and lean heavily on other users for advice and opinions.  If your products are not endorsed by the media then you have a lot of work to do to get it right.  They can fail your campaign in a matter of hours.

To create a conversation you need to be positive and supportive of the culture. By this I mean offer something of value that requires just a mouse click and then support that offer by creating conversation about it. An example might be you have a new range of children fashions just came into stock.  You have created an online catalogue and want to drive some traffic to the catalogue.  You may first post an item on Facebook Feed. “Can you see your child wearing this?”  with a link to the catalogue. This would work well with the target of people who have children and may lead to sales but it also becomes a little more complex.  What do the visitors do when they view your catalogue?

My idea that a well designed catalogue would allow users to vote on the question you asked?  “Can you see your child wearing this?”   Allow them to place an order for an item and make comments about their experience in dealing with you.  Take a look how eBay  allows users to participate with the seller or another example is Amazon.com and how you’re able to rate books and write reviews.

Get Referrals

When I first learned the craft of been a sales person the emphases was to prospect for new sales leads. One tactic was to ask a customer  “ Who do you know that may also need my service”.  Online is very similar because you have a resource of followers who would be happy to tell others of something that is good on the internet.  But this need to be easy for the user to do. Web 2 technologies make this very easy by adding share buttons to your pages for all the major social networks.  The visitor can quickly click the share button to post to their friends or followers.  I use Facebook that then aggregates it to FreindFeed  that then tweets it on twitter. There is a potential for over 100,000 people will get a copy of the links I post. 

To motivate visitors to use the share button comes back to what I wrote earlier. “Give something of value”  If the visitor agrees it has value to their network then they will be very eager to share it.  My fellow student who follow me on my Social media  have an interest in Internet studies. If I find an interesting post and share it others in my network they normally will follow up on the shared link.

Why?

Common Interest. The topic is what my peer group has an interest in.  This can also work for you.

Competitors

The interesting thing about Social media is the way in which they compete. There is still the normal motivation to be better than the competitor but also the use of competitor content to help you.  If you see something good then share it with your group even if it’s a competitors content. This builds trust with your user and adds to the “Social” aspect of the media.

Practice

Social media is very rarely an instant success although much has been written about the one who succeeded. But for each instant success there are millions who are making ground with their own strategy.  Normally it could take six month or more to see any real benefit in your efforts and there are many pitfalls.   But practice and persistence is the key to your success.  

Good Luck.

NOTE:  You could employ a strategist to building your online campaign.  Find someone who is qualified to advise you on the correct methods. Do not use the receptionist as Peter Fletcher point out just one problem in doing so.