More and more small businesses are becoming part of the social marketing landscape. However, with so many outlets in this medium from which to choose, you can destroy your chance of finding success via this popular platform without some keen insights.

 

An Often Overlooked Fact about Social Media Sites

 

Each social platform has its own personality. The demographics bear this out. For example, LinkedIn has a more mature, affluent audience. Hence, the way you'd market on this site is different from say Facebook, whose demographics skew younger and less affluent.

 

The important thing to keep in mind is not to just jump into social marketing just to "get on the bandwagon." Just like any other marketing medium, you must consider the demographics and psychographics of the advertising outlet itself.

Consumer Insights

Following are a few insights for pulling together a social marketing strategy to help you leverage the benefits of this powerful, growing medium.

 

Engage via Multiple Platforms

 

Users on social media sites tend to be much more plugged into various multi-media outlets. And, they're very visual. So use multiple media platforms to reach them, eg, info graphics and video.

 

Tailor Your Message

 

Many firms make the mistake of using the same message on different platforms. But in today's crowded marketplace, it's all about tailoring your message.

 

For example, take Twitter. On this microblogging site, you can only use 140 characters (not words, characters) to get your message across. Users are not interested in a book. While users may click through to your site and read a 40-page marketing report or listen to a 30-minute instructional video, to get them to click on your link, you have only 140 characters to engage them.

 

The bottom line here is, when space is limited, you use it differently.

 

Don't Sell, Engage

 

You will hear this 1,001 times when researching social media marketing, but so many forget it that it bears repeating -- in social marketing, the emphasis is on "social." This is not the place to do a hard sell.

 

Think of social media marketing as a medium to "court/date" your prospects. Send them information that makes their lives better. It could be a link to an industry report; a funny video (pertinent to your industry); a relevant, breaking news story. Whatever it is, keep their needs and interests in mind -- not your need to sell. And, isn't that what being social is all about in real life after all?

 

PPC Summit puts on interactive workshops that teach you how to utilize the Internet as a marketing tool, including pay per click, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, and social media resources.