Social Media Marketing

The territory of Social Media is expanding exponentially. As a result, the rules for promoting your business or organization have been re-written. Millions of people all over the world use social networking sites every day, making them part of their daily lives. Because social media networks traffic so much attention, they have become a powerful vehicle for advertisers to create interest and bring recognition to their brand. Social media sites consume nearly 25% of people’s time online. The number of people who are visiting social media sites has increased by 24% over the last year. In 2010 $716 million was spent on social media marketing and it is expected to reach 3.1 billion by 2014. At that point social media will more influential than email or mobile communication.
Social Media Marketing is defined as the methodical use of marketing through social media as a means for building a business. There are several goals when striving to implement social media marketing. Establishing brand recognition is a common goal. Since the majority of the population is already visiting social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, getting your brand name all over those networks can help let people know that you’re around.
For companies or organizations that are small or are just starting out this is an important implementation in marketing strategy. How else can you reach thousands of customers and prospects all over the world with practically zero advertising costs? 54% of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) were using social media to promote their businesses as of September 2010, double the number using these sites in December 2009. And it’s working for them: 60% credit social media with positively impacting their businesses, 46% said their company’s brand awareness has increased and 36% have attracted new business as a result of their social media efforts. LinkedIn is the most popular site, with 73% of small businesses using it, followed by Facebook at 64%, and...