Social Media Marketing is a modern term, but the idea at its core is as old as business itself.
Even before there was television, written publications, or radio, marketing – the idea of spreading the word about your product or service in order to gain more customers – was done by word of mouth. The basic goal of a business by definition is to gain customers and create revenue.
Social Media Marketing’s function in the modern world remains the same, although in our digital age the internet have given even the smallest company the ability to reach a global audience.
Although a few stubborn holdouts still refuse to accept it, social media is now the established hub of communication worldwide – be it personal interactions or business marketing. This fact makes social media management a primary function and core responsibility of any business. Of course, the added benefits that social media marketing bring your business also come with added responsibilities and costs, although if done wisely the costs will be more than offset by the benefits.
The obvious benefit is the ability to reach your audience where they are, and the exquisitely precise targeting that is possible through social channels is a dream that marketers of the past would have drooled over.
But there are plenty of other benefits as well, far beyond getting an advertisement in front of eyeballs. Another awesome benefit is the ability to quickly and effectively build your brand. With a good strategy a new startup can go from unknown to household name in the same time span that businesses would spend just getting known in a neighborhood area in the past.
Marketing and branding are only the beginning when a solid strategy is in place. The ‘Mastermind‘ concept introduced by Napoleon Hill years ago, the basic idea of which most simply call group brainstorming, can be fully realised through social platforms. Many call this social media exchange – using virtual communities (as in public or private groups) of like-minded people and experts for the exchanging and development of ideas. This is essentially like hiring a think tank for your business, but without any overhead at all.
But what about those costs and responsibilities we spoke of earlier? What does a “wise” strategy look like for social media management?
There’s no one simple answer for this in the big picture, but there is a common, simple step that thousands of small, medium, and even some large companies have found is an essential cornerstone for their overall strategy: outsourcing the job of social media manager to an agency. When comparing the costs of creating a new department or expanding an existing marketing department, and hiring people and the enormous expense involved with that on average, the cost of outsourcing this to an agency is really the smartest business decision in most cases.
The trick is to find the right agency. This is a job that involves close communication with your company and a great working relationship. After all, you’re trusting them with your brand reputation. But the alternative is no less than a full-time position – developing campaigns, creating, curating, and managing published content across a wide spectrum tailored to fit each platform’s demographic, then managing the interactions with the public. It’s a lot of work, but it’s vital. Choose your agency wisely. To find out how we can help you, contact me today.