WSI Social Media Strategies

Due to the fact that social media is currently such a popular topic in the marketing industry, even consumers felt obliged to form an opinion about it.  According to Nielsen, social media accounts for nearly 23% of time spent online in the United States. 

Day 2 of The Internet Show held in the Sandton Convention Centre is dawning. Day 1 had good attendance, day 2 might see more. So get there!

On our way to The Internet Show @ the Sandton Convention centre today, we did not really know what to expect as it is was the first one to be held here in South Africa. Upon arrival the check in process was carried out swiftly and we were ready to be wowed. This was unfortunately not exactly the case.

More and more online marketers are joining Facebook with the purpose of dominating their online market.  However, because most people are still ignorant regarding social media, they tend to achieve minimal to no results in their business.  The most important fact to remember is not to advertise your business too much, otherwise you will be seen as a spammer, and you will subsequently be ignored.  There are a number of strategies to be followed when marketing online with Facebook.

One of the most talked about topics in social media circles at the moment is whether or not you should create separate profiles for personal and business.  The boundaries between personal and business thus need to be considered carefully.  Fact of the matter is that there really isn’t one clear-cut answer.  Each approach is associated with some pros and cons of its own.  

It seems that it has become the norm nowadays for internet users to share their personal opinions and experiences using blogs.  Blogging is one of the most convenient ways to communicate with millions of readers who share your particular interests.  Business promotion via blogs is especially of great interest here.  In order to promote your business, you need to carefully consider who your target audience is and then produce content accordingly.  Internet users will only be interested in reading your blog if they find the content to be both educative and informative.  Due to the vast number of blogs found on the internet these days, you have to be absolutely certain that your blog will serve a useful purpose.  Thus do not ever compromise with the content of your blog.

More and more businesses are busy integrating social media marketing in their respective marketing campaigns.  Not only do social media marketing provide businesses with great opportunities to achieve business growth and recognition, but it also helps to increase the traffic to their websites if done correctly.  Due to the growth and use of the internet, a great number of businesses are creating accounts on social networking sites or online communities such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, et cetera.  These networks are commonly referred to as platforms that businesses can use to generate exposure to their web sites.  Social media marketing is thus seen as online communities where the main aim is to generate exposure for online businesses.

The Internet has been proven as the most successful way to market various kinds of products and services.  There is no faster or more efficient medium to use than the Internet when launching new or improving existing marketing campaigns.  Businesses that are serious about improving their position in a specific marketplace are beginning to realize that they need to establish some kind of online presence.  It seems that investing in social media is the newest craze on the Internet.  Using social media is not only extremely popular, but a proven way to expand your clientele.

 According to Omniture’s 2010 “Online Analytics Benchmark Survey”, Facebook is the most important site for marketers’ social media marketing efforts.

Information about social media is freely available nowadays.  However, what is not so common-place is helpful information guiding you on how to write for social media.  This is something that I would like to change.  Within this article you will find some tips telling you how to write for social media.  The most important determinant with social media is your message; more importantly how you convey that message.  Due to the fact that there are so little practical guidance informing marketers on social media copywriting many of you simply make use of the more traditional marketing approaches.  More often than not this turns out to be a recipe for failure.