Mediaboss Marketing

Social media marketing is the process of marketing through social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. By utilizing the social aspect of the web, social media marketing is able to connect and interact on a much more personalized and dynamic level than through traditional marketing.

A social media marketing strategy can be as simple as having a company blog, a Twitter account, or attaching "Digg This" and "Tweet This" tags to the end of articles.

It can also be as complicated as having a full campaign that encompasses blogs, Twitter, social networking and viral videos through YouTube.

The simplest form of social media marketing is to tag articles and blog entries for easy submission and voting on social news sites like Digg.

If you've ever come across a Digg vote counter or a Share This widget at the end of an article, you've seen this form of social media marketing in action.

This type of marketing can often be automated, so it is simple to implement. It can also be very effective for media companies, and can be a great way to promote a company blog.

In many respects, blogs can serve as an extension of traditional media. Much as review copies might be sent to traditional media outlets like newspapers and magazines, they can also be sent to popular blogs on the subject.

Blogs also offer the opportunity to put together 'virtual tours'. For example, many authors have gravitated towards having virtual book tours, which allows them to reach their fans without the travel expenses.

These virtual book tours can include author interviews and Q&A sessions as well as book reviews and book giveaways.

It has become increasingly important to have a presence on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. In addition to these popular social networks, there are also many specialized social networks that might be the perfect place to set up camp for specific products.

For example, a musician might set up a profile on Last.FM as well as MySpace, while a movie might be best promoted through Flixster in addition to Facebook.

Social networks not only give the marketer a place to get the word out, they also provide a place to interact with customers and allow customers to interact with each other. This can be a great starting point for the marketing to go viral and pick up a grassroots effort.

Twitter has picked up a lot of steam in the last year for being a great place for social media marketing. While Twitter has grown far beyond its microblogging roots, it is important to think of Twitter similar to a company blog. While the primary purpose is to get the word out, it is just as important to add a personal touch rather than relying on RSS feeds to deliver stale press releases or simply repeat the company blog.

In addition growing the amount of followers, Twitter can be particularly effective when interacting with customers and fans.

Some of the most effective social media marketing strategies center around YouTube and the viral video. While often more time-consuming and expensive, YouTube can easily become the centerpiece of a larger social media campaign.

Because of its social nature, YouTube can be a great way to interact with customers and get them involved with the marketing as well as the product. An excellent example of social media marketing on YouTube done well was Microsoft's response to the "I'm a Mac" commercials.

Rather than face Apple head on through commercials, Microsoft engaged in a viral "I'm a PC" marketing campaign that centered around customers uploading their own "I'm a PC" video responses. This type of customer interaction is at the core of what social media marketng is all about and is the cornerstone for building an effective strategy.

The more you interact with the customer, the more brand loyalty you build.

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What is Social Media Marketing? - About.com Tech

The internet is one of your most powerful tools when it comes to building name recognition and driving consumers to your business. Whether your company has a brick and mortar location, exclusively online or a combination of both, online marketing is essential to your success. One critical component of using the internet for advertising is effectively using social media to your advantage. Research shows that over 80% of internet users spend the majority of their time on social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google Plus. While each social platform has basic tools to help you create an ad and promote your services, social media marketing services are specially designed to help you quickly pinpoint your audience, which social media they are accessing, critical SEO terms and the best placement of your marketing materials so you don't have to waste money through trial and error.

We reviewed several social media marketing services and narrowed it down to the top ten. We chose WebiMax, Ignite Social Media and Customer Magnetism as the top services in social media advertising. We've also included articles on social media to further help you promote your business using the internet.

Most social media marketing companies we reviewed list their clients and the success each has seen using that particular company. Most have some pretty big names from a variety of industries so you can gauge how successful your particular campaign may be, based on other industry leaders' success. Here are some additional points we made note of while reviewing the best social media marketing companies.

Profile Creation & Management Social media marketing services vary by the depth of the tools offered. Most take over your social media profiles and manage them for you. A few, including the top social media marketing company, help you create a business social medial profile from the beginning, then either hand the reins over to you or continue to manage it for you.

Most social media marketing services help you develop a marketing strategy, taking into account important demographics to define your target audience, best SEO and keywords to help snag high volumes of searches. The best services use geo-specific targeting so local customers that have the best likelihood of using your services are reached. In addition to creating an advertising strategy, look for a service that assists you in creating the content whether that is educational articles, infographics or video. It is also helpful if the service has experience in link building, connecting each of your social media profiles and company website together, which in turns help rank you high on search engine searches.

Performance Monitoring & Reports Creating a strategy and managing your campaign is an important part of a social media marketing company, but it is also important to monitor the success of the campaign and make adjustments as necessary. The best social media marketing services monitor your online reputation, making sure your brand is being viewed favorably and quickly jumping on any negative comments or reports. Additionally, these services should be able to provide you with plenty of data about the increased viewers and followers of each of your social media profiles.

Help & Support It is important with any business service to have access to the account manager or team that is assigned to your social media campaign. You want to be able to communicate your wishes but also have someone proactive in contacting you on a regular basis about the success of your social media promotions. Telephone and email support is available with all of the social media companies we reviewed. Some have the option of connecting with live chat or even Skype, ensuring you always have a way to contact your media team.

Most companies have blogs and articles that touch on some of the trends on social media. However, the best social media services offer training to you or your social media team so that you can eventually bring the management of your business profiles in house. Training materials include in-depth training articles, webinars and one-on-one training sessions.

Social media marketing is an important tool for growing your online image. It takes time and the right marketing company to make it work. Finding the best social media management service is becoming more and more essential, but choosing the right one can take your business to the next help and help you reach a new audience while retaining your current clientele.

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The Best Social Media Marketing Services of 2016

Social media was often seen as the wild child of the marketing departmentthe place where interns started their careers and brands could say random things with little to no repercussions. But times have changed, and the industry has matured.

Yes, social media is still a wonderful place for brands to have a little fun, but it also has a real and measurable impact on a business bottom line. Thus, social media can no longer live in a silo; it must be workin tandem with the rest of your business strategy.

To ensure that your social media marketing campaigns contribute to your brands greater business objectives, weve put together a 7-step guide to coach you through the process. Weve also incorporated a checklist you can use to make sure youve done it all right. Click here to jump right to it.

Goal setting is a staple of all marketing and business strategies. Social media is no exception. Of course, with a range of socialcapabilities, it can be difficultto determine exactly what your objectives should be. For guidance, look to the challenges before you.

A smart social media marketing campaign can answereach of these questions. Prove your teams worth by tackling them head on. To get you started, we pulled together a few common business obstaclesand social objectives that can help brands overcome them.

The world is online. A brands website, therefore, is one of itsmost important marketing tools. Low website traffic canmean fewercustomers and lowerprofits.

To combatthis challenge, your social team should focus itsgoals on creating links directly to the website (whether theyre from your own social posts or influencers). Link to useful content, subpages and company images to position your website and your brand as a resource rather than just another cog in the corporate wheel. This traffic should increase leads and, in the long run, revenues.

According to The Chartered Institute of Marketing,it costs 4 to10 times more to acquire a customer than to retainone. To keep your customers around, use social as a tool to support, communicate and engage. A good social relationship with your customersshouldtranslate into a better perception and offline relationship with your brand. By developing a strong social bond, customers will be more likely to stick with your brand time and time again.

People turn to social to engage with businesses. Therefore, it is important for your brandto be ready to help customerson any channel they can contact you through. Arm your social media team with the materials, education and authority to respond to customer questions and issues. When you do so, youll be equipped to respond to your customers in a timely and accurate way, regardless of how they reach out to you.

Social allows you to reach a broadaudience. Buthoning and perfecting that message takes brain power and time. To create authentic and lasting brand awareness, avoid a slew of promotional messages; instead, focus on creating meaningful content and a strong brand personality through your social channels. Determine relevant hashtags andindustry influencers you can engage with,and tap into those resources to extend your brands overall awareness.

Social has longlived within the marketing department, but that doesnt mean it cant (and shouldnt) have a hand in nearly every business function, from human resources to research and development. To create a fully integrated social media marketing campaign, youll need to involve and integrate multiple departments, especially if your goals have a direct impact on them. Work with all yourteams to determine how you can best support theirgoals and what key performance indicators are important to them (weve outlined some ideas on both below).

Social selling is a term that has grownin popularity since the riseof social marketing.By searching for sales opportunities and then engaging in a helpful and authentic manner, social media can be a great way to prime the sales funnel and find new leads.

For example, someone started a LinkedIn chat, asking aboutsocial media tools. Sarah Nagel, Sprouts Community Manager, jumped in to provide insight and offer a recommendation.

Social media is quickly becoming one of the most importantchannels through whichcompanies interact with their currentcustomers. Social is an easy and very public way for customers to air their grievances with your brand. If you arent responding, it can hurt your reputation and customer relationship.

GrubHub is an example of a company thatis really succeeding in social customer care.

@kayreimz Were sorry to hear about the trouble! Can you DM us that order #? Well take a look.

GrubHub (@GrubHub) February 25, 2015

By taking the time to engage with a dissatisfied customer, GrubHub was able to turn a negative experience into a favorited Tweet!

Whilethe HR team probably spends a good amount of itstime on social media looking through the profiles of applicants, itcan also use socialas a way to increase overall application numbers. Showcase job postings on social media and encourage your employees to share them to their networks as well. Beyond just job postings, social is a useful tool in showcasing your company culture to the world. Highlight some behind-the-scenes images of what it is like to work for your company so you can improve the perception of your brand among candidates.

Your brands social audience representsa group that is highlyengaged, invested and interested in your product or service. Why not leverage that to serve as an online focus group for your company? Asking for and listening to customer feedback on social media is a nimble and easy way to get instant feedback. Additionally, social media can help expose gaps in a product or service.

The marketing department, specifically advertising and PR, traditionally hasa strong role in the social media strategy. But there are always new ways to ensure people are aware of and excited about your brand through social. Whether youre debuting a product, ad campaign or initiative, ensure that social has a strong hand in spreading the word.

Just because a network has billions of users doesnt mean it will have a direct contribution to your brands objectives. Instead of trying to be everything to everybody, focus your efforts on networks that hold the key to your target audience and objectives.

Each network has itsown strengths and weaknesses, and each social media marketer should carefully pick and choose which networks they want to take advantage of. Here are some of the most popular networks as well as what theyre best at.

With an audience of1.23 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers an opportunity to reach a broad range of customers and potential customers.The chart below breaks down Facebooks demographic representationyour target audience is most likely represented in some way.

But how can Facebook contribute to your overall goals? Because Facebooks News Feed is a very visible place for social posts, its one of the best places for you to distribute your content in order to increasebrand awareness, drivewebsite traffic and distinguish yourself as a thought leader. This strategy is even more effective when you take advantage of Facebooks targeting capabilities that allow you to tailoryour messages to users with certain interests.

Where Facebook has the volumeof users, Twitter has the volume ofmessages. In fact, there areover 500 million Tweets sent every day.With all those social messages, there is a great chance that someone is either mentioning your company or starting a conversation that you would be interested in joining.

Thats why Twitter is best to use as a customer service and business development channel. Monitor the network for inbound messages from dissatisfied customers, and quickly turn them into happy interactions. At the same time, look for prospective customers.

LinkedIn has a robust network of over 332 million users, most of whom frequent the site with a working mindset. The advantage with this is that LinkedIn isan amazing network for B2B social media marketers. Whereas sites like Twitter and Facebook catch users more or less on their personal time, LinkedIn gives you access to customers when theyre at their professional best. Use this to build relationships with future customers.

One of the great things aboutGoogle+ is that if you have a strong presence on the site and someone searches for your companythroughGoogle,a snippet of your profile will appear on the results page.

Another greatfeature of Google+ is the ability to hyper-target your potential customers by Communities. Communities are groups of people who get together to discuss specific topics, so if you can find one that your customers are likely to be in, you can post content there that mightinterest them.

Once youve involved the right stakeholders, department and networks, its time to start building engaging content for your social channels. This contentwhether a video, tip sheet or simple Tweetshould all ladder up into your business objectives. Below arejust a few examplesof good content for social andhow to use that to support your goals.

Get ahead of the game byplanning your content in advance, using a social media editorial calendar. Weve put together this 4-step guide forcreating a social media editorial calendarthat should help you get started. Sprout also has a full suite ofsocial media publishing featuresthat include the ability to schedule and queue posts.

With millions of messages being sent across social channelseveryday, there is no doubtconversation happening around your brand. Social media monitoring, therefore, should be an essential part of yoursocial media marketing strategy. Below aresome ways you can monitor social media to identify larger business opportunities for your brand.

People who are mentioning your brand on social are some of the highest quality leads you can drive. Theyve already proved they knowyour product/service and have an interest in reaching out to you. Engage with them, foster that relationship and potentially create a brand advocate. If the mention was less than positive, use the opportunity to showcase your stellar social customer care and prove that you are listening.

Think of some of the words you use when discussing your brand, and look out for them on social. By monitoring these terms, you can identify relevant hashtags you should be using, conversations you should be having and influencers with whom you should be engaging.

Keep a pulse on the competition. Social media can give you insights intoyour competitors marketing plans and help you identify gaps in yourproduct or service.

We cant say it enough: Whether someone is commenting on a post youve made, writing on your wall or mentioning you on Twitter, its important to always stayengaged. Shockingly, oursocial study shows that 5 in 6 messages on social requiring response are not answered by brands. If customers are consistently ignored, theyll eventually ditch your brand all together and look for an alternative.

Be sureto respond to customers who have left negative feedback about your brand as well. Too many companies have lost favor with theirfans by trying to delete the message and sweep it under the rug.

Heres an example of how Jimmy Johns social team handled one such situation.

This was a situation where Jimmy Johns reached out to someone a bit frustrated with the stores hours and turned it into a positive experience. Taylor even favorited the final tweet from Jimmy Johns!

You wont be able to really begin analyzing and improving your efforts until youve successfully got steps 1-6 operational. This final step is actually a step back, letting you figure out whats working and whats not.

Sprout Social was created with social media marketing in mind. Sprout offersa full suite ofsocial media analytics, which help you pinpoint exactly which of your messages perform best. You also can use tools like Google Analytics, which integrates with Sprout, to see which of your posts are driving traffic, conversions and overall revenue.

Once you have a good understanding of which content is driving the most engagement, site visits and conversions, you can use that knowledge to increase your success. Write content and social media posts that are similar to the ones that have worked in the past. This is an ongoing process that will help you honeyour unique social voice.

The last step is to let the company know about the successes youre findingespecially those whohave a stake in the strategy. This allows you to prove the worth of social media and showcase itsbroader implications across yourentire enterprise.

Plus, it doesnt hurt to show off how hard youve been working. Need help? Use the checklist below to make sure youve got all your ducks in a row.

We wanted to give our readers a few resources that they could use moving forward. First, wed be remiss if we didnt mention our ownplatform which includes robust tools forsocial media marketing.

Second, we thought that this 7-step social media marketing checklist would be a great way tohelp all of our readers creating and auditing their own strategies.We encourage you to share it with colleagues or use the embed code to put it on your own site!

Michael enjoys writing about all things social media, and his insights can be found on Adweek's SocialTimes, Social Media Today and Social Media Examiner. When he isn't pouring over blog posts he can usually be found exploring Chicago's unique neighborhoods and breweries.

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7-Step Social Media Marketing Strategy | Sprout Social

Today, a growing number of B2B customers are interacting with companies through social networking channels, from Twitter to blogs to LinkedIn. B2B social marketing is quickly gaining ground as a result.

Organizations that integrate B2B social media into their marketing mix can monitor what prospects are saying about their company and capture interest from those in search of products and solutions.

Get to know the following definitions and start incorporating B2B social media into your own marketing plan:

B2B Social Media refers to the various channels of the social web (blogs, social networks, wikis, etc.) as they pertain to business-to-business interactions. B2B social media also refers to how prospects, customers and businesses use the social web to research, listen, communicate and engage with each other through the exchange of content.

Blog An online journal, with new entries appearing in sequence as they are written

Groundswell A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations

Hashtag A community-driven convention for adding additional context and metadata to tweets

Inbound Marketing A type of marketing characterized by prospects and customers finding companies rather than vice versa

Influencer A person who is highly recognized in an online community and has the ability to sway others thoughts or opinions

Lead Scoring The process of determining the sales readiness of leads using a pre-determined scoring methodology and ranking them accordingly

LinkedIn A business-oriented social networking site

Meme A catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet

Microblogging A type of blogging that allows users to send brief text updates or micromedia, such as photos or audio clips, and publish them. The most popular microblogging platform is Twitter

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) A web standard for the delivery of content blog entries, news stories, headlines, images, video enabling readers to stay current with publications without having to browse to their content.

Sentiment A level of assessment that determines the tone of an article, blog post, a company, etc.; usually positive, negative or neutral

Short URL An alias short URL used for redirection of long URLs

Social Media Any strategy, software system or media outlet that relies on social interaction and the participation of individuals or communities to create and publish content

Social Media Monitoring The use of search engine technology to listen for specific keywords as defined by your organization

Social News Websites where users submit and vote on news stories or other links, thus determining which links are presented

Social Proof The determination of what is right by finding out what other people think is right

Social Selling Also referred to as Sales 2.0, the merging of Web 2.0 technologies with traditional sales strategies, enabling salespeople to better prioritize their time and serve as expertsnot just negotiators in the product selection process

Twitter -- A social networking and microblogging service in which users send and read other users' updates known as tweets that are 140 characters or less

Twebinar - A mashup between a live podcast/audio broadcast and Twitter as the backchannel for discussion

Web 2.0 A term used to describe the second generation of web tools and software that encourage users to become more active participants, creating content and interacting with each other within web-based, social communities

Widget A mini application that performs a specific function and connects to the Internet

YouTube A video sharing website on which users can upload and share videos

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B2B Social Marketing Glossary Terms Marketo.com

Social media marketing, now simply known as social marketing by many, is a strategic process that is designed to create a buzz that ultimately leads to profitable sales.

The earliest modern marketers understood this Sell the sizzle, not the steak was one popular catchphrase.

Charles Revson was one of the masters of modern marketing. He built the Revlon cosmetics empire that made him a billionaire nearly 50 years ago back when that was an outrageous amount of money.

Revlon sold cosmetics, yet their marketing focused on attraction creating demand by selling excitement, fashion, and fantasy.

Thats the goal of your content marketing to make your brand attractive.

Nothing more, and nothing less.

The early days of modern marketing were predominantly about advertising. These were the glory days of Madison Avenue, when perception was everything.

Perception has been replaced by choice, and informational content is an essential component that helps consumers make better choices.

To make your brand attractive today you have to answer questions and solve problems. This is the role of your content marketing.

However you position it, your content marketing should be designed to create value.

Value in this economy is attractive. It can indeed create excitement, but in a very different way than that used by traditional marketers.

So, your content marketing challenge is simple. Learn what your ideal customers value most, then educate them on how the products and services that your brand offers can fulfill, satisfy, achieve, accomplish, and otherwise meet their needs and wants.

Consumers now have a voice that largely determines the value of a brand. In fact, whether you realize it or not, they own your brand.

If the goal of content marketing is attraction, then the next logical step is engagement which is what social networking does well.

This is something that many marketers do not understand. They expect to go straight from attraction to a sale. While that may occasionally be possible, it is unlikely much like progressing to marriage after a first date.

Use your social media channels to engage your prospects to develop relationships and build trust. Thats what leads to new business.

This is a process.

You know your sales process. Its often an intuitive process that has enabled you to grow a successful business.

So that everyone on your team knows how it works, you have to write out the steps and train your team to work together on delivering it.

Having a great sales process gives your prospects the confidence that your team will take them to where they want to go.

That confidence starts with your team. When they are confident, that gets transferred to your prospects.

The result is new business.

Attraction, Engagement, and Conversion = the formula for your success with social media marketing.

What do you think?

Simple once you understand it, right?

About the Author:Jeff Korhan, MBA, is theauthor ofBuilt-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business(Wiley 2013)

He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff onLinkedIn,Twitter,Facebook, andGoogle+.

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Social Marketing is a Process - Jeff Korhan