Mediaboss Marketing

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Perception has been replaced by choice, and informational content is an essential component that helps consumers make better choices.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