Is Social Media Marketing really effective? The clear answer to this question is yes! Even simply based on the responses from the interviews Mike did for this weeks assignment it seems pretty hands down when it comes to everyone's feelings about the effectiveness of using sites like facebook, twitter, and google+. It seems like a clear consensus that most of the class feels the same way and in a lot of the blogs I read many other classmates also shared experiences on how social media marketing is in their lives and how it impacts them. To me it seemed as though there were several reoccurring themes that seemed to pop up while reading the interviews as well as my research online...these include target your audience, make that personal connection, manage your time wisely, don't waste your time on sites that aren't going to do anything for you and measure your results to gage what's really working for you.
Do Do Do Do Do's...
*Find your target audience and stick with them. If you target people who you know will enjoy your product then spend time keeping the customers you already have.
*Practice proper time management. If you pick a few specific sites to reach your client base then you'll be able to dedicate the proper amount of time to those instead of trying to put yourself out there on every social media and marketing sites and keep up with them. In Mike's interviews Sally Whitwell said, "It does take a constant time commitment to make it effective." In another interview David Gutowski had a very similar view on the subject, "Social media can be a time sink, especially Twitter and Facebook. Focus is important, or you can get lost in the details."
*Keep the people involved! It's very important to have personal interaction that way your customers can feel like they're looked as an individual and not a number. Coming up with ways to let fans rate things like new songs for artist or new flavors for coffee houses helps keep your customers feeling like their opinions really do matter.
*Keep track of your results. Sites like google+ let you keep track of site hits and these things are an important way to find out if what you're doing is actually working.
Dont's...
*Don't waste your time with Myspace, that ship has long sailed. Staying up to date on sites like facebook and twitter can be a full time job, so don't waste time on sites that aren't going to get you anywhere such as Myspace. David Gutowski even said, "I have given up on MySpace. I generate almost no traffic from the site, and even at the height of its popularity the user interface didn't engender traffic or interaction." It's very important to utilize the sites that are going to get the most traffic.
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1733635/ways-make-your-social-media-marketing-work-harder
http://everythingpublicrelations.com/how-to-create-an-effective-social-media-marketing-plan
http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-marketing/the-anatomy-of-a-social-media-policy/
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/02/19/what-makes-a-marketing-campaign-on-social-networks-successful/
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