32
TRAFFORD BUSINESS connect
June/July 2014
social media
The rise and impact of social media In this day and age the term Social Media is thrown about and can often be attached by stigma or stereotype. This generalisation of such an influential form of media can leave companies unaware of the benefits which can be attained by correctly utilising these different platforms and implementing effective ‘Social Media Marketing’ strategies. ‘Social Media Marketing’ basically refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites with the objective of allowing clients and their companies to showcase what they have to offer to a selective consumer group. The term ‘Social Media’ is in fact a catch-all term for sites that may provide radically different social actions. For instance, Twitter is a social site designed to let people share short messages or “updates” with others. Facebook, however in contrast is a full-blown social networking site that allows for sharing updates, photos, joining events and a variety of other activities. Social Media often feeds into the discovery of new content such as news stories, it can also help build links that in turn support Search Engine Optimisation efforts, many people also perform searches on social media sites to fact find social media content.
The only way they say in those days to participate, was to send an email to the owner of the site and hope they came back to you, today this sort of contact is now referred to as ‘web 1.0 functionality’. Today social media refers to a collective group of sites whose content is primarily written and published by users and not the owners of the site. For example ‘YouTube,’ where the videos you watch are indeed uploaded or published by ordinary people and not by YouTube or their staff. It’s the same with Wikipedia where content is again written or edited by people not connected to the site. So in essence, instead of normal corporate websites which are created by companies, the contents on social media websites are actually created by the ‘you and me brigade’ and today this is now referred to as web 2.0 functionality. Some popular platforms would include Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, Second Life, Myspace, Google Groups, Wikipedia /wiki.
Social Media Marketing
‘Social Media Marketing’ is a segment of marketing that utilises the internet’s social platforms to deliver commercial messages to In order to further understand ‘Social potential consumers. Media Marketing’ we need to define It is a collection of methods Social Media and Social Networking. and operations for generating commercial publicity through In the early days of Website design social media sites and online websites were static and passive, communities, fundamentally it is they were mostly online corporate brochures with very little interaction. about planning and executing
advertisement campaigns through appropriate platforms. The rational for all of this is simple, the advertisers have to go where their clients hang out - on web 2.0 social media sites or platforms, so this is where having a professional ‘Internet Media Consultant’ can help business. An in-depth knowledge of the way this works is paramount to a client’s success. Specific consultants, grown from the rise of Social Media, understand the different platforms available on the market which allows are clients to get the best ROI (Return on Investment). Consulting on a number of different options that are available on the market and helping identify what would be the best options for clients ensures they get the return they are looking for. Professional consultancy firms are aware of the fact that, this day and age, competition is rife across all platforms and as an organisation they will pull together bespoke packages to suit individual business needs.
• C lose to 15 million pieces of information is shared on Facebook daily. • O ver 90% of social media users think that all companies should have a presence. • 8 0% of companies are using LinkedIn to recruit potential new employees. Therefore, if you are a business owner or indeed an entrepreneur and need to put together a social media plan for your business, specialist media consultants can help in this area. They can consult and advise on your entry into the use of social media platforms, leaving you to concentrate on running your business. The key for a business is to understand their target audience and the social media platforms they use. Once this is used effectively and correctly that business will start to see themselves ‘bringing business back’.
Some interesting facts from online articles and media are :• T here are currently over 200 million blogs published. • A lmost 40% of active internet users subscribe to an RSS feed. • 57% are on a social network. • T witter features over 50 million tweets and blogs per day. • Facebook is used more than 80 million hours daily.
John Fisher Boomerang Integration Consultants www.boomerangconsultants.co.uk
Do you want to maximise the benefits of using the various social media platforms, but don’t have the time or the skills?
We have the solution.
“Bringing Business Back”
www.boomerangconsultants.co.uk hello@boomerangconsultants.co.uk
0161 834 6112
