Integrated marketing is key
For businesses of all sizes, but especially small- to medium-sized businesses, social media has been a marketing gift from the gods. It has allowed businesses to share their stories and market for little to no cost.
If your marketing strategy focuses solely on social media, however, you are likely missing the mark. Social media can be a powerful tool, but it shouldn’t be your only tool.
“Just remember, fans are vanity and sales are sanity.”—Lori Taylor, Social Caffeine editor
Effective marketing in the digital age requires a more integrated approach:
- It starts with honing in on your brand and supporting that brand with a well-constructed website.
- Your website must stay fresh with new and interesting content, and that content ideally will include a combination of text, images, video and various formats.
- That content needs to reach your target audience, and social media is merely one of the channels you should use to achieve that goal.
- These channels should compel your audience to learn more and, ultimately, buy.
Using social media as a stand-alone tactic doesn’t support the goal of engaging your target audience and converting them into buyers. Posting to Facebook or Twitter without an understanding of your audience and what they need or want is a waste of time. You might garner a few likes and shares, but the audience won’t have a true feel for your brand or how it could meet their needs.
Rather, you need to view social media as one key component in a much larger integrated marketing strategy. It is one step in the process that helps educate and inform your audience about your expertise.
“Content-based marketing gets repeated in social media and increases word-of-mouth mentions; it’s the best way to gather buzz about a product.”—Marsha Collier, author and marketing expert
The best social media marketers are really content marketers who use social media channels thoughtfully and strategically. Start with the strategy – a key step that many business owners skip – develop great content and then use a variety of traditional and digital channels to share your message.
Too learn more about building an integrated marketing strategy, including a well-designed website and content marketing, contact Campfire Digital today.