Guide to Social Media Marketing - Definitions
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Social Media Marketing is all the buzz right now. But what is it and how can you use it? We're not going to pretend that this subject can be covered in a single blog post but we'll start the discussion by actually defining the terms and then later we'll follow up with further posts to get into the details.
Social Media Marketing Definition
Social - marked by friendly relations or companionship. Pertaining to a group or community. Offering opportunity for interaction. Relating to the way in which people in groups behave and interact.
The derivation of the word is from Latin "socialis" meaning "companion".
Media - A channel of communication that serve can be used to carry an advertisers' messages and serve as the vital link between the seller of a product/service and the consumer. The various means of mass communication considered as a whole.
The derivation of the word is also from Latin, "medius", meaning "middle".
Marketing - 'Marketing' is everything a company does to acquire customers and maintain a relationship with them. This covers everything from identifying your target audience and developing & launching campaigns which will advertise, sell and deliver your products to them. This is preferably done creativity using catchy slogans, attractive packaging design, celebrity endorsements and general media exposure. While we're here, let's not forget the "small tasks" like writing thank-you letters to customers, playing golf with a prospective client, returning calls promptly and meeting up with a past client for coffee. All of this IS "Marketing".
The derivation of the word is from Old French "mercari", meaning "buy" which is from the word "merx" meaning "goods".
If we look at the roots of all these words and their definitions we start to get the picture.
Social Media Marketing - "Social Media Marketing" is therefore something like, "a form of Marketing which attempts to use and leverage the social bonds amongst people to influence & introduce others to your products, services, ideas, etc."
The "media" in this case, is the actual social networking platform-- Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, Blogs, etc.
This makes pretty good sense when you think about it and it might start giving you some ideas about how you're going to go "social". Immediate questions arise such as:
- What "media" platform(s) might be the best vehicle for our company.
- Why would people be interested in what we have to say?
- Who would care & why would they care?
- What do we need to do to get them to care?
- What do they find interesting?
- What can we do to attract & retain their interest?
Those are the starting questions which will inevitably lead into further questions.
Closing Thoughts
From my experience, people tend to form (real) groups around their own interests. Furthermore, the thin attention span of the audience you're dealing with today most easily flows towards the following:
- points of "drama"
- sources of entertainment
- educational/helpful sources
With that in mind, how can you use social media marketing?Labels: Social Media Marketing Guide
posted by Scott D'Ambra at 12:50 PM
 
ClearTech Interactive Corp.
Interactive Marketing Programs
Monday, August 24, 2009
A recent study by Forrester shows that 12% of the Advertising spend in the U.S. for 2009 was for interactive & digital advertising. And guess what? According to the report, by 2014 that figure will grow to 21% of all ad spending!
When most people think about Interactive Marketing programs, they tend to think in terms of "Search Engine Marketing" and they'd be 1/2 correct. Search Engine Marketing makes up about 1/2 of the entire spend and it is expected that it will be the biggest component through 2014.
Interesting study results to say the least. On the ground, we're seeing these trends every day. More and more companies wanting get in on the act. Everyone wants to get a piece of the online action. The desire to advertise and market a company's products and services on Net has grown from mild interest to fevered demand as more and more marketing dollars are shifting over to the Internet.
Take a look at the numbers:
Now more than ever it's important to consider where you're spending your marketing budget and whether you're getting the proper bang for your buck.
So, where are you advertising these days? How is your ROI? And what portion of your marketing budget is for Interactive Marketing Programs?
posted by Scott D'Ambra at 12:52 PM
ClearTech Interactive Corp.
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