Lifestyle Enhancement marketing model was to get as many eyeballs on your product or service’s message as you possibly can and hope that a percentage of customers purchase. Yellow pages, radio advertising, direct mail, television commercials, magazine ads, etc.. are examples of these traditional advertising methods. These conventional forms of marketing are no longer effective as many consumers have grown to be blind to the ‘one way’ messaging. The message has been overdone and folks no longer trust advertisers. A recently available survey discovered that only 14% of people trust ads while 76% of individuals trust consumer recommendations. Accordingly, more marketers began seeking alternative ways to connect with potential consumers.
Marketing on the Internet was originally made popular by utilizing Websites and optimizing those sites through SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO) techniques. While still an advisable strategy, SEO has been updated by Blogging platforms 2.0 strategies, such as for example social media marketing. Social media marketing is when companies utilize Web 2 2.0 platforms, such as for example blogs, social media sites (like Facebook, Google+, Foursquare, Twitter, & YouTube) along with other emerging online marketing tools. The benefit of web 2 2.0 platforms versus traditional means of advertising, and even traditional website marketing, is that it involves ‘two-way communication’, where users are empowered to generate content and businesses are incentivized to talk to their customers.
The days of broadcasting your product or services message out to the masses and hoping for a response are gone. People don’t want to obtain nameless, faceless companies. Not only are consumers paying attention to the ‘man behind the curtain’, however they also wish to know what others are saying about your service or product. A recent study figured 80% folks Internet using moms were influenced by word-of-mouth from family and friends when making a purchase decision. No other media platform permits small businesses to benefit from consumer word of mouth advertising like social media marketing.
Benefits Of Social Media Marketing
Increased New Customer Acquisitions – The main advantage of social media marketing is that you’ll have the opportunity to connect with networks of potential customers that you would otherwise struggle to come across utilizing other conventional marketing techniques and also SEO.
Word of Mouth Marketing- Word of mouth marketing has always been the most influential way to generate sales. With social media, it is possible to create raving fans who will voluntarily promote your product and services with their networks of friends. Of course, if your product or service is poor, you may suffer the reverse benefits of this.
Brand Awareness – Branding your business using social media marketing is much simpler, faster, and less expensive to achieve than the traditional advertising medium and even website marketing.
Customer Retention – Web 2 2.0 platforms will be the perfect places to communicate with your customers about services, special promotions, or just to educate them on your business. Through consistent, FREE communication, you can keep your company in front of your customer’s eyeballs that may in turn lead to repeat business and referrals. Remember, the main element to this type of communication is to be content rich; avoid these avenues to pitch your service or product.
Rapid Results – The effective and successful implementation of a social media marketing plan will create almost immediate results for your business. This increase could be quantified through increased site traffic, increased lead acquisition, and ultimately increased sales. Unlike radio or TV ads, where your visitors disappear once the ads set off air, these web 2 2.0 platform benefits will continue long-term as long as the communication and updating of one’s social media presence is maintained.