Does Social Media Marketing Actually Work?

Jay Roach
A good answer to this might be, “it depends on how you use it”. There’s a lot of buzz and contraversy going on between marketers about the value of social media marketing. Everybody knows about the big names in social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and countless others.

But the big question out there is whether or not small businesses and marketers can benefit from using social media to leverage their marketing efforts. And how?

As with any marketing initiative first you need a strategy. Which social media sites are suitable for your business type? Which social media sites are the most popular with your audience? What sort of information you need to distribute through social media networks that will resonate with your audience? What are my competitors doing?

We see people stumble into social media without fully understanding the scope and implications of their “online reputation” and quality of posting. For example one company I know only posts messages that are promotional, and as a result they’ve lost a lot of their following. Treating social media strictly as a sales tool will ultimately backfire – remember we’re talking “social” media. People talk (that’s the idea) and you don’t want them saying, “all they ever do is promote themselves”.

What really ads value to your brand is the conversations you have with your audience. That’s right – social media is about building and maintaining relationships. If you focus topics that are relevant and realistic (not just products and services) then you’ll make a much better impression and cultivate a good online reputation.

So is there value in using social media? The success of leveraging social media for your business is critically tied to how you engage with your audience. The medium was designed for discussion so joining the conversations by lending your expertise will win you major social brownie points for your brand. And that’s extremely valuable.

Photos: Lisa Slugoski shoots AdSpark Communications

Introducing up-and-coming photographer Lisa Slugoski of Eye Candy Photography. To quote Lisa’s facebook page, Eye Candy Photography is “specializing in high school seniors, fashion, glamour, pin-up and boudoir photography.” Now Lisa can add business portraiture to her repertoire.

“We first heard about Lisa through local make-up artist Sonja Clifton-Remple and when we visited Lisa’s website we recognized some of the models through our UofR friend networks”, said AdSpark’s Creative Director Jay Roach. “We loved her fresh, saturated compositions and post production skills. When I spoke to her on the phone I was impressed with her optimistic, down-to-earth personality. She totally meshed with our team on set”. Currently the AdSpark team is picking out their head shots. “We’re looking forward to the final edits. The work in her portfolio is impressive”, says Business Development Officer Ryan Haynee.

Lisa, 28 years old, was born and raised in a small town in Northern Manitoba called Flin Flon where she grew up reading fashion magazines every month, pouring over the ads and photographs in the articles.  She got her first DSLR in 2007, bought the recommended books, and began thinking maybe this could be a career. Lisa now lives in Regina and is in her last year of the Applied Photography program at SIAST.

We asked Lisa who her photography heroes are and she said, “I love Annie Liebovitz. Such a cliche answer, but she inspires me. I also love a lot of non-famous photographers, whose works inspire me and spark my creativity every day.”

Lisa said she had a great great time shooting with the AdSpark team. “The guys gave me their all, and were such troopers in the cold. They were willing to do whatever I asked. Because of that, I think we got some great shots. I can’t wait to work with them again”.

GEAR: Lisa Slugoski sports the original Canon 5D, 85mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, 580EX II Flash, a set of Pocket Wizard Plus II’s, Softbox and light stand.

Candid photos by Jay Roach

Coors Light Mystery Mansion

AdSpark provided Molson Canada with experiential marketing services for Saskatchewan’s Regional Coors Light Mystery Mansion Event at Crave Kitchen & Wine Bar in Regina on Sat Oct 21st.  These regional events are designed to be a smaller scale version of the National Coors Light Mystery Mansion Event that takes place in Feb 2010 at a Mystery location.

Getting the buzz going

Modern marketing in an online world

By Eric Taub
Is your face on Myspace or are you on youTube? Do you yammer or do you Twitter? are you LinkedIn or Mixxed up? and whichever way you are, do you Digg it? Read More…