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.