Get Noticed on Social Media

Social Media Marketing isn't new because the basic concepts of creating a bond with consumers and a company or brand has been the goal of marketing since the beginning. By linking a consumer's emotions to a company or brand, their products will be seen as meeting the needs more than a comparable brand's products. When the goods or services being offered are similar in nature and perceived quality, it is the emotional ties that win over potential consumers and convert them into buyers.

Being online changes some aspects of the marketing game, but a majority of the guidelines stay constant. Here are a few ways social media marketing is an online version of traditional marketing:

1. Relevancy: the company/brand should be pertinent to the needs of the consumers. Goya has increased shelf space at groceries within communities that have many Hispanics. This brand of food would probably not do well in rural areas with predominantly white residents.

2. Connection: the company/brand cannot expect to connect with consumers if they don't seem to have a stake in the community. There is strong loyalty for Coca-Cola on UGA's campus because Coca-Cola has established their brand on campus and have hosted recycling programs which furthers their presence in the minds of college students.

3. Accurate Message: the promotion of the company/brand needs to correlate to the actual function of the products being marketed. When initially marketing a product, it should focus on the features and directly link them to the benefits a consumer will receive. This second part is crucial to conversion of sales. Abstract messages should be saved for the website or after a certain point in the product's life cycle, once its benefits have been well established.

The importance of having a social media presence is that is where consumers are spending increasing amounts of time. There are many subscribers to Hulu and Netflix, which means reaching them on those "channels" will be more effective than on the traditional TV. Getting noticed where consumers spend time is the best use of resources. Companies would benefit from investing in Social Media Marketing and taking the time to do it right.