Have you noticed recently that every time a commercial comes on TV they tell you to check them out on Facebook? Or what about how everything from the Bentley Shuttle to Subway has a twitter and encourages people to follow them? Well, it’s not just because all of these organizations want to spend more time on the computer. This is the result of the new trend of social media marketing.
Social media marketing is exactly what it sounds like, the process of companies gaining website traffic or attention through the use of social media outlets. Some of the most popular social media websites are Facebook (obviously), Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Digg, and the newest craze, Pinterest. So why has social media marketing become so popular? Well, look at all the benefits. Before, companies needed to analyze the right place and time to advertise and then figure out if they could afford it. Now they can use free outlets to reach millions of people from all areas of the world instantly.
However, companies are realizing that social media should be used for more than just marketing. It needs to be used for interacting, which is opening up a whole world of opportunities for companies. The channels of communication are no longer one way but open to forming more intimate relationships between companies and their customers.
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Her Campus Bentley writer, Beth Mahoney, is currently a digital marketing intern at Scratch Marketing and Media so she works with social media daily. She commented, “It’s incredibly important for a brand to know what’s being said about them online and even more important to contribute to those conversations and be personal.”
She also agreed that the ability to interact with customers is what sets social media marketing at an advantage. “The biggest advantage is being able to directly interact with the people that are currently talking about your brand or using your products.”
In reaction to this social media trend, more and more marketing companies are devoting themselves and their services to social media. Some examples that you may have seen at the career fair last week are inSegment, Inc., iProspect, and Likeable Media. The social media trend has also benefitted many smaller businesses that may have not had the money for advertising and benefit from using social media.
This trend has even helped one of our Her Campus members with her business. Erica Normandeau sells Scout by Bungalow bags and Havianas that are embellished with vintage jewelry, and she said that she uses social media to promote her business. “In the past two years I have greatly increased brand awareness as well as sales through the use of Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare. When I have a new batch of inventory I immediately post pictures and descriptions on Facebook and I tweet all about it. I have such a great following that when people see my updates they will comment and potentially reserve/purchase a product.”
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And social media doesn’t only help companies and small businesses. Her Campus Bentley writer, Melissa Reohr, is currently a Senior Buzz Builder at Likeable Media and she sees many benefits in social media for the customers as well. “It’s great to see how customers interact with the companies, whether it is in a positive or negative way. Now, instead of having to call a company to complain about a product, it is much easier to just complain on the Facebook wall in front of the ENTIRE customer base.”
Social media was even able to help Her Campus last semester when we were working towards becoming a recognized organization. President and Editor-in-Chief, Kathryn Burgner, commented that, “Social media has been Her Campus Bentley’s primary form of marketing during our first year as a group. Although we are not a “business”, we are still competing with many other student organizations at Bentley for exposure. Through growing a large social media following, we were able to get over 100 signatures on our petition for recognition and reach 8000 views per week on our site.”
While social media is becoming a force to be reckoned with, no one should totally forget about the impact of traditional marketing. Beth said it best when she said, “Social media is changing the way we consume advertisements and also changing how we consume traditional media. Without the traditional marketing strategy, there wouldn’t be a need or want for people to talk about that brand on social media. It’s all inter-connected.”
So feel free to like, tweet and connect with your favorite brands and companies and feel safe in knowing that the social media marketing trend is here to stay.