Although still right in the middle of the web-based brand marketing era, driven largely by the technique of search engine optimization and search marketing, the business revolution is starting to take note of social networking.
Recent polls show the social media giant Facebook, for example, as commanding more online liaisons through search than any other search engine not name Google. This slow but steady shift has alerted many businesses to the importance of social media management, in order to secure an even larger web presence than they already had from SEO (search engine optimization).
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How To Manage Your Social Media Exposure[/caption]Using the Major social Outlets Wisely
The sheer ubiquity of social media outlets can be daunting to the late entrant; every start-up is trying to emulate the success of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, because the potential for advertising to the masses is tremendous. This array of options has led to the rise of social media management, which allows companies to easily keep track of the myriad of platforms being used for social engagement.
In addition to being seamlessly aware of network feedback, they can often integrate related aspects of media marketing into it, such as newsletters and email marketing. A medium-sized company can have connections across literally a hundred different sites, and social media management can negate the time-consuming practice of logging into each one individually to update status, renew offers, or a myriad of other things a business might use to engage their audience.
Social media management doesn't merely manage the company's preexisting contacts; it also extends their reach. It enables a company to advertise to and attract product promoters through contests and affiliate sponsorships, pitching their services to both targeted and untargeted traffic.
A robust social management program should enhance a company's media strategy through diversification; keep track of analytics, notify administrators of important changes in the community, such as a mass exodus from the network for any reason whatsoever, and lastly, have an attractive interface, which is just as important as the previous attributes.
The Importance of the First Page
Creative and engaging landing pages have always figured prominently in web design, and will continue to be even more critical with the migration to social media management platforms. Ultimately, all of these things have two goals in mind: create a sense of community, and extend that community.
Social network management also entails devising general guidelines with dealing with a company's customer base. Is it more optimal to erase any negativity, or information that might put the company in a bad light, immediately from the message boards or Facebook Walls? Research would suggest that not always; particularly in the case of a misunderstanding as to a product's specifications.
Letting Go of Old Ranking Methods
Outright spam should of course be relegated to the dustbin; but other statements can give a company a chance to interact constructively with their fan-base by elaborating on an idea, creating an atmosphere of trustworthiness and engagement with the audience. Then, an especially well-constructed clarification can be recycled across the social media management network to other users, who might have had similar questions. In keeping with the user-oriented nature of the above transaction, any chance that a company has to involve their base should be seized upon.
Opinion polls for better service and novel ideas, contests and free giveaways can reap dividends in the long run. Ultimately, although the primary purpose of social media management on the company side is resource consolidation; the external appearance must always be one of keeping the customer first, and interacting with her as an individual entity.
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