Why You Should Incorporate Online Social Site Outreach In Your Marketing Mix

Online social marketing provides businesses and organizations a way to engage more with online communities to generate additional exposure, opportunities, and sales. On social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, people are opting-in to follow sources most relevant to them and their interests in real-time, as it happens, from breaking news to updates from friends.

Based on a survey among 880 responding marketers, a Social Media Marketing Industry Report was published in March of 2009 entitled “How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Business”.
http://www.whitepapersource.com/socialmediamarketing/

Below are key findings and associated highlights within the report.

1. Top Benefits of Social Marketing (Ranked in Order of Highest % Response)

Generate Exposure – 81%
Nearly all marketers who've been doing social media marketing for years report it generates exposure for their business and a significant 65% strongly agree.

Increase Traffic and Growing Opt-In List – 61%
At least 2 in 3 participants found that increased traffic occurred with as little as 6 hours a week invested in social media marketing.

Establish New Business Partnerships – 56%
62% of people who have only invested a few months in their social media marketing report new partnerships were gained.

Improve/Enhance Search Engine Rankings – 52%
A rise in search engine rankings was reported by more than half of participants. Improved search engine rankings were most prevalent among those who've been using social media for years with nearly 80% reporting a rise (and most reporting a strong improvement).

Generate Qualified Leads – 48%
After only a few months and with as few as 6 hours a week, more than half of marketers have generated qualified leads with social media marketing.

Reduced Marketing Expenses – 45%
The only financial cost of social media marketing is the time it takes to gain success.

Helped Close Business – 35%
It takes time to develop relationships that lead to actual business. However, a large percent of marketers who take the time find great results. For example, 62% of marketers who have been using social media for years report it has helped them close business. More than half who spend 16 or more hours per week find the same results.

2. Top Social Marketing Tools Used

Twitter, Blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook were the top four social media tools used by marketers, with Twitter leading the pack.

Another interesting finding was that men were significantly more likely to use YouTube or other video marketing than women (52.4% of all men compared to only 31.7% of women).

3. Time Commitment for Social Media Marketing

A significant 64% of marketers are using social media for 5 hours or more each week, and 39% for 10 or more hours weekly. It is interesting to note that about 10% spend more than 20 hours each week with social media.

Sparks Ouroboros Takeaways

Based on the findings in this report, I believe the real key to achieving success and connecting with a following through Social Marketing is to reach the right people on a frequent basis with relevant content for them and their interests on a consistent basis. It does take time to build a following, but once you invest in the time and achieve a solid group of people following your business through this medium, there will be opportunities to monetize and build upon their lifetime value as customers.

Some verbs to consider utilizing and maximizing to achieve success for your buisness through online social sites, in no particular order, are…
· Educate,
· Inform,
· Entertain,
· Share,
· Touch,
· Connect,
· Network,
· Participate,
· Engage,
· Learn,
· Guide,
· Explore,
· Nurture,
· and Evolve.

In closing, I find one of the most famous quotations coming from Shakespeare’s Hamlet quite applicable to social site outreach.

“To be, or not to be: that is the question.”

But what should you be?

I say “Be There, Be Real, Be Genuine, and Be Yourself!”

Spark on!