Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Top Reasons Why Business Should Use Social Media In Its Marketing Plan


Nowadays the social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are more present in the day to day life of many people and every time more people look for information in the various social media networks. The sites allow you to share written text, photos and videos with people who follow your business's profile. When used consistently, social media helps you reach your current customers and potential clients quickly.We at Pravag Media think social media is very important, not only for the contact with existing customers but also for attracting potential new customers. Here are some reasons why you should consider using social media networks as part of the marketing strategy.


Cost-Effective

Most social networking sites are free to use. Including social networking in your business promotional plan allows you to stretch your advertising dollars further than usual. The money you allocate for promotions can go to other forms of advertising or to purchase prizes for social networking contests or promotions.

Reach

Social networking allows you to reach a wide audience. Consumers are increasingly reliant on technology and social media. By jumping into the social networking game, you keep your business current. Your business's online profiles are likely to reach people who otherwise wouldn't know about your company.

Connection

Social networking gives you a more personal connection with your customers. Traditional marketing campaigns miss out on the back-and-forth communication between your business and consumers. With sites such as Twitter and Facebook, consumers can interact with you and see more than just a business trying to sell something.

Timely

Social networking allows you to instantly send out information to your followers. Traditional marketing requires printing time and may only run a few times. You must plan out your marketing and promotions well in advance. With social media, you can post information immediately as the need arises.

Flexibility

Online marketing through social sites gives you more flexibility in the type of promotion you do. Regular communication keeps your customers thinking about your business. You can send out information on special deals, general information or tips about your industry, company information and contests. The informal nature of the sites allows you to share things you wouldn't with traditional print advertising.

Promotions

Special promotions encourage customers to buy more from your business. The promotions give new customers a chance to try your products or services. For these promotional ideas to work effectively, you need to get the word out. Social networking allows you to share information about your promotions to a large audience.

Easier Referrals

Word-of-mouth referrals from current, satisfied customers give you an option for gaining new clients. Technology makes it easier for your customers to share your information with their online friends and acquaintances. When your customers follow your profile online, they can refer it to their friends. When they post to your page or refer to your company, their friends see your information.

Increased Web Traffic

Your social networking profiles provide a tool for driving traffic to your company's main website. This is particularly beneficial for web-based companies who do most of their business virtually. Including your website address in your social networking profiles and mentioning it in your regular posts leads more people to visit it.

Branding

Social media aids in branding your company. The messages, photos and videos you post on your profile pages build an image of your company. Carefully planned posts that consistently carry the same tone and message build your company's brand.

Are you interested in building your brands profile across the Social networks? Contact us today for quality social media marketing initiatives at affordable rates. Visit our website for more information.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Is Social Marketing beneficial for your business?




Social marketing has made millions for those who adapted early, but it’s not too late to jump on board and benefit from the marketing potential social media have to offer. You may be wondering why social marketing is so powerful. Well, mostly because you’re able to reach prospects in new and creative ways on their terms, giving them a sort of home field advantage, if you will.

Buyers have fun on Facebook; they enjoy networking on LinkedIn. It’s their choice to include you, to follow your twitter posts, to like your Facebook page, to invite you to send them marketing messages. That alone provides a receptive audience no other media can offer.

So, how do you harness the marketing potential of social media. The most important factor when it comes to social marketing is your audience. If they’re not on Facebook, social marketing probably isn’t going to work for you. So assuming your target audience is on Facebook, or at least some segment of it, you should consider the following reasons for advertising to prospects through social media.

Profit
The main goal of most marketing efforts is to produce capital, and social marketing is no different. Yes, it can be fun, but the bottom line is that for businesses social marketing can be a boon.  Social marketing allows you to create interest, showcase your benefits, educate buyers, and can even close the sale. There are a variety of ways to efficiently sell on social media sites. Using Facebook apps, links on twitter, coupons as status updates, etc, you can close the deal without buyers ever even reaching your main website or picking up the phone.

No More Cold Calls
With a new client base found socially, you can take the surprise out of the message. It can also save a lot of time. Calling 10,000 people can take weeks even with a decent sized staff, while posting 5 messages on Facebook every day can take a matter of hours and be read by even larger numbers. This is not to say cold calling is obsolete; the numbers say otherwise. The real point is you can save on man-hours and reach a receptive audience by using social marketing.

Go Viral
Messages go viral on the social web every single minute. The big example used in marketing circles today is Blendtec blender, which, with a crazy-low budget, used YouTube and social buzz to boost the company bottom line incredibly with its Will It Blend? campaign. Blendtec simply showed how its blender could cut through anything, from cell phones to marbles. It went viral on the social web, turned a small budget into tens of thousands of blenders sold, and now it’s history.

How Cheap is This Approach?
That depends on what’s more valuable to you, time or money. Social marketing is very cost effective in terms of ROI. It can cost nothing to set up a Facebook business page or a twitter account. But the one thing it does take is time. It takes time and a lot of effort to build a quality following. Sure, you can attract a thousand fans with a free give-away or buy a cheap program to build your follows, but is that going to help you build a receptive following full of real prospects? For social marketing to pay off, you need to be willing to invest a great deal or time, or hire a company to manage your social profiles for you.

Engaging New Clients
Many companies use professional social marketing campaigns to find new clients on a daily basis. It’s a good investment for creating interest from all ranges of prospects. When combined with other forms of online and offline advertising, social marketing can be a valuable venue for marketing to new prospects. Create content, interest and even more buyers with social marketing.