Logos pointing customers to social media sites are appearing on everything from websites to printed advertisements, television, and mail. Many businesses are using social media marketing for everything from keeping track of customers to providing freebies, coupons, and discounts to followers, and social media marketing seems to be the biggest thing to hit the advertising world since the internet itself. For small business owners, staying on top of what's hot in social media marketing can be a task all by itself. Luckily, there are a few major trends in social media marketing that your business can use to attract customers and keep your company's name on their minds. The following are some of the latest trends in social media marketing and ideas on what your company can do to take advantage of them:1. Your company is going to be in social media, whether you want it to be or not. Customers have the ability to talk about and review businesses without that business even knowing what is being said. That is why so-called online reputation management firms are growing by leaps and bounds- your customers will be talking about you with their friends, so it pays to know what they are saying about you. Not only do you need to have a presence on social media sites, you need to monitor what is being said about your company and address it.
2. In order to be relevant, you need to stand out from the crowd. As more companies catch on to the importance of social media marketing, it will become increasingly important for companies to find a way to stay in touch with their customers in a meaningful way. Many companies are taking advantage of social media to start conversations with their customers- polls, questions, and trivia challenges are all ways to get your customers talking.
3. Social media marketing requires more than just casual thoughts posted here and there. Many companies are investing serious time, energy, and money into creating relevant, customized blogs and posts that say a lot in a little space. Your social media presence should tie together all of your other advertising efforts, including video, print, and radio advertising. Creating a community, rather than just a website, is what today's social media marketing is all about.
4. This is the time to go mobile. Today's consumers spend time checking their social media sites from their cell phones, tablets, and other mobile devices, so you need to be sure that your customers are able to find you easily from these devices. Customers will also be able to talk to others about their experience instantly- so first impressions count!
5. Social media is going local. A number of applications, including Facebook Places, Foursquare, Living Social, and others are focusing on local places that people visit. One of the hottest trends in social media marketing is finding ways to make customers want to "check in" with your page- meaning that they tell others where they are at when they shop, dine, or play. Your site needs to include the ability for customers to check in with you when they visit.
Social media marketing is a trend that will keep changing and evolving, and smart business owners will find ways to keep up with the latest trends in social media marketing.
