What is a Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is simply the process of using social media channels to draw attention to one’s brand, attract web traffic and/or stimulate sales, either online or at your bricks-and-mortar franchise outlet.

The Fundamentals of Social Media Marketing

There are a plethora of social media sites which can be used for marketing purposes, and some of the most popular include:

• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Twitter
• Google+
• Vine
• Instagram

Because there are so many social media sites out there, social media marketing can quickly become overwhelming for the small business or franchise. Unlike larger organisations, which have entire social media marketing teams at their disposal, the small business owner or franchisee simply doesn’t have the capacity to cope with this resource-intensive – but increasingly necessary – form of marketing. To successfully make use of social media marketing, then, do:

• Choose two to three of the most relevant channels to your particular franchise and focus attention on these
• Think quality not quantity – fewer well-conceived and well-produced pieces of content are better than many nonsense posts of which your audience will quickly tire
• Be patient – social media marketing takes time to get off the ground and reach a critical mass
• Sharing is caring – don’t only reference your own content, but that of others, too… it’s a great way to get noticed and build online community spirit!
• Find a skilled freelance content curator to help you – they’re half the price of social media marketing or digital agencies, and will help take the burden off your shoulders.