It wasn’t too long ago — only a few years ago, in fact — that media influencing and shaping our culture was defined by television, radio, and print. These traditional media outlets held our attention at their disposal, on their own timetable, with little reach beyond daily coffee machine conversation.
Today, of course, traditional media’s influence in our lives has undergone a significant decline. Radio advertising is down, television ratings are in free fall, and newspaper subscriptions have all but become extinct.
In their place, our collective attention has focused on the global reach and interactivity of social media.
In the YouTube era, revolutions are televised with millions of views and instant commentary. Twitter users share real time updates on breaking news in 140 characters or less. And armies of Facebook members take to the digital page to embrace causes, as the ever-growing network surpasses a billion active users.
Social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing. (State of Inbound Marketing, 2012)
With the rise of social media, the world’s population is experiencing entirely new levels of interaction. And it’s no wonder that online marketing has embraced new media in ways never before imagined. Businesses now have a direct route into consumer’s daily lives, becoming a part of their daily conversation and influencing their buying decisions on a personal level.
All of this means very little to the small local business owner, however…without a strategic understanding of real relationship between social media and the sales process.
The number of businesses that say Facebook is critical or important to their business has increased by 75%. (State of Inbound Marketing, 2012)
At Positive Internet Marketing, we’ve discovered that many local companies make the mistake of jumping on the Twitter bandwagon with nothing to say — or establish Facebook accounts with no more strategy than getting “likes” for their business page. Very soon these companies experience “Social Media Fatigue,” and as a result, miss out on the true impact an integrated social media campaign can have on their business.
At Positive Internet Marketing, we realise that the real power behind social media marketing is the ability to build and strengthen relationships with your customers. And just as with anything in marketing, there is no “one size fits all” approach.
We take the time to research your marketplace, and determine the social media strategies best served in developing influential relationships with your prospects. Our strategy focuses on the social media platforms that make sense in your marketplace, and provides the content and experiences that are most likely to build your relationships.
Another powerful aspect of social media marketing is the immense amount of data and metrics it provides. Whilst targeting consumers based on interests and geography isn’t necessarily a new idea, social media allows for unprecedented opportunity to measure and examine results, and to split test and refine our efforts with very little expense.
At Positive Internet Marketing, we provide a clear understanding of the ways your prospects make use of social media, and build a campaign that takes full advantage of those opportunities. When your company becomes a part of the way your prospects think, talk, and interact, there’s no limit to the impact it can have on your business.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and discover the secrets to building the strong social media relationships that generate real-life leads for local businesses.
