Think Basis It's Good For Business

Social media marketing is the next hot topic at every SEO related conference lately. Those of you that have been involved in marketing for a while might call it Viral Marketing with a twist.

Social media is the art and science of communicating with your customers on the grass roots level: being interwoven with their work and private lives in addition to the traditional relationship of client/vendor that is achieved through traditional advertising and marketing.

So what are the benefits of social media?

It really all boils down to top of mind awareness. Numerous studies have shown that the human mind can typically only spontaneously recall 4 things at a time on any give subject. Referred to as Working Memory, this ability to recall only 4 brands at any one time is crucial for referrals and word of mouth business growth. All brands strive to maintain one of these 4 spots in the clients mind. That’s where social media comes in to level the playing field for small businesses.

Play with the big boys

Being top of mind against huge brands and huge budgets is tough for small to medium sized businesses. But luckily, you don’t need much to compete with social trends. A keen imagination and small marketing budget is enough to get you going.

Put your best Facebook forward

Setting up a Facebook page for your business is free. If you understand your customers and their interests, you’re only limited by your imagination. Come up with the right idea and connect with your audience and there is little that even a huge brand can do to compete.

Some ideas could include:
• News and gossip
• Top 10 lists
• Humorous photos or illustrations
• Short videos
• Tips and information
• How-To articles and videos

Don’t expect to succeed off the start

Yes it is okay to fail. Even the experts don’t bat a thousand. The most important thing for your social media marketing campaign is to keep trying. Learn from your failures and your successes alike. Test, test, and then test again. The only way to truly find out what resonates is to keep posting and keep inventing new ideas. See what others are doing. Copy some aspects and then reinvent to succeed. Stamina is a huge part of any business strategy and you should plan to be in the game for the long haul. Don’t give up and don’t worry about falling down. Eventually you will discover the right formula for your niche and your business will be better off for it. Firsthand experience is the kind of invaluable knowledge that you can’t buy.

Know when to call in the big guns

Even the best viral marketing idea may not see the light of day if it’s not promoted properly. And I’m not talking about SEO. Some sites often need an article promoted by someone who is already established within the community. Think of it like a kick start for your campaign. If you feel that your ideas are sound but you just can’t get traction, consider hiring a social media marketing company to help troubleshoot your campaign and give it that initial boost that it needs. Once you go viral, it can be a lot easier to push further content to your audience by leveraging the following you build up. As long as your ideas stay fresh and you remember that your customers are your audience of course. Stay on message and give people a reason to pass your links around and you will reap the benefits of fanatical customer loyalty.

Leave the conversion rates to the bean counters

Social media marketing is not about conversions. The bulk of your web traffic will not spend a single dime on the day you run your campaign. Focusing on conversion rates misses the point of top of mind awareness and brand building. Your goal is to stay ahead of your competition and be there when your prospect needs to think up a brand to recommend or make a purchase from. As web marketers, it’s easy to become slaves to analytics and conversion rates while scoffing at brand development and social marketing. Don’t make that mistake. Brands like Nike, Apple and IBM cannot charge a premium because of their conversion rates. They charge a premium because of the emotive qualities of their brand and the ability to stay top of mind in their industry. Plan for a 12 month sustained effort and then evaluate your overall sales as a measure of success. Social media is not about the short run or quick success. It’s all about building a foundation for long-term growth.

Focus on your ability to entertain and communicate with your audience on personal level and your business will enjoy the long term benefits of brand development and dialogue through social media marketing.

We finally pinned down the elusive Rebecca Kelley and had an opportunity to get her perspective on internet marketing, current trends, and where she sees the industry heading over the next couple years.

Above: Rebecca Kelley at last year's eCommerce Summit in New Orleans

What attracted you to Internet marketing?

Well, I wasn’t immediately attracted to “internet marketing” so much as the job description that SEOmoz advertised. It focused a lot on writing, which I’ve always loved doing and wanted my career to emphasize. I applied for the job and got turned down, but I stubbornly pestered my boss Rand to at least give me an internship. He did, so I worked at SEOmoz as an unpaid intern during my last quarter of college. When I graduated I was offered a full-time job at SEOmoz. I accepted it because I really liked learning about Internet marketing and marketing in general, and I loved blogging and establishing my voice and attracting an audience. Also, I didn’t want to spend money on fancy “interview clothes,” especially considering I was fresh out of college with student loan debt. Fast forward to three years later and here we are–I’m an Internet marketing consultant and the site manager for SEOmoz (and I still don’t have any fancy interview clothes).

What are the most common mistakes you see SMBs make when it comes to online marketing?

A huge recent mistake is that a lot of small businesses are diving headfirst into social media marketing because they heard it’s this “next big thing,” yet they haven’t a) taken the time to really understand how social media marketing works and what it takes to succeed, b) determined which social media marketing strategies are appropriate for their particular business and which aren’t, and c) focused on more important issues, like on-page optimization and technical fixes.

Social media is definitely an industry buzzword right now, what are your thoughts on the type of companies that should be using it? Or do you think it’s essential for all businesses to be on top of the latest trends?

What a lovely segue from my last answer. I don’t think it’s absolutely essential for all businesses to be on top of the latest trends. Some businesses are just now getting a website up and running–they have better things to worry about than launching a full-scale social media campaign. Likewise, an adult diapers company doesn’t need to have a fan page on Facebook. There needs to be some cohesion in a company’s product/service and its marketing strategy. Just like you wouldn’t advertise feminine products to men, you wouldn’t market certain sectors/products/services on certain social media sites/channels.

Above: Rebecca lives it up as her social media alter-ego "Becseppie"

Where do you see the industry heading over the next two or three years?

I think that mobile and local search will continue to snowball due to the increased adoption of smartphones. Social media marketing will also grow, but I think it could get pretty crowded and the people who actually know what they’re doing will stand out head and shoulders above the rest.

And, on a lighter note, what are some of your hobbies? Do you have any side projects? And, what makes Rebecca happy?

Well, food makes me extremely happy. I am a happy camper when I have a belly full of food. I also watch an unhealthy amount of movies and TV. Thank God for the DVR and for Netflix. Best inventions ever.
Also, I enjoy writing freelance for people (crafting link bait content, lists, etc) and have been doing some personal side projects for fun. I also have been getting into triathlons and race training, and I have a hobby blog called Mediocre Athlete that chronicles my training adventures.

Rebecca Kelley has been in internet marketing for over 3 years and has spoken at over a dozen different conferences on topics ranging from social media to linkbuilding and traditional SEO.