WSI Simply Social » Social Media Marketing

Content sharing is vital for internet marketing

Anton Koekemoer — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:08:08 +0000

Online content that you publish is one of your most valuable assets on the web. By sharing your content online you can enhance your company’s brand, broadcast your message across the web and demonstrate your expertise to name but a few benefits. Did you know that you can allow the visitors of

Why your business should explore social media

Anton Koekemoer — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:43:15 +0000

You might be wondering on how you can become involved in Social Media Marketing? It is really quite simple. Listen, respond, provide interesting conversation and monitor what people like. It is as simple as that. Why you must get involved with Social Media Marketing It is natural: You can get nat

Managing your social media corporate identity

Tafadzwa Murapa — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:36:06 +0000

Any company needs to take positive steps to manage its corporate identity. This post presents rules to guide companies to protect their online identity, build trust and how they can assure their clients that they are dealing with an authorized company representative empowered to speak on behalf of the company and to help them if they have a problem.

Create a profile that helps people verify your affiliations – Many purported companies on social networks have turned out to be bogus. You need to link your online profile to your company website to give consumers a place to go if they have questions. Use your company logo as your profile picture and use it with supporting graphics.

Let consumers know who they are talking to – Explain briefly who is managing your page / account.

Publish your social media affiliations on your website – List your companys social media profiles on the news page of your website. This allows your clients to quickly verify which social networks you are part of.

Live and let live – Weigh the risks and benefits of any unauthorized use of your corporate identity. Often there are hidden benefits that outweigh traditional concerns about logos & trademarks.

How to start your Social Media Marketing Campaign? Listen at the buzz

Anton Koekemoer — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:22:50 +0000

You have read everything regarding the hype of social media and you have a fairly good understanding of the words Tweet, blog, Web 2.0, micro blogging and social networking. Where and how do you start your Social Media Marketing (SMM) initiative? What is going to be your first step? Getting a blog?

Social Bookmarking list – dofollow and nofollow

Anton Koekemoer — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 07:20:46 +0000

While searching the internet for relevant social bookmarking sites I came across a website detailing an quite extensive list of dofollow and noffolow social bookmarking websites that also displays the current social bookmarking channel’s PR (page rank) with it. Here is the link to the original

Social Media Marketing: Measure your ROI

Anton Koekemoer — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 05:39:16 +0000

Many companies and individuals are jumping in on the Social Media band wagon full of enthusiasm as a way to build their brand, acquire new customers and the marketing of their products and services. Mashable made a blog post: STATS: 84% of Social Media Programs Don’t Measure ROI where a numbe

Social Media Marketing a Trending Topic at Cannes 2010

Russell Jarvis — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:59:39 +0000

Believe it or not in this last week there were other global events taking place other than the World Cup. The Cannes Lions Advertising Festival just took place in France from the 20^th to 26^th June and by all accounts there was a trending topic (excuse the borrowed phrase from Twitter); and that was the key role that Social Media Marketing plays in the makeup of Advertising in 2010.

Among the VIP’s at this year’s Cannes was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Mark delivered a well-attended speech at the festival where he highlighted the way Social Media has changed the relationship with the consumer. Facebook joins the ever increasing presence of digital giants like Google at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival.

Laura Klauberg of Unilever said:

“Social Media isn’t just another channel. It’s not just about Facebook, it’s much bigger as it changes the relationship with the consumer, forcing us to change the whole mindset of our business”.

As it turns out, Unilever is increasing its digital ad spend by 50% in 2010 as it turns to Social Media Marketing to complement its traditional marketing avenues.

The 2010 Social Media Predictions

eMarketer, the Internet’s market research and statistics hub, have made the following predictions for Social Media Marketing and Social Networking in 2010:

Social Network Advertising spending will increase 14%
Around $1.3 billion is expected to be spent in the U.S. alone
60% of Internet user’s in the U.S. will use a Social Network at least once a month in 2010

Why is Social Networking a Popular Marketing Tool in 2010?

Most marketers now agree that Social Media gives them immediate access to feedback about their products. In addition to this they can respond as quickly helping them to build a relationship with their clients and prospects.

When compared with traditional forms of advertising like TV, Social Media Marketing provides great value for marketers.

Social Media Mistakes to Avoid

Anton Koekemoer — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:25:38 +0000

Social Media (Web 2.0) is like having a casual conversation over the back fence with a neighbour. It is also like getting that unexpected phone call from an old college friend and catching up on things. Social Media is laid back and conversational. Yet many people and companies that enters thi

What is the importance of social media?

Francois Muscat — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:25:52 +0000

Web 2.0, social networking, blogs, forums, wikis, videos, photo sharing or any other type of social media share common characteristics and elements. The Social Media Marketing (SMM) phenomena is quite different from traditional media marketing and website advertising. You can find millions of con

Attention SME’s! Make Use of Social Media

Russell Jarvis — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:16:36 +0000

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to escape the Social Media phenomenon. Whether you’re using it to keep in touch with friends and relatives, for search, to find out what your favourite celebrity has been up to or for business; Social Media has indeed taken the world by storm. If you’re not using it for business then you don’t know what you’re missing out on. And no, I’m not talking about big businesses. In any case the ‘Coke’s’, ‘McDonalds’ and ‘Ford’s’ are all over Social Media – and they’re using it well. In this post I am talking to SME’s and small businesses.

When leveraged correctly, Social Media can be a valuable source for small businesses in terms of:

Lead Generation
Brand Awareness
Online Reputation Management
Customer Relations
Customer Retention

How your Small Business can start taking advantage of Social Media

Ignoring what people are saying about your small business online can be fatal. Up until recently Hello Peter was the best online channel to report/praise service in South Africa. Now there’s a plethora of other online avenue’s consumers can pursue to voice their likes and dislikes – and all this information is publicly available so don’t let it become a missed opportunity.

And even if they’re not talking about your business you should be staying abreast of what others in your industry are saying in Social Media. As a small business owner it has become your responsibility to use the nits of public information available to you so that you can:

Build long-standing relationships with your customers
Improve your service to them
Enhance your products and services

… Think about how easy market research has become for you because of Social Media.

Keep your Social Media Activities Simple

Finding the right way to execute your Social Media Strategy can be daunting especially with the big brands already pushing the limits of what’s possible. That said, many of the big companies that are actively engaged with Social Media Marketing often forget that it’s the simple gestures that work best.

What are ‘Simple Social Media Gestures’ you ask? Start by acknowledging customers that mention you. For example, did someone tweet about their experience at your restaurant? Perhaps they shared a story about your small business on Facebook. These actions take place in the public domain and must be addressed as an opportunity to connect with an existing customer or a prospect.

Make them feel special via Social Media platforms. It worked on me. A few months ago I booked a cheap flight from Johannesburg to Durban on Mango airlines. I mentioned the deal in a Tweet directed at Travelstart (a South African travel agency who are very active on Social Media). They responded saying “@russell_jarvis awesome stuff mate! Loving the mango and @Travelstart!” Needless to say I’ve used Travelstart the last 2 times I’ve flown. Check them out on Twitter – they’re a small business in South Africa doing some amazing things with Social Media.

As a small business your size is actually a huge advantage when it comes to Social Media Marketing. Strive to respond to every person that mentions you on Social Media channels. This is something large company’s battle to do.