Instant access and communication is what Social Media Marketing allows you to create with your customers.  It is estimated that Social Media spending will hit 3.1 billion dollars by 2014 at an annual rate of 34 percent according to Forrester. This is more rapid than any other form of online marketing which is twice the average rate of all online mediums. This new form of online marketing is geared towards spending more time communicating and interacting with your clients rather than pushing your brand directly at them – Quite a few companies have yet to catch on to this concept. Today large segments of the population are using Social Media Networks. You need to be where they are and get up and personal with your customers. Social Media Marketing will help you build a more engaging group of fans who have the potential of converting into future prospective clients.  Customers tend to listen to their online peers and this is where you can influence and capitalize with interactivity and communication on a more personal level. You need to be talking to your clients and making your brand more approachable. Considering that Social Media Marketing is in its infancy. Now is the time to take full advantage. It is still very effective and far cheaper than offline advertising.  You will need to dedicate a lot of time and planning to create a successful Social Media Marketing campaign – Create good quality content and make it is easy for your customers to share and over time your community will grow.

A successful campaign will require interaction from both sides between you and your fans. This is a great recipe to develop the best relationship for both you and you customers.  One key thing to avoid in your Social Media Marketing drive is to avoid the mistake of making it a standalone entity. You want to funnel traffic towards your Social Media profiles such as your Facebook fan page by using various platforms. Create awareness to your online profiles by putting on Events and/or Meetups. If you publish a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter for example, you want to archive it online so that your customers can share it easily via other prominent Social Media Networks and Bookmarks sites such as Twitter, delicious, and digg.  You may also feature links in your email signature, in your ads and on your business cards. To re-state a key fact, make it your prime directive to create quality content – Content King when it comes to online marketing. Your content should be educational and useful for your customers. Quality over quantity will always work in your favor to produce a successful Social Media Marketing effort.  Furthermore, if you are relatively new to this form of online marketing you will want to know as much as you can. Educate yourself on this medium by learning from others already using the form of advertising successfully. Subscribe to blogs, visit Social Bookmarking sites like digg and delicious and read what’s popular. Also, make an effort to visit your competitors Social Media profiles and see how they are marketing their brands to their customers. Learn and learn as much as you can, this will put you on the right path to creating a great social media community for your clients.

Getting into the nitty-gritty of it all, a successful Social Media Marketing campaign will require you to consider and target the proper demographic for you Brand. Knowing your demographic will help you understand if a Social Network such Facebook is ideal to market you Brand. There are other social networks out there that may be more useful for your business. You can be creative in your marketing efforts by offering a resource page on your Social Media profile consisting of free tools your customers, clients and potential prospects can use. This will generate a new demographic outside those who you already know and love your business.  Other incentives you can use to enhance your marketing efforts are to offer contests to give your customers a reason join your Facebook fan page for example. This will grow your community at much faster rate. Some perks you can give away are discount coupons, weekly deals and even free-shipping. Before launching your Social Media Marketing campaign you want to make sure that your hosting company is capable of handling the traffic you will receive. This is very important as you do not want your site to crash and missing out on any sales and future potential clients. In addition, you want to avoid launching your campaign during any major news events and happenings such as the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy. Schedule your launch for prime time and at a time when you are destined to get the best success. Do not begin your marketing efforts just because your campaign is ready.  Set yourself up to maximize in the mediums you plan on using to promote your Social Media profile.

Remember, create quality content, use the tools available to you, schedule your launch accordingly and learn as much as you can. This formula will help develop a strong Social Media Marketing campaign.