Baby boomers may prefer the landscape over at Facebook, while the high school demographics prefer MySpace more. It could be a toss-up between the movers and shakers and the well-to-do when it comes to who may prefer Twitter more. This interesting article recently reported by CNN may in fact arm your company with the necessary information that you need to make an impact in the social networking community when it comes to statistics and where your marketing dollars may be better spent.
Online marketing is leaning heavily these days towards social community portals. Companies are finding that their target demographic markets are online and centered mainly in the three most popular portals; MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. This is not to say that other social outlets aren’t used, but just that these three seem to be the leading ones. Depending on your product and/or service, you may decide to concentrate on a particular source, or you may even use all three. But which is right for you?
Deciding on the “right” social portal to use is a relative decision. What are your goals? To whom do you want to appeal? Is your product tangible (a widget) or intangible (a service)? What delivery method(s) will you use to satisfy the customer? All of these factors go into deciding what is the best use of your marketing dollars and how it may be best spent. To help you decide, consider these suggestions:
1.) Participate on the social networking sites. Set up accounts on each on and begin interacting. Look at what people are talking about and the questions they’re asking. Are they relevant to your product or service? Can you perhaps answer a need that they may have voiced?
2.) Be consistent. When you begin participating, be consistent with your posts and your updates. People like to see that you’re active and not just a dropper-by only when you have great, new information to share. Which leads to…
3.) Be genuine. Talk from a real world perspective. Share business stories, tips and advice that you have experienced yourself. This helps your audience to identify better with your message and to feel more a part of what you’re offering.
In your approaches, you may find that you appeal to perhaps one or many sites where there is an interest in your services. Carefully market and strategically place yourself in those areas where you think you may be able to make the most impact.
I am a freelance writer, blogger and professional motivational speaker. I primarily focus on business content, offering my clients strategic marketing strategies for their businesses. I have been an entrepreneur for over 13 years, after having worked extensively in corporate America.
