After working in social media for the past couple of years doing various types of social media, I think it is important to make some distinctions between social media (online-marketing) versus traditional marketing.
Social media is a Marketing Tool, it is not all you need for effective marketing. When you want to market your company in a way that will draw in new clients, you will need several items.
- One, a clear definition of WHO you want to sell you products and services to.
- Two, a brand. Your brand will tell people right up front what your company is about, and what it stands for.
- Three, Your logo, before you begin your comprehensive marketing campaign, you must have a consistent look and feel to every piece of literature you put out. Whether the medium is digital or print.
- Four, colors, every year colors change and in order for your site to stay fresh looking, you should check out changing color trends.
- Five, if you can’t afford to get something done well, don’t do it.
Once you have all of those elements in place, you now have the basis for an overall marketing campaign. Even though I am part of a social media marketing company, I know that social media is not the only way to reach some potential customers. There are still some people out in the world who need services that do not use the web as their only tool. Even though the general population is migrating that way, we are not there quite yet. So you really should have a comprehensive campaign in place. That starts with an overall marketing plan and budget.
As for doing all of the marketing yourself, that is not always a good idea. Let me tell you why I think that. I was searching online for You Tube Videos to post on one of my sites, and there were some BAD homemade videos out there. What is far worse than having NO web presence is having one that is executed poorly.
I am not saying you absolutely cannot produce your own videos, but do it in a professional manner. Write a script for yourself, rehearse it, record it, and send it to a friend who will tell you the truth. Put it away for a day, then go back and look at it again. You want people to be intrigued by your media, not turned off by it. take some money from another part of your budget to get a short, well done video made by a professional.
Please, please, make a marketing budget and have patience. Marketing on a limited budget can only do so much for you. But when the world is exposed to you and your message over and over, on a consistent basis, you will get clients.
Cindy Fletcher for social-cindy.com
#Internet Marketing, Vero Beach
