Social Media Marketing, Buzz Marketing, Viral Marketing – These are all phrases that are hot in the search marketing industry. But what do they mean? How can companies such as car dealers get started?
Igniting Viral Campaigns helped to clue many SES San Jose attendees into social media marketing, and to understand just what it takes to make their content go viral.
The largest social media websites are increasingly apart of a Web marketer’s vocabulary, including sites such as Digg, Facebook, and Delicious. These websites are crucial when it comes to making content online viral. But as Chris Winfield from 10e20 pointed out, online forums, although less flashy than that likes of StumbleUpon or Digg, are actually just as important if not more important thanks to their ability to foster a passionate and vocal community within a particular niche.
But what types of content can deliver a viral marketing effect? When delivered properly, how to’s, surveys, best of’s, and even unique tools or widgets, are all examples of common and effective types of content that are ideal for social media marketing campaigns.
There are plenty of benefits to reap when a successful social media marketing campaign is executed. Link building, additional traffic, and of course sales, are all among positive outcomes of a social media campaign if leveraged properly.
Jennifer Laycock from Search Engine Guide stressed that marketers need to determine what will spark conversation among their target audience or consumer prior to a successful social marketing campaign. Although this may be difficult for many car dealers, it’s important to identify what sets your dealership apart. Although a dealer may sell a heavy amount of used cars, such as Used Cars Richmond, this dealer also happens to be Roush Mustang dealer as well, one of the few Ford dealers in the entire country to sell the exclusive line of performance vehicles. Even though used cars may be the cornerstone of the dealership, finding something unique, such as being an exclusive Roush Mustang dealer, may be all that’s needed to spark conversation within social media and forums.
But social media is not without its pit falls. Many advertisers have experienced first hand how difficult it is to get a social media campaign to take off. In addition, if it’s not executed correctly, the campaign could backfire, sparking a negative response from the very demographic you’re trying to entice.
With the prevalence of social news, media, and networking, the convergence of social websites and SEO is increasing, and the virality of your content is just another component to consider when marketing online.
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More social media marketing tips and tricks can be found right here.
