The world is in the midst of a social revolution. Every minute thousands of messages are being sent worldwide, and staying connected is now easier than ever. Everything is social, from social commerce to social CRM, there is no escaping it. Surprisingly, many individuals are still afraid to implant social media into their internet marketing plans, but with the right strategies there is an extraordinary amount of value that can be extracted from websites like Facebook and Twitter. Here are tips on how to use online communities to grow business and build awareness.
First, it is important to have a good understanding of online communities. Here is a list of three recognizable groups:
Direct Community – Direct communities are owned and managed by the company itself and everything is run by employees of the business. These include company websites and support communities, and they are essential to any internet marketing plan.
Managed Community – Although managed communities are started and managed by the company, the business itself does not necessarily benefit from the data on these sites. These type of communities run on social networking sites like Twitter, Flickr and LinkedIn.
Participating Community – Participating communities are started and managed by users outside of the company. These include fan sites and independent enthusiast groups.
Developing a Strategy
What is your end goal? With any business plan, it is important to define an objective before implementing a plan. This is no different for an internet marketing campaign. Understanding your objective is important so you can figure out which social media outlets to use and what measurements to track.
Who are you targeting? Whether a company is local or global, the internet gives businesses access to audiences from all over the world. The outlets you choose to use will be determined by who you are trying to reach.
What are you measuring? From collecting customer suggestions to identifying influential users, online communities provide businesses with a gold mine worth of data. It’s important to identify what information is important to your company’s success.
In this ever-changing market it is important to keep up with the latest technology, so developing an internet marketing strategy that includes a variety of online communities may be the key to your company’s success.
Written by Jacquelynn M.