So, you’ve got your business off the ground and running smoothly, your website is full of interesting content and is looking rather impressive. You’ve established a reasonable client base and things are beginning to look peachy. What now? How do you keep that client base from running off with another company? How do you continue to build and entice new business? How do you increase your website traffic?

 Word of mouth is the best marketing tool, as they say. There are a whole lot of mouths out there and more of them could be talking about your business.

Is social media marketing really that important?
There’s been a great deal of talk about the considerable importance of social media marketing. But is it really that important? Will it actually make a difference? Do I reeeally have to do it? The answer to these important questions is, well yes. Whatever business or service you are promoting, social media marketing will make a difference. The benefits of utilising these marketing tools are vast, and investing in your social media presence will undoubtedly have a positive effect your companies image, search engine position and eventually, sales.

Why does it work?
The way that marketing works has changed rapidly over the past couple of years and this is no bad thing, but adapting is important. People have a great deal more control over the information they receive and choose to respond to, making it far less likely that they will consider, or even look at spammy emails or blanketed leaflet promotions. What they are more likely to do is follow the social media profile of a company because they have dealt with them previously, have an interest in their services, or simply like the cut of their jib. So, that effectively covers all of your bases: existing, new and potential clients.

Social media bridges the gap between company and customer utilising a more friendly and informal approach. By providing your followers with interesting, relevant, and free information, you are forging an image and reputation of a business that is proactive, current and up-to-date. An effective campaign will help you to develop loyal fans and will subtly direct people back towards your company website, thus advertising your services and improving the perceived significance of your website to those all-important search engines.

Select the image below to view a fantastic infographic by the guys at MDG Advertising:

How long will it take to be effective?
Now I’m not saying set up a Twitter account and you will wake up the next day to an influx of new business. Unfortunately, it’s just never that simple is it? Like any marketing campaign, these things require considerable time and effort. Think of it like scattering seeds across the Internet garden. Have a look at them every day, water them and have a little chat with them every now and again. Keep nourishing these planted seeds and eventually little shoots will start to grow, and these small blooms could become a large shrubbery, perhaps even a tree one day. Oh how very poetic.

Anyway, the point is that this whole social media business is not going to disappear. Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t poke at it with a stick then run away. Embrace it! If you are passionate about your business, then promoting it is something that must be done, and done well.

Help?
Time can be an issue. Ensuring your clients are well looked after and the day-to-day tasks are completed can be time consuming enough. Acquiring the extra hours and required knowledge to establish and manage a successful web marketing campaign can be daunting.

 As per usual, we can help with this. We have a whole wing of ADOtowers solely dedicated to this sort of malarkey. If required, we can set up your blog and social media accounts. We will research your market, competitors, current trends and potential clients in order to populate your web site and social media accounts with relevant, quality content. We can do all of this on a continuous, regular basis to ensure that your web campaign stays fresh, well tended, and up-to-date. A bit like hiring a gardener.

Why not give us a call? We will be happy to discuss your requirements and help you to plant a few seeds of your own. Develop a social media marketing campaign and see what you can grow.