Riding the social media marketing tidal wave

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on January 22, 2010 at 12:03 PM

Social networking site memberships have skyrocketed in the past couple of years, and marketers are clear about the importance of reaching audiences through social media. A recent study has surveyed executives from companies on the Inc. 500 list and found that 79 percent of them view social media as being an important part of their marketing and business strategies, the Bakersfield Californian reported yesterday.

Executives also said social media is important to "generating hits, feedback, leads and sales," according to the report, "Social Media in the 2009 Inc. 500: New Tools & New Trends," by Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes and Eric Mattson of the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Another report, "The Social Media Marketing Book," advises executives that one of the major pitfalls they can avoid is using forum marketing services, which use many fake accounts to "create a false buzz on behalf of the business they are trying to promote," which only compromises a business's reputation, Slashdot reported.

When it comes to Facebook, the report's author, Dan Zarrella, concludes that it is important for a business to create a Facebook page, as the best social media marketing is done by fans, not the company itself. When using Twitter, he told Slashdot in an interview to keep in mind that Twitter use is a marathon, not a sprint. In other words, marketers should take care to not dive into social media at the beginning and then set it aside later. It should be integrated into what marketers are already doing.

Mashable posted a helpful list of social media lessons that businesses can learn about from the U.S. National Basketball Association:
1. Engage fans
2. Calls to action
3. Give fans a voice
4. Filter, but don't censor
5. Spread the word

Visit the article for the full lessons.