Iridium Interactive Blog » digital marketing

Marketers Must-Have Social Media Marketing "Clicks"…You Need Them Now

iridiumInteractive — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:10:20 +0000

Social Media Marketing is a powerful marketing medium…not in the traditional marketing sense. It does not mean that all other marketing strategies have been abandoned, yet the shift is happening without the hype. If you are wearing the hat of a CMO, a marketing-communications executive today, I know exactly what is creating the dilemma..what is keeping you thinking. What is the right marketing mix to invest in? What do I do with all this hype of social media marketing? How are these companies, actually generating solid ROI through just Twittering or simply having a community of listeners and followers? Where do I begin? I understand this because, @iridiuminter, my company is passionate about getting marketers the answers to these dilemmas.

As the world is shrinking thanks to the web and now the social networking sites, social media marketing has arrived as a critical need. I have made some key words that marketers should keep in mind while venturing in to social media marketing that will be a great deal of help for you. No longer will the blow horn, over the top marketing strategies work anymore as consumers just do not want products, they want much more than that, a consistent commitment and a degree of transparency from their companies. Best brands use social media as a medium to freely exchange opinions and thoughts.

Here are some of the important “Social Media Marketing clicks” that give you the main essence.

· Shed all your social media fears

· Listen and never stop listening

· Be a silent observer of the chatter first. Answers to engage will simply come

· Determine your audience you want to reach out too

· Speak-out before you think, just let go and communicate transparently

· Have an earnest and honest appeal to your conversations with your consumers

· Subtly market your product through consumer experience driven approach. Aggressive selling repels customers.

· Be consistent while using social media- it not a one time apply tool

· Create relationship with your stakeholders. Things will sell automatically once you connect.

· Listen and answer to their queries. It is not a one sided communication tool.

· Unanswered customer queries can lead to negative reputation. Be proactive.

· There is no age limit to social media

Keep these clicks with you and explore your digital marketing efforts with a fresh perspective. Change is happening dynamically, you create the shift for you…

I will write more on this in my next blog….The Essential C’s for Social Media. Keep listening…

Social Media for your Business is Not a Choice..Its a Need

iridiumInteractive — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:39:35 +0000

What took the radio 38 years to accomplish, Facebook achieved double of it within 9 months? Well, I am talking about the 1 billion users Facebook recently achieved. Social media has transformed the way consumers respond to you. Traditional marketing was all about creating a need for consumers but now it is catering to the needs of consumers- its the network effect. Shouting and hard selling will not reach people. Social media is no less than a evolution that has taken people astorm.

People by their very nature are social. Companies, businesses thrive on people and their opinions. No surprises then, that Social media has it own reasons to evolve with more and more social networking sites mushrooming every single day. Whether you like it or not, accept it or not, there is so much being said about you- with or without you. If you choose not engage, you are simply giving up the ability to manage and influence what’s being said…

It has become an imperative need to listen to what your stakeholders are saying about you in this social space before planning any marketing strategy. In a recent global CMO survey, over 90% of companies confirm that they are allocating over 25% of their marketing mix budgets to social media / digital marketing initiatives. They are understanding this critical need to participate in continuous consumer interactions that engages users with opportunities to share their opinions.

There are so many online social networking sites from facebook, twitter, orkut, flickr, digg, technorati, myspace, linkedin, picasa and so many more. When you search for Social Media on Google you get 210,000,000 results. Whaoo!! This can be rather intimidating for someone who is just looking at implementing this very popular phenomena people just cant stop talking about in the business context.

@iridiuminter, having the depth and breath of social media for over a decade, @iridiuminter digital strategy team enjoys placing the social footprints for our clients everyday with a robust relevancy and reach that delivers tangible online growth engines for them.So, it is time to question your marketing plans and explore the new dimensions of online growth opportunities right now.

In my bid to share the knowledge and experience on Social Media Marketing and Monitoring, I will take you through these stories in my upcoming series and help you set your fortress of Social media.

REACH OUT TO YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK..THEY ARE WAITING

iridiumInteractive — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:34:37 +0000

In my last wisdom series, I demystified the power of Twitter and how it is transforming the global conversations for business. This has sparked some good interests in the online communities and I am glad people are absorbing the key practical insights for their businesses. It is now time, I demystify the world’s biggest professional network. I am not here to tell you what is LinkedIn. The global online talkers and linkers have underestimated the power of this tool to influence their businesses. Having 60 millions members, LinkedIn has a new member joining its trusted network every second…isn’t that alarming…yet how many of us truly use this to capture our business interest, understand our market space and leverage our opportunities by engaging in meaningful, actionable discussions. At iridium, our digital marketing team has been doing its share of R&D to analyze the human laser beam effect of a trusted professional network and how many influencers are actually driving business results using this medium.

Why LinkedIn? A Case in Point..

If you have your personal profile on LinkedIn, by now, you know the dynamics of a trusted professional network and the 6 degrees of connection between you and the world.

Ask yourself, how is your company engaging your stakeholders through LinkedIn. Start building your company profile
Just having random topic for discussion board will not do the work, you need a network engagement strategy to talk about what the market is bending towards. Once you have your share of like-minded people who start listening, you then begin talking about what matters to you.
There is never a better way to get new potential employees that you really seek
Having more conversations, will directly improve your Google search results

You might find this short video helpful, with due credits to Common Craft. They do come up with the coolest presentations that are very easy to comprehend. Watch this video to get a better idea of Linkedin.