SMM: what is it, how does it work and who needs it
Table of contents
• SMM industry prospects
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How and when did SMM appear
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Main tasks of SMM
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Forming audience loyalty towards business
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Increased brand awareness
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Working with image and reputation
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Attracting additional attention to the product
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Repeated contacts with clients
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Easy entry into competitive niches
• Main advantages of promotion on social networks
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Which business is SMM promotion suitable for?
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Main methods of promotion in SMM
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Promising social networks
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Facebook
• VKontakte
• Odnoklassniki
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Instagram
• X (Twitter)
Social Media Marketing or SMM, is an independent direction of Internet marketing, covering the full range of tasks and goals in the field of promotion in social networks. Depending on project or specialization, an SMM specialist may be involved in promoting commercial or personal accounts, running advertising campaigns and/or building a loyal audience attitude towards the business.SMM Industry Prospects
Today, social networks are places with a high concentration of target audiences for any business, with the possibility of direct contact and generating conversion traffic. The largest platforms provide businesses with such broad opportunities that entrepreneurs are increasingly refusing to create their own websites. Here you can create your own design, place products, accept payments, and also receive a significant amount of useful analytical information.How and when SMM appeared
The avalanche-like growth in the global popularity of social networks can be considered a natural and logical reason for the emergence of a new direction in Internet marketing - SMM. In a very short time, social networks have become a favorite place to spend time on the Internet for millions of people. Here, users are provided with all the opportunities for entertainment, communication, publishing and viewing content, commenting and listening to music. If initially social networks were used exclusively by young people, after a few years the older generation formed a significant segment of the general audience. Here people voluntarily fill out detailed questionnaires and also leave other public information. And all this can be used by SMM specialists to accurately target their campaigns. Practice shows that contextual and teaser advertising can rarely show the level of conversion that is basic for social networks.Main tasks of SMM
Today, SMM promotion is not limited to maintaining accounts or setting up targeted advertising. Social Media Marketing is a comprehensive set of tools and techniques for solving various marketing problems.
The following main goals can be identified that business can achieve using SMM:Forming a loyal attitude of the audience towards the business
Social networks open up opportunities for direct contact between businesses and representatives of the target audience. By publishing useful content, working with objections, responding to comments, publishing reviews and holding competitions, a loyal attitude towards the brand is effectively formed on the part of existing and potential customers. Conversion largely depends on the attitude of the audience, since if a person trusts the company, then he will carry out targeted actions with less doubt.Increased brand awareness
Proper management of the corporate community and the use of advertising tools make it possible to organize a noticeable brand presence on social networks. To achieve this goal, advertising campaigns are created that focus on maximum coverage. Such advertising is relatively inexpensive, which allows you to make your brand truly recognizable even with a small budget.Working with image and reputation
A characteristic of people's online behavior is that they are much more willing to share negative messages. For example, if the buyer is satisfied with the purchased bicycle, he is unlikely to leave a positive review. But if the two-wheeler had broken down immediately, then it is safe to say that a negative reaction on social networks would have appeared on the same day. Social networks provide functionality that allows you to promptly identify and respond to negative comments. Check out our SERM article to learn about about online tools for catching negative information about your business.
Attracting additional attention to the product
With the help of targeted advertising, mailings, retargeting, posting in third-party communities and viral content, a business can “reach out” to almost all sections of the target audience. In addition, social networks provide tools that allow you to convert the attention received into real sales.
Repeated contacts with clients
Retargeting technology makes it possible to return users who have already made a purchase or have not completed the purchase process. For example, if a person puts goods in a virtual cart, but does not completely close the request, then with the help of advertising he can be reminded that his order is awaiting completion. Retargeting also helps in selling related products. For example, if a user has ordered a laptop, then he can be shown offers to purchase a bag or a desktop cooling system.
Easy entry into competitive niches
Advertising tools of social networks make it possible to contact other audiences. The advertiser can target members of any community or group, allowing the campaign to quickly target the right audience. The method is not the fairest. But if you don’t use it, this doesn’t mean that your competitors won’t use it.
The main advantages of promotion on social networks
• Very wide audience coverage.
• Presence of potential clients for almost every business.
• Advertising that is relevant to user interests is not annoying.
• Large selection of advertising formats.
• Possibility of promotion with a minimum budget.
• Direct connection with the audience.
Which business is SMM promotion suitable for?
SMM marketing is ideal for the development of small and medium-sized businesses aimed at obtaining direct sales. If deciding to enter into a deal requires a lot of thought, then such companies will have a harder time finding customers on social networks. Promotion on social networks shows minimal effectiveness in the B2B industry.
Businesses that most definitely will benefit from SMM:
• sale of inexpensive and popular products (clothing, household chemicals, food delivery, accessories, etc.);
• provision of services to individuals (window installation, beauty salons, cleaning, etc.);
• catering establishments;
• B2C representatives with a network of offline offices who want to reach the attention of social network users;
• all types of businesses that are interested in creating a positive image and brand awareness.
Main methods of promotion in SMM
The set of techniques in the SMM promotion strategy on social networks depends on the current goals and objectives of the company. If a business is interested in growing sales, then it needs to use the following methods:
Targeted advertising. The tool makes it possible to accurately focus on representatives of a specific target audience. Segmentation takes into account gender, age, location, interests and dozens of other parameters. Depending on the placement format, the advertiser pays for impressions or direct clicks.
Advertising in third-party communities. On social networks, you can always agree on the placement of promotional posts in the feed of an opinion leader, celebrity or popular thematic community.
Content marketing. This concept is based on the regular publication of high-quality and useful information and/or entertainment content. Interesting materials are always slightly “diluted” with advertising offers.
If the current goal of promotion is to improve the image and recognition, then you can also use targeted advertising and placement in third-party public pages. You just need to change the presentation format to get significant coverage. Viral marketing works well in this direction. Its mechanism is to create creative or very interesting content that users will actively distribute on their own.
The following methods of work will help improve your reputation:
• regular publication of useful content;
• prompt response to reviews and comments;
• conducting surveys, sweepstakes, competitions and other activities.
Actively interacting with your audience on social media always brings positive results to your business.
Promising social networks
Facebook
Global industry leader. The platform features the most advanced set of advertising and analytical tools. The most solvent audience is concentrated here.
VKontakte
The most popular youth social network in Runet. It is used by many schoolchildren with questionable economic potential. But the site’s audience is highly active and willing to quickly buy inexpensive products.
Odnoklassniki
This social network traditionally continues to concentrate representatives of the older generation. This audience is not so active, but quite solvent.
Instagram
Everything here is based on publishing bright and interesting visual content. This makes the platform an ideal place to promote a product that can be attractively presented using photos or videos. All of Facebook's analytics and advertising capabilities* are available here.
X (Twitter)
This social network is designed to distribute short text messages and direct communication. If a business can attract attention in the microblog format, then it definitely needs to use this platform for promotion.
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