According to the Mercator’s definition, social media “bring together a wide variety of sites that promote social interaction: large” general “social networks like Facebook, blogs and micro blogs like Twitter, collaborative communities like Wikipedia, etc. “. The emergence of web 2.0 and technological media such as smartphones, tablets have enabled users of social media to influence the marketing strategies of companies. Indeed, companies no longer have a monopoly on the notoriety of their product.
Today, social media marketing is an indispensable tool for the survival of a business. The success of a business lies in the quality of its merchandise but also on the opinions of customers. Within these social media, traditional advertising has less effect than before.
Customer reviews and ratings can improve or harm a company’s image, hence the importance of analyzing reviews and reacting to reviews immediately.
The social media market is very active: a universe where technologies, media and online services are interconnected. The functioning of social media marketing revolves around four main axes:
- The publication
- The sharing
- The discussion
- Networking
However, these four axes are complementary and certain sites or mobile applications are present on several of these axes.
The publication is to publish videos, photos, articles, etc. Publishing is done using blog hosting platforms, minimalist publishing services, wikis, and intermediary publishing and sharing services.
Sharing is defined by exchanges between members concerning photos, links, information, places or purchases, advice, objects.
The discussion represents communities of people who share their opinions or their centers of interest with other Internet users. It also encompasses all conversational platforms, consumer communication tools, mobile communication applications and professional communication tools.
Networking makes it possible to enlarge one’s circle of acquaintances and to create a network. It brings together mainstream social networks, dating services and mobile dating applications and B To B social networks.
When it comes to traffic acquisition and email marketing, there are three models for a company’s visibility on social media:
- POEM or Paid
- Owned
- Earned Media
- Owned Media
It represents social media where the company controls and communicates its information to its users without buying the medium. The company collects the personal data of its subscribers and transmits the information, either using the collected e-mail addresses (via newsletters), or directly by sharing information on various social media platforms.
This model makes it possible to establish direct interactions with its subscribers or future subscribers. The advantage of this model is that it is free, but it is up to the company to regularly provide new content in order to retain Internet users.
Paid Media
The company buys advertising space in order to increase the visibility of its products. Purchased advertising is highlighted using web marketing tools such as display, SEM.
The advantages are that this technique makes it possible to acquire traffic on the site and that its notoriety is controlled using the content that it wishes to highlight. Since on social media, user reviews have the power to promote products. The risk of using the Paid Media model can cause a low credibility of the company in the eyes of Internet users.
Earned Media
In this model, it is the Internet user who represents the company’s brand. It becomes the channel for the dissemination of product information.
The company has no control over this model. The advantages are that it is free and the fact that advertising around the brand can go viral. However, the risk is that consumer reviews and professional comments (such as newspaper articles) can be negative and damage the reputation of the company.
Social networks
Many people log into multiple social networks.
These users come from all continents and are of all ages. Today, a classic company has a website, a Facebook account, a Twitter account and generally a blog.
The power of a social network allows you to develop your own SEO tool for businesses. These sites have their own internal search engine which responds to user queries by providing them with: either responses in its database, or responses including results from an external search engine.
Following geolocated reviews and comments from members of a social network, a company can see its notoriety increase and appear at the top of the results. But this is not the only way.
Some social networks allow any business to promote itself through advertising space. The leader in social media, Facebook, offers various tools to improve the visibility of a business.
The second most used social network is Instagram , according to a latest 2016 study by Vincos .
By creating a page, the company regularly informs its subscribers of the latest news and can interact freely with its customers. The targeted advertising program, offered by Facebook Ads , allows the company to gain visibility on its social network and on partner sites. Thanks to its paid service, Facebook will promote the company, the products and its applications, and the content of its pages.
In addition, it offers free or paid statistical tools that make it possible to measure the impact of a company’s publications, tools that make it possible to measure the return on investment, the performance of the page and the acquisition of traffic on its site. .
Blogs
Blogs with a good reputation on the network can be an opportunity for businesses. Unlike personal blogs, the content is written by professionals.
If the blog has a reputation among different social media and targets a large audience, the point of view of these authors can be essential for the company.
There are two ways to advertise a business on a popular blog. Either the company appropriates and sponsors an article pre-written by the blogger. Either the company sends samples to bloggers so that they write an article about their products. It turns out that Internet users are more sensitive to the latter technique.
Participatory marketing
Participatory or collaborative marketing allows Internet users to give their opinion on the products presented by the company.
This marketing is part of the construction of the product or communication policy.
Present on certain social media and applications, this practice is developing a new form of market research thanks to a massive collection of information from its customers.
This collaborative marketing builds close interactions with consumers. It could be considered as a form of advertising: the higher the number of clients solicited, the more the image of the company grows on the web and this can generate traffic on its site.
Tip: To grow your business, use at least 2, or even 3, social media to promote your visibility in the market and be responsive! Your e-reputation is linked to it!
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