As the social marketing specialist at OrangeSoda, I talk to a lot of people about how social networking web sites can increase the online exposure for their business.
Social media marketing works best when the company is already social – in other words, they have something to say. Social media is social, so if you don’t have time or it isn’t a priority to communicate, you won’t see the best results.
Social media is usually a long-term approach and you need to communicate constantly. There are exceptions but the results usually take time. Search Engine Land has a great article about the many benefits you can get from social media marketing.
From the article:
The main concept behind social media networking is that users can connect and communicate with each other. Usually a successful social media networking campaign isn’t judged by the traffic sent, but by the relationships built.
Our approach at OrangeSoda comes from an SEO or reputation management perspective. I’m convinced that at a minimum companies should have profiles on major social networks. I’m not a purist that believes you must interact to be there.
Everyone belongs to groups where a core group is actively involved and the rest show up when they can. Some come and don’t talk much, they only listen. There’s room for both. But if you are showing up for the first time and you’re unknown, you’ll have to build relationships (aka network). The worst is if you show up once in a while, promote yourself, and leave. People probably won’t want to get to know you better. The same goes for online networks.
At a minimum creating a profile on a social networking web site is a great way to build links and diversify and strengthen your online reputation. You can always become more actively involved at another time.
With that, I hope you’ll look up OrangeSoda on the following sites (as you can see we’re more active on some than others):
OrangeSoda on Twitter
OrangeSoda on Facebook
OrangeSoda on LinkedIn
