What is social media marketing?
What is social media marketing? At the beginning of social media marketing, Currently, the sociality of people in the Internet world has crossed the boundaries of reality and reached the virtual world. And that virtual world is known all over the world as social media.
Over the years, mankind has become accustomed to social media, and important functions such as buying and selling are also being completed on social media. And social media marketing originated from those buying and selling activities on social media. As the variety of businesses has changed over time, so have the methods of marketing to expand and promote that business.
Social media marketing has now occupied the most important place in this vast evolving world of marketing. And so, the most important medium of the marketing world, social media marketing, has been discussed in detail in today’s article.
What is social media marketing?
“Social Media Marketing” in English is called “Social Media Marketing” in Bengali. Social media marketing basically refers to marketing with the help of social media or social media. In this process, when a person or an organization targets users of a particular medium through advertisements, the users are given a detailed idea about a product.
This entire process is collectively known as social media marketing. According to two marketing experts, Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein, social media marketing is ” an Internet-based application built on second-generation website technology that simultaneously allows users to exchange and share ideas about products.”
Different social media platforms present the same product to the users of the platform in different ways. But although presented on different platforms, the purpose of each platform is the campaign.
The position of social media marketing in the world of marketing
Because of this marketing maxim, “spread is spread”, social media marketing has been able to dominate the marketing world today. Around 5 billion people are directly and indirectly connected to social media all over the world. That is, when the whole world is almost completely captured by social media, then there is no better marketing platform than social media in the current world.
Out of traditional marketing such as traditional marketing, entrepreneurs and organizations are now more interested in social media marketing because of the relatively high response; As a result, the possibility of financial gain for the organization is increasing. An average person spends about 2 hours and 30 minutes on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.
In that case, if a product is marketed within a portion of this 2 hours and 30 minutes, it will definitely attract the user’s attention. And this is exactly where social media differs from any other form of marketing. Because here the user will surely use social media and will be subjected to marketing.
According to the popular website ‘ The Business Research Company ‘, between 2021 and 2022, the amount of money invested in social media marketing increased by 38 percent, reaching 159.68 billion to 221.29 billion dollars; Which is more than any marketing in the world. That is, it is very easy to get an idea of what stage social media marketing has reached in the world of marketing.
Essentials of Social Media Marketing
Three-fourths of the world’s population is constantly connected to social media. In other words, social media is the most suitable and effective medium for marketing targeting this huge population. Due to the advancement of technology, people have become more dependent on social media.
Marketing based on this dependency is likely to reach the most people; Which is most needed in marketing. According to the popular magazine ‘ Forbes ‘, people around the world are buying 65 to 81 percent of their total purchases directly and indirectly influenced by social media. In other words, the impact of social media marketing on people’s purchases is evident in just one statistic.
Types of Social Media Marketing
Just as there is a huge field of marketing in social media, there are certain types of that field as well. Social media marketing is basically divided into two parts,
- Free or Organic Social Media Marketing
- Paid Social Media Marketing
Free or organic social marketing
Free or organic social media marketing is free advertising by creating free pages on various social websites and displaying products there. In this case, there is an opportunity to communicate with the buyer immediately. Moreover, by creating groups on social media, customers get a clear idea about the advantages and disadvantages.
Paid Social Media Marketing
When products are advertised on social media for money, that marketing is called paid social media marketing. In this case, the advertiser usually has to provide detailed information about his product and pay a certain amount of money for a certain amount of advertising. Both paid and free marketing are equally popular in the context of Bangladesh.
Social media are some of the most popular mediums for marketing
After learning about social media marketing, the most important thing is to have an idea about the social media on which the marketing will be done. Although there are many social media around the world, the most popular 14 media marketing will be discussed in detail.
- Facebook Marketing
- Instagram Marketing
- YouTube Marketing
- Twitter Marketing
- LinkedIn Marketing
- WhatsApp Marketing
- Telegram Marketing
- Pinterest Marketing
- Tumblr Marketing
- Flickr Marketing
- Reddit Marketing
- Quora Marketing
Facebook Marketing
Among all the social media around the world, Facebook is the most popular medium with more than 2.2 billion users. You can open pages and groups for free marketing on Facebook and advertise products among more than 2.2 billion people.
It has an opportunity to mention a lot of details about the product. Moreover, Facebook also has the opportunity to encourage people to buy products through various offers or discounts. The reach of specific product pages can be increased by targeting specific customer segments and targeting them with different campaigns.
A certain Facebook page can be made more popular through various contests, networking events, giveaways, and referrals. However, Facebook’s biggest advantage in terms of customer feedback is grouping. Here are customer reviews, and benefits, The organization gets an idea about the difficulties, etc.
If necessary, there is an opportunity to take clear steps. As a result of this gradually increasing the acceptance of the organization to the customers as well as following different marketing strategies, the organization becomes financially prosperous. Facebook marketing is done through both paid and non-paid channels.
Instagram Marketing
After Facebook, another popular social media in the world is Instagram. You can also market specific products through Instagram. Instagram has nearly 2 billion users worldwide.
It goes without saying how popular marketing can be by targeting this large population. Marketing on Instagram can be done in both paid and free ways. In that case, you have to create a professional Instagram account and advertise. In addition to advertising, follower growth should also be monitored.
In that case, the activity of the Instagram page should be increased. From various celebrities, sports persons, and mass media to follow and comment everywhere, those who follow the page must also follow. As a result, a community will develop.
Moreover, hashtags, mentions, and Things like campaigns should be done constantly to increase the followers of the page. Again, through paid marketing, followers can be increased on Instagram with money. But the most important thing is to focus on the opinions and needs of the followers towards the product.
YouTube Marketing
Another important means of social media marketing is marketing on YouTube. The first step in YouTube marketing is to create a YouTube channel with a catchy name. Then set up the channel. In this case, the cover and profile photo should be uploaded and suitable for the type of channel.
After setting up the channel, making videos of the products, editing them and uploading them to the channel, and mentioning the detailed captions, all these tasks have to be done. Promotion can also be done using specific keywords through SEO.
Moreover, using the YouTube AdSense option, ads can be placed before the video. Having a comment section also makes it easier for organizations to get an idea of customer feedback.
Twitter Marketing
With 326 million Twitter users worldwide, Twitter is one of the most popular marketing mediums. After creating and customizing a Twitter profile, host the chat. Along with promoting the Twitter account through web traffic, unique content should be created for advertising. Must apply to verify your Twitter account.
Acceptance will increase if the account is verified. Target specific customers on Twitter through various campaigns, shares, and followings. Moreover, by adding Twitter account links to pages like Facebook, and Instagram, marketing can be done by increasing Twitter followers.
LinkedIn Marketing
Marketing on LinkedIn is more sensitive than any other marketing. Because customers in LinkedIn marketing are more professional than other social media. After creating a page on LinkedIn, invitations can be sent to many people by following the plug-in generator.
Moreover, a LinkedIn page can be promoted through email, newsletter, or blog. Moreover, the page can be promoted through campaigns and memberships.
WhatsApp Marketing
WhatsApp provides one of the best communication facilities in the world. As a result, the field of marketing has developed in WhatsApp. WhatsApp has created a separate segment for business with the WhatsApp Business app.
As a result, products can be advertised to targeted customers. You should start by creating an account with a professional number and adding a company image or logo to your profile. First of all, more and more people need to be engaged by increasing their engagement with them on WhatsApp, starting from the work of relatives.
Moreover, WhatsApp group links should be kept on profiles like Facebook, and Instagram. Human engagement on WhatsApp is higher than any other medium as most texts on WhatsApp are viewed within three minutes of sending.
known people School and college students should be connected to WhatsApp and keep them informed about the products through regular updates. Moreover, through the quick reply system, customers should reply and talk to them to increase business promotion and expansion
Telegram Marketing
Although Telegram marketing is not as popular as other marketing methods, Telegram marketing has a good impact on marketing. Any product can be advertised by creating a channel by creating a Telegram account and subscribing to that channel with the help of other people.
Again, the business can be promoted by changing the marketing strategy by knowing about the opinions of the people in the separate chat group of that organization.
Pinterest Marketing
Through marketing on Pinterest, the visual image of the business product can be presented to everyone. Marketing can be done easily by pinning products through Pinterest templates.
The percentage of product sales can be increased through web traffic. In this case, you have to connect the Pinterest profile with others by regularly liking and commenting on the pins of others. Attractive images, descriptive content, catchy headlines, important branding, and good storytelling are the key ingredients to success in Pinterest marketing.
Pinterest marketing is more popular than WhatsApp, and Instagram to 83% of people in the US and people are more interested in Pinterest than other sites.
Tumblr Marketing
Although Tumblr is less popular than other sites, marketing can also be done on Tumblr. Marketing can be done by posting product images, product descriptions, and advertisements by creating an account on the micro-blogging platform site.
After registration in the Tumblr blog, the account has to be managed with another domain name through the tumblr.com subdomain. A report of 381 million blogs was published on Tumblr in 2017.
Flickr Marketing
In 2005, Yahoo bought a social media platform where blogs and photography are published. Here, marketing can be done with product images and detailed descriptions by making an account. Flickr followers can be increased by following the accounts of researchers and bloggers, commenting, and web traffic.
Reddit Marketing
Marketing has become quite popular on Reddit with 300 million users. To do marketing on reddit, first of all, you need to focus on the targeted customer by creating an account. Moreover, trending topics and many important reddits.
In business development, subreddits should be found and customers’ opinions about subreddits including their likes and dislikes, advantages, and disadvantages should be accepted. Accordingly, you have to advertise with pictures and offers. Karma, cross-post, and effectiveness should be increased for more promotion.
Quora Marketing
Quora or Quora Marketing is one of the most popular marketing nowadays. Marketing can be done through simple product promotion, product link sharing, and product content publishing. Quora Marketing is one of the best ways to increase business activity and customer reach.
Marketing through account reach can be done by analyzing the product type, taking other people’s opinions, connecting with others, increasing activities, and getting more answers.
Some rules for success in social media marketing
In order to be successful in social media marketing, there are generally four principles to follow. Following these four principles is almost mandatory to succeed in social media marketing.
- Set goals.
- Giving importance to customer feedback.
- Maintaining product quality.
- to be patient
Benefits of Social Media Marketing
The whole world is enjoying the benefits of the revolution that social media marketing has created in the world of digital marketing. The benefits of social media marketing will be discussed in detail below.
Advertising at a low cost
Advertising on social media is also free. If not possible for free, then advertising can be done for very little money. Which if done through traditional means will cost at least ten times more money than social media to reach the same number of people.
Designation of certain classes of customers
The most important thing in marketing a product is whether the message of the product is getting across to the type of customers the product is designed for.
That is, when the message goes through the advertisement of the product to a certain class of customers, the sales of the product will increase by at least 30%. Which can be targeted in a very simple and effective way through social media marketing.
Customer accessibility
After determining the specific category of customers, by presenting the product to the customers in a more attractive way and winning the hearts of the customers, the number of customers will increase as well as the product will be available to the customers. The more readily available the product, the greater the number of customers.
Marketing at home
The amount of money and effort required for traditional marketing campaigns and advertising is almost negligible in social media. It has become possible for any product to be delivered to people for free or at a very low cost through social media by writing the details at home and taking pictures.
Expanding business contacts and contacts
There is no better way than social media for any new company or entrepreneur to expand business contacts and contacts and supply products to different parts of the country. It is also useful in promoting the product and promoting it to other entrepreneurs.
Because it is the only medium that has no borders. It can keep in touch with business contacts and other entrepreneurs all over the world and keep updated about their status.
Employment generation
While it is possible to edit everything at home on social media, there is no substitute for manpower to deliver the product to the customer.
Not only in this case, in the management and control of various business pages, and websites, but numerous skilled freelancers have also been employed in the field of running domestic and foreign companies and personal pages or websites.
As a result, it is playing a major role in creating employment by reducing unemployment in our country.
Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing
As with all positives, social media marketing also has some negatives.
Scams and weak security systems
In this exciting world of marketing on social media, some honest media Scam or Fake App infiltrates the marketing world and hacks people’s personal information. As a result, the possibility of cybercrime is increasing. And people’s trust is going away from social media.
Potential for fake news
There are some online pages that post on different latest topics from time to time to increase their reach. But many times they are false, resulting in confusion among people.
social inequality
The previous generation of current generation was not connected to social media. As a result, they are deprived of all the benefits of social media; Which has created a social disparity.
A circle of unscrupulous sellers
There are currently unscrupulous sellers on social media, who market with product images and deliver substandard products to customers. This also forces customers to have a negative perception of other reliable companies. Which can cause serious damage to entrepreneurs and companies.
How to learn social media marketing?
There are basically two main ways to learn social media marketing. First, learning by doing. That is, you can learn by trying yourself by watching videos on various sites including YouTube, and reading articles.
Secondly, one can learn through fee-based courses in any IT institute. In this case, the advantage is that if there is any kind of problem, immediate help is available from the authorities.
Future prospects of social media marketing
Today there are more than 7 million small and large companies around the world. Most of them are now active on social media. This number will increase further in the future, as will the demand for skilled workers.
That is, the e-commerce market is expanding day by day. Considering in the future, there is a huge possibility of reducing unemployment in countries with such a large population, including Bangladesh, in social media marketing; Which will play a role in the global economy.
Income from social media marketing
How much income can be earned from social media depends on the organization’s marketing. A good marketing strategy can lead to huge profits.
And the income of a social media marketing specialist will depend on his skills. If you are skilled you can earn a good amount of money. Otherwise, it will not last long in the market.
Finally, it can be said that as population growth increases the size of the global economy, the marketing scope, needs, and competition of organizations and individual entrepreneurs are also increasing.
The ever-increasing effort to bring everything within the reach of people in this world of the Internet is accelerating the pace of social media marketing and this pace will only accelerate in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How promising is social media marketing as a career?
Answer: Social media marketing is not given a separate degree in our country but some countries in the world have introduced it. In World, this course is conducted in some cases along with a marketing degree. But if you want to accept it as a profession without having a degree in marketing, you have to continue to work hard and improve your skills in this field. Only then can you survive in this profession.
Q: How to improve social media marketing?
Answer: In order to improve in social media marketing, one has to constantly advance in acquiring new skills. Only then will there be a financial improvement as well as personal improvement
