The Chris Treece Show  

There are some that think “social media marketing” is just the latest buzz phrase in marketing, but the truth is it is a new venue that you can use to market and promote your products and services. Social media centers around interaction with colleagues, potential customers as well as current customers.
I’ve found that when companies begin to dig into social media, they are not sure where to start. The information in this series will help you understand why social media marketing is important and how to begin to put it to work for you and your business.

What the heck is social media and what role does it play in my marketing? This is probably a question I wouldn’t have received two years ago, but yet today it’s the most common question that enters my inbox.

First off, let’s talk about what social media is. Social media represents low-cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. These tools are typically internet or mobile based. A few that you have probably heard of include Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.
Social media gives marketers a voice and a way to communicate with peers, customers and potential consumers. It personalizes the “brand” and helps you to spread your message in a relaxed and conversational way.
The downfall to social media, if you could call it that is that it must be a part of your everyday life in order to keep the momentum and attention you need for it to be successful.
If you think that social media is only for the small business owners that are trying out an experiment, I have to correct you.

Success stories are abundant when it comes using social media from headhunters that find job applicants to new businesses that want to introduce a new product as well as already established Fortune 500 companies that want to strengthen their brand. The role of social media in your marketing is to use it as a communication tool that makes you accessible to those interested in your product and makes you visible to those that don’t know your product. Use it as a tool that creates a personality behind your brand and creates relationships that you otherwise may never gain. This creates not only repeat-buyers, but customer loyalty. Fact is social media is so diversified that it can be used in whatever way best suits the interest and the needs of your business.