Social Media Marketing for Dummies - Part 1

Tweet According to Statistic Brain's research that was published in January 2014, the total percentage of 18-24 year olds who use social media is 98%. Overall, 11% of the world's population are active members on social media.

However, numerous companies are ignoring this marketing platform. You have to wonder why they are avoiding such a enormous accessible population, especially when the monetary investment is so limited!

I've only been in my current marketing consulting job for 8 months, but I'm starting to realize there's still important barriers for most companies to invest time in their social media presence. Here are a few aspects to consider when planning out your social media marketing campaign:

What is your goal?

Just like any other marketing campaign, you need to know WHAT you want to achieve.

Many companies join Facebook, post a few pictures, and then disappear for 4 months. And then, when I ask them "Have you ever considered social media marketing?", they'll answer "Ah yeah, I've tried it ...useless, never got anything out of it!"

Guess what - if you buy a time slot on TV, film a random video and send it out, do you really think you'll get an interesting ROI?

Listen, I know it's new technology, but STOP BEING AN IDIOT (is what I'd want to say but don't...).

If you're going to put some effort into your marketing, do it right! First thing's first, WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? Raise awareness? Get more likes on Facebook or more followers on Twitter? Drive more traffic on your website? Get more sales on your online store? Everything can be achieved, but they all take a different route to reach the desired outcome.

Oh yeah, and a little kicker on the side: social media presence will boost your search ranking within search engines, increase your reach and influence, help your overall branding, and plenty of other yummy stuff.

Great, I know what I want. What now?

Well, let's get one thing straight. Even if Facebook dominates the social media world with over 1.2 billion users, a company needs to do their research before starting a social media marketing campaign.

Time for a guessing game - which country has the most engaged population on social media (how many hours per month are spent per person, in average, in the country). USA? Canada? Maybe in the UK?

I had a client who wanted to sell in Israel. He told me there was no way social media would work - they're not in North America so they probably don't use it a lot like us.

Guess what - comScore's report has Israel #1 with an average of 11.1 hours per month back in 2011. Where was the USA? Not even in the top 10!


Now that we agree that social media is everywhere, let's get another thing straight: going on Facebook isn't always the answer!

Depending what your goal and your target audience is, there are a multitude of options. Whether it be Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, Tumblr, Instagram, or even foreign sites such as Sina Weibo, Vkontakte, Renren or Odnoklassniki, the possibilities are numerous.

For instance, if you want to export to Russia: being a very populous country with engaged users, is Facebook the right choice? NO. Russia's #1 social media website is V Kontakte. Do your research people!

Once you know who your target audience is and which social media platform offers the greatest reach, you're on your way to create a whopper of a marketing campaign (speaking of whoppers, how great was the "sacrifice 10 friends, get a free whopper" Facebook promotion? ...yeah, Google it you millennium caveman!)

OK, sooo what now?

I usually tend to discuss this with the CEOs from the start - if you want to do a quick marketing campaign, just snoop around on your competitors' social media websites. You'll get a good idea of what to do to keep up.

If I'd finish my prep talk there, I'd be a pretty shitty marketing consultant eh?

The real good stuff is in thinking outside the box (I hate overused expressions...) which means you snoop on your competition to know what NOT to do. Unless you're selling blenders - better start blending some iPhones and golf balls to try and catch up with Blendtec!

You need to think of:
1. What is your goal?
2. What is your target audience?
3. How will you create something engaging to create interest?
4. How will you know if it's working?

This and much more coming next week!

Until then, here's the "Ad of the Week [that's not an actual ad but should be]..." - Enjoy! :)



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Pierre Babineau is an MBA graduate from Laval University. Currently working as an Industrial Marketing Advisor at FPInnovations, he has worked in Canada, USA, South Africa and India in numerous positions such as International Development Agent, Head of Trade Mission, Director of Internet Marketing and an Independent Consultant for various companies.

You can reach Pierre Babineau on Twitter, LinkedIn or on his personal website.

Follow @pierrebab