ILMA Compoundings October 2016 - 12

VOICES & VIEWS

Today's Most Powerful
Marketing Tool

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John Dunne

T

here is not a single person I know who has not heard of
the term social media. Companies such as Facebook
and Twitter are in the news almost every day, many times
being credited as the information source. While the social
media industry is very well known, the knowledge of how to
properly utilize it from a business standpoint is not.
Marketing tools built by social media platforms are making it
easier for companies to create selling and marketing campaigns.
Those campaigns not only increase visibility and grow brand
awareness but also increase traffic to websites, boosting search
engine optimization (SEO) - or showing up higher on Google
or Bing search results.
More advanced algorithms have made for very specific ad
targeting, allowing any business to reach its appropriate
audience without excessive spending. An ad on social media
does not just have to sell something. It can be a way to share
news, gain visibility and grow a network. It is also a great way of
increasing awareness and generating leads for new products
and strategies. It can be used to grow relationships not only with
customers but with other businesses.
Regardless of the products or services you offer, social media
is one of, if not the most, powerful marketing tools available
today.

How It Works
Getting ads in front of the proper audience is Facebook's
business model, and they are good at what they do. In 2015,
Facebook generated a little over $17 billion in ad revenue.1 In
recent years they have made it extremely simple for a business
to advertise to its proper audience. They have created a system
that uses a combination of targeting options to make sure your
content gets to the people you care about. Those options
include:
* Interests and hobbies
* Behaviors, such as purchasing behaviors

These points are the most
common, used on almost every
other social media platform's
targeting system.

Search Engine Optimization
The definition of search engine
optimization is the process of
maximizing the number of visitors
to a particular website by ensuring
that the site appears high on the
list of results returned by a search
engine. Social media can increase
traffic to a website or digital
storefront in multiple ways.
For example, Instagram is a social
media platform that shares only
pictures and videos. Having an
active account on this platform
increases visibility by having photos
appear in the Images tab of Google.
Instagram is a growing powerhouse
in social media, as it could surpass
$3 billion in ad revenue this year2 -
more than Twitter.
The more active a company is on
its different social media platforms,
the more likely it is to climb the
hierarchal list of search results.
Similar to investing, it is important
not to put all of your eggs in one
basket. Actively use many social
media platforms, without stretching
your capabilities, and customers
have the ability to reach your
website in every single one.

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Content of Your Posts

* Connections
* Age and gender
* More demographics such as education and work skill

A social media page does not have
to be devoted to only advertising
goods and services for sale. It can

Vol. 66 No. 10 * 12 * October 2016 Compoundings

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ILMA Compoundings October 2016

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