Social Media Takes on TV

In the month when television ads kick up into high gear to sell, sell, sell the holiday spirit, recent reports have shown that Social Media may be inching into popularity in a realm normally covered by more traditional media channels.

Online research firm Knowledge Networks and Media Post found that “they are more inclined to purchase products and services from businesses that advertise on social media sites.” This number is akin to consumer shopping trends within the on-demand and high-definition television viewers.

For brands interested in pursuing a social media marketing campaign, this is further proof that the medium is a viable path to enhanced brand recognition and increased sales. With Social Media spending expected to grow to the $2 billion dollar range in 2011, brands can be assured that their money will be well spent.

To take advantage of the consumer attention that social media accounts are attracting, brands should integrate social media marketing (SMM) into their existing plan. The profiles and accounts available through SMM gave the best return when used congruently with both print and traditional web marketing methods, including blogging and online PPC ads.

Like any marketing, SMM begins with building the brand in a place where the target market is located. TV finds their demographics by channel, print marketing finds readers of specific publications and SMM needs to consider which social media sites, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., their target market use regularly. The goal is to put your marketing, news, articles, pics, and links in front of your target market at the right time.

Talk to a web marketing consultant to begin the research to learn where your target market lives in the social media world and then build a campaign within your existing marketing plan that takes effective advantage of the highly targeted options that SMM offers to brands.