Today we will answer the question of what SMM is and how it works. The abbreviation SMM stands for Social Media Marketing, which in turn translates as Social Media Marketing.
In essence, SMM is everything that is in one way or another connected with promotion and promotion on social networks. The main platforms for promotion are usually Instagram, VKontakte, Facebook and Odnoklassniki.
Why is this relevant? There are more than 65 million users of various social networks in Russia. According to surveys conducted by Statista, Russians use YouTube most actively, VKontakte comes second, and Odnoklassniki comes third. Facebook and Instagram are slightly behind.
How does SMM work?
Social media marketing includes many methods of operation. The most popular of them are the creation of groups and accounts on behalf of companies and brands, targeted advertising, working with opinion leaders (bloggers) and content creation.
The main emphasis is on creating useful content that will be shared by subscribers. It is believed that publications on social networks inspire more trust among potential clients.
When SMM appeared in Russia
Many agree that the concept appeared in the early 2000s, when the Internet became widespread. In Russia, this area of marketing began to develop in 2008. First of all, this is due to the rapid growth of VKontakte and the absence of any restrictions, for example, you could invite all your friends to the group at one time.
But as a separate direction, which began to receive attention, SMM began to appear in the early 10s, and somewhere starting from 2012-13 it acquired cutting and certain canons.
Business promotion using SMM
To understand whether you need SMM, answer the question Why do you need promotion on social networks? If you don’t have a clear understanding of what tasks you can solve and what goals you can achieve, then with a high degree of probability you will not achieve the desired result. There is no point in starting social networks just for the sake of it.
Typically SMM is used to solve the following problems:
- talk about your products and services;
- collecting feedback, working with negativity;
- organizing traffic flow to the site;
- increasing brand awareness;
- and much more.
Make your list of tasks, and then decide whether you need SMM.
Agencies and SMM specialists
With the advent of a new field in marketing, people have appeared who are specialists in it. They help businesses manage social networks and attract new customers.
Also, entire agencies have appeared that specialize in social media marketing.
Pros and cons of SMM
Pros:
- Ability to communicate directly with the client. If the client has objections, you can close them in private messages or in comments.
- Huge audience - by going to social networks you get access to an audience of millions.
- Minimal start-up costs - registration and creation of a group on any social network is free.
- Targeting - using targeting or special parsing programs, you can easily find your target audience by parameters: age, gender, interests.
- Development of functionality - many updates appear every year: payment systems within the network, the ability to place goods, publish articles, etc.
Minuses:
- The result requires constant work: daily posting, content creation, and so on.
- There is no 100% guarantee of results - no serious specialist will guarantee you will achieve a certain result.
- High competition - standing out from competitors is becoming more difficult as more and more companies create accounts and launch advertising.
- Increase in cost - as a consequence of the previous point, the cost increases. The more players there are on the site, the more you have to spend fighting for the client.
Contact with the client and target audience through social networks gives new opportunities to business, since communication here occurs very quickly and directly. In this article we tell you how to make SMM work to its maximum. And our course “” will help you deepen and systematize your knowledge.
Opportunities available to an entrepreneur and social media marketer
1. Analyze your audience and the work of competitors
Social networks better reveal the target audience: demographics, views, interests. There is a whole arsenal of tools that provide SMM specialists with in-depth statistics and opportunities to work with audiences. We wrote about some of them in the article “”.
Olesya Melnik
Writes about design and marketing at Skillbox. From 2011 to 2017, she wrote about business in business media, co-founder of the Paragraph copywriting agency.
2. Communicate with the audience
On social networks, a company can move away from officialdom and show a “human face”: talk about work and news in simple and accessible language, introduce the team, and demonstrate the internal kitchen. Moreover, the process of communicating with the audience is easy to make interactive: surveys, competitions, discussion posts help the client open up and feel important. As a result, you can not only earn the loyalty of readers, but also learn new business ideas from communicating with them.
Interactive example from “Red and White”
3. Quickly find the weak points of the business and work off the negative
Often a person feels more relaxed on social networks than offline. In an official group, he can openly and sincerely express his opinion about the product or point out errors. For some, leaving a negative review on the Internet is much easier than, for example, arguing with a waiter in a cafe.
If you work wisely with such comments and analyze them, you can not only turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal one, but also adjust your own business model: eliminate errors and become more customer-oriented.
4. Entertain clients
Topical jokes, useful tips, instructions and recipes - SMM technologies show the user that the business owner cares about him and wants to make his life more fun and easier. If a subscriber receives really interesting information from you, he will voluntarily join in promoting the brand and start sharing it with friends.
SMM tools
Work in the field of SMM is not limited only to writing posts, selecting pictures and communicating with subscribers. There are many techniques and tools in this area, the choice of which depends on your goals and concept.
1. Creation, design and content of pages
There are so many blogs, communities and groups that it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd. Stylish design and unique content are what attract people first. For the user, a competent design is a signal that this is a serious company. This often helps with quick promotion and increased conversion.
2. Blog promotion
SMM promotion of blogs, pages and groups on social networks is a very broad area. It includes attracting an audience (both from scratch and with the help of guest posts), creating content, design, and working with mailing lists.
IMPORTANT!
Unfortunately, simply writing interesting texts regularly is not enough: in order to attract a wide audience, a competent marketer must come up with a comprehensive strategy for this.
3. Work in thematic communities
SMM promotion includes not only work on your own platform - it is very important to be active in third-party thematic communities. For example, you can promote your company by commenting on trending news or by talking about your community in relevant forums.
4. Direct advertising
Creating and setting up advertisements is another important function that a social media marketing specialist must perform. You can advertise on the pages of opinion leaders or in large public pages that suit your style and audience composition. If this option does not suit you, you can run your own targeted advertising, which will look like a text message or banner.
SMM gives businesses the opportunity to organize a highly personalized campaign.
Targeted advertising allows you to convey a message to a specific target audience, sorting it by geographic location, gender, age, interests and other criteria. For example, one young man used an advertisement on VKontakte to invite a girl he knew to the cinema. He made a banner that only she could see and created a special event.
5. Viral marketing
It is also called viral marketing (from the English word viral - “viral”). This is text, video or audio content that instantly “goes to the people” and receives the title of meme. Users quickly and voluntarily distribute interesting material, it fills the news feed and even ends up in the media. Some videos and posts may appear on different resources for several months or even years.
IMPORTANT!
You need to use viral content as quickly as possible - some memes quickly become outdated, posts using them soon become ridiculous and incomprehensible to part of the audience: today a 15-year-old schoolboy is unlikely to appreciate a retromeme from five years ago.
The activity of viral posts (likes, comments and reposts) is an order of magnitude higher than that of regular ones. Recently, Philip Kirkorov’s song “The Color of Mood is Blue” suddenly became viral on the RuNet; people joked about it on all social networks and made parody videos. The musician himself admitted that the success on the Internet brought the composition to the first places in the iTunes, Apple Music and Boom charts.
6. Optimization of Internet resources for social media
This direction is designated by the term SMO (Social Media Optimization) and includes a set of actions that are needed to attract social network users to the site and retain them. This is mainly technical work that is carried out on the site itself: simplifying the process of “sharing” materials, connecting comments through social networks, and so on.
7. Analytics
In order for social media marketing to bring maximum effect, you need to analyze the results and adjust the strategy if necessary. Which advertising banner works best? How often do clients come to your site from social networks? Do people use social media buttons? Yandex.Metrica and Google Analytics will answer these questions.
Main sites for SMM
Publishing the same content on all social networks is one of the main mistakes made by beginners who decide to start SMM. Each platform has its own audience with individual preferences that need to be taken into account before you start promoting.
Most of the audiences of different social networks will overlap, but user behavior will still be different. For example, a person can use a Facebook account to communicate with colleagues and business partners, and Instagram as a personal blog; in this case, he definitely won’t post photos of his cat or pictures from friendly alcoholic get-togethers on Facebook. And users expect different things from each social network.
1. "VKontakte"
This is the most popular Russian-language social network, which is regularly used by more than 97 million people (here and further: at the time of writing). The VKontakte audience is quite young, under 30 years old. On this site people communicate, look for new friends, form business contacts, hire employees, engage in business and creativity. There are many narrow communities on VKontakte that unite people based on different characteristics. (from fans of some rock star to residents of the same house).
IMPORTANT!
Users respond best to short entertaining posts with media content (pictures, videos, music). Recordings without a visual component are lost in the general flow and are perceived much worse.
2. Facebook
In Russia, this social network is considered a place for communication between specialists aged 25–45 with higher education, politicians, entrepreneurs, top managers and representatives of show business. Therefore, many SMM specialists focus on promotion in the B2B segment. People on Facebook are more likely to read long posts with personal opinions, advice on business or personal effectiveness.
3.Instagram
According to Digital Native statistics, a Russian user checks his feed here 15 times a day. More than 70% of users are women. The network's audience is quite young, its core being people from 18 to 26 years old. Mostly they come for bright pictures and impressions. Although Instagram resembles an online photo album, texts play an important role here too. Many bloggers use photos as an illustration for a long text with thoughts and observations. To sell products, on the other hand, text is needed to complement the photo.
4. "Odnoklassniki"
Odnoklassniki's attendance is about 71 million people per month. Compared to VKontakte, this network is used by an older - and therefore more solvent - audience. But, contrary to stereotypes, there are plenty of young people here too. On this platform, you should rely on emotional stories: they love touching stories about love, friendship and fidelity.
5.Twitter
In the Russian segment of Twitter, 1.2 million authors create 78 million tweets per month. 55% of users are men. This is the perfect place to post photos and short quotes. This tool is well suited for announcing any content on another resource. (for example, materials in the media or blog). Twitter users love entertaining content; they constantly make fun of themselves and others and complain about life; jokes from this social network often spread to other platforms. To create a successful SMM project, you need to get into the atmosphere of this site and move away from the officialdom.
6.Telegram
Strictly speaking, Telegram is not a social network, but a messenger, but promotion through Telegram channels is a rather interesting tool. Users subscribe to channels in search of unique content. Standard jokes that have been circulating on social networks for years and reposts are irrelevant here: subscribers need the author’s view, analytics or insights.
In Russia, the messenger is used by about 10 million people, who can be described as a significant and most progressive part of the users of the local Facebook segment: these are students, the middle class and the intelligentsia; they are interested in business, politics, technology, science and culture.
Difficulties of SMM
1. Lack of experience
Many entrepreneurs, having created brand pages on various social networks, believe that promotion can be handled independently or delegated, for example, to a secretary. As a rule, such SMM projects turn out to be ineffective and short-lived. The fact is that social networks are a living and continuously developing organism. The resource administration is constantly introducing new technologies, changing the rules for setting up and placing advertising, or complicating the algorithm for issuing posts in the news feed.
IMPORTANT!
2. The audience is left out
For successful promotion, it is not enough just to be present on different platforms. So that in the frenzied flow of information the user does not forget about your existence, you need to regularly provide some kind of content. It is best to start promoting on social networks by creating a content plan and preparing publications for about a month. If you don’t pay enough attention to your audience, neglect the community, and don’t answer questions, you can seriously damage your own reputation.
Welcome to the InetSovety.ru blog. From this article you will learn who an SMM manager is, what he does and how to master this Internet profession. We all use the Internet for our own purposes, but we cannot influence the system in any way. One of the most popular places where all virtual reality participants gather is social networks. Ordinary users use all their capabilities, including purchasing all kinds of goods.
However, no one thinks about where these opportunities come from, that is, who gives them. And an SMM specialist does this. Who is he, what does he do, what is he needed for? Let's look at these questions one by one.
The concept of an SMM specialist and the tasks he solves
Who is an SMM manager and what does he do? First, let's understand the very concept of SMM.
The decoding of SMM sounds like Social Media Marketing, or social media marketing. This is an integral part of promoting the interests of companies via the Internet, or more precisely through social networks (personal pages, groups). All these activities are carried out by the SMM specialist.
It is worth noting right away that the services of such a specialist are by no means cheap, so if you are just starting to run your business, you will need to prepare for the upcoming financial expenses. However, believe that thanks to the services of such an employee, you will be able to get much more than you spend at the beginning.
So, who is this SMM specialist? Let's figure it out.
Features of the profession
An SMM manager is a person who promotes a business. However, this is very painstaking work, so if at first glance it seems to you that working on social networks or blogs is easy, then it is not. In fact, an SMM specialist must also solve many other tasks, namely:
- study the needs, interests, tastes of the audience, on the basis of which a strategy for further development of the project is built;
- respond to user requests, study comments, and then respond to them;
- conduct various events to attract new customers - competitions, quizzes;
- develop interesting Internet applications for social networks;
- create channels on various video hosting sites;
- SMM manager is responsible for advertising campaigns aimed at promoting business on the Internet;
- maintain all accounts or communities associated with the company, as well as moderate them;
- work with freelancers;
- optimize content for the needs of a blog or community on a social network.
But that’s not all that an SMM manager does. Moreover, these points are not his responsibilities. These are only the tasks that such a specialist faces. In addition to them, he is engaged in:
- community management;
- working with interfaces of websites, groups on social networks, etc.;
- creating a start page and additional tabs on the pages of the project he is leading;
- monitoring and analyzing the functioning of all implemented systems;
- identifying leaders among the target audience and ensuring close interaction with them;
- creating and maintaining corporate accounts on social networks or blogs;
- carrying out advertising and marketing moves, but in a veiled form.
That is, if we look at the question of who an SMM manager is from a different angle, then we can absolutely say that he is a universal specialist who combines the following skills:
- marketer;
- advertiser;
- moderator;
- administrator;
- official representative of the company.
Now you know who an SMM specialist is and what problems he solves. However, this is not all, since, in addition to solving these problems, such an employee also has a number of responsibilities. Let's look at them.
Professional responsibilities of an SMM specialist
The responsibilities of an SMM manager are quite extensive, so he must be a responsible, self-confident person who can make the right decisions and recognize beneficial partners in people.
- forms and promotes SMM products;
- deals with pricing;
- conducts advertising campaigns on social networks;
- finds new clients while continuing to maintain partnerships with current ones;
- analyzes the activities of competing companies;
- studies new trends in a particular area of business and implements them into his project;
- creates comments with which you can maintain a good image of the company;
- manages various projects.
That's all the responsibilities of an SMM manager. At first glance, it may seem that this is all very difficult, and indeed: if you decide to connect your life with promotion on social networks, then be prepared for the fact that at first you will have to overcome some difficulties. However, you will soon get used to it, and it will be much easier and more interesting for you to perform the functions of an SMM specialist.
Advantages and disadvantages of the CMM profession
SMM manager is a very difficult profession, which, in addition to a lot of advantages, also has its negative sides. But first, let's look at the main advantages of this position.
- There is great demand for SMM services due to the rapid development of marketing in social networks.
- More trusting and respectful attitude of the user. Unlike an advertising worker, to whom people quite often express outright antipathy, this employee is shown much more trust. The SMM manager of social networks has nothing to do with direct advertising, but does all this hidden, carefully and competently, and most importantly, unobtrusively.
- Wide range of users to create a target audience.
- The cost of advertising is relatively low.
- Opportunity to look for new clients.
There is only one downside to this profession, but it adds a significant fly in the ointment. Due to the fact that an SMM specialist is, roughly speaking, a free person (that is, he is often a freelancer), potential employers, unfortunately, cannot always imagine the scope of work he performs. Accordingly, they may underestimate its importance in the world of business on social networks, which will negatively affect the salary of such an employee. Otherwise, this profession is one big plus.
Requirements for an SMM manager
Understanding and knowing who an SMM specialist is and what he does is not enough to decide whether you are ready for all the difficulties associated with this profession. In addition, you should be aware of what knowledge and skills such employee has. Without this, you will not be able to work in this position.
As for personal qualities, a social media manager must have:
- communication skills, that is, to be sociable and have a large vocabulary;
- creativity, that is, to have great creative potential;
- desire to reach new heights;
- thirst for self-improvement;
- the ability to conduct a thorough analysis of the information received;
- the ability to think systematically, logically and consistently;
- such a character trait as self-organization;
- the ability to navigate yourself and guide others to achieve positive results from joint activities;
- independence;
- the ability to quickly and efficiently solve assigned problems;
- the ability to express your thoughts creatively and clearly, and at the same time convey them to other users;
- a good sense of humor (this quality will definitely come in handy when creating an advertising campaign).
In principle, these are all the requirements for such an employee as a social media manager. If you are confident that you can cope with all the tasks assigned, and you have all the above qualities and skills, then the path up the career ladder will not be difficult for you to overcome.
How and where can you learn a profession?
How to become an SMM specialist? First of all, you must master:
- the basics of creating and promoting contextual advertising Google Adwords and Yandex Direct;
- the essence of working with Internet statistics and web analytics;
- Internet communications skills;
- basic rules for working on social networks;
- CEO rules;
- basics and ;
- web technologies.
Training to become an SMM manager can be completed at many universities and institutes in Russia. Of course, most of them are located in Moscow, and the most popular educational institutions are:
- National Research University Higher School of Economics.
- Russian State University of Oil and Gas named after Gubkin.
- MGUMO MFA of Russia.
- MSTU named after Bauman (the so-called “Baumanka”), etc.
It’s worth noting right away that these educational institutions do not teach how to become an SMM specialist. However, they will be able to give you all the necessary knowledge in the field of marketing and the exact sciences, which you will then be able to successfully use in order to start working in social networks as a social media manager.
You can get the necessary skills to promote your business on social networks by signing up for online training at the University of Internet Professions Netology .
Career advancement
You must remember that at first, SMM for beginners can sometimes be very difficult. You will have to go through many steps that will gradually lead you up the career ladder to the coveted position. But first you'll have to do some work:
- moderator in a group on social networks;
- running your own blog on the Internet;
- SEO optimizer;
- freelancer, copywriter, web designer;
- advertiser or PR person.
Of course, to become a social media manager, it is not at all necessary to apply for each position (or study at the institute) separately. Nothing prevents you from working in one of these areas while simultaneously studying another. Thus, you will save time and money, because you will know exactly what qualities and skills a specialist such as an SMM manager combines.
Today there are few people (among those who are friends with the Internet) who have not heard of such a specialist as an SMM manager. However, only a few will be able to answer the question “who is he and what does he do?” And even among employers posting vacancies looking for this “fashionable” professional, there is no clearly defined understanding of the tasks and responsibilities of an SMM specialist. However, this does not prevent them from conducting interviews and hiring people responsible for promotion on social networks, and applicants from calling themselves experts in this field and putting forward requests that sometimes shock even generous “salary providers.” So who is he, this unpredictable and so necessary SMM manager in our time?
SMM and SMO - what is the difference?
Before we talk about the profession itself and its representatives, let’s first understand this: what is SMM? How is it different from SMO? what role do these components play in promoting a website/product/company on the Internet?
If we compare it with SEO, then SMO is work directly “on” and “with” the site (internal optimization), and SMM is activity outside of it (external optimization) or marketing on social networks.
The essence of SMM activities
Aimed at promoting goods and services posted on the website, in social networks, on forums and blogs in order to make them recognizable and thereby attract target visitors - consumers, clients, etc.
SMM activities are often confused with SMO. However, these are two completely different areas of work, designed to achieve one goal - brand promotion. Unlike SMO, marketing in social networks does not involve any work directly with the company’s website, its content, transformation and optimization. All work is carried out on an external platform and consists of communicating with a potential audience, attracting new subscribers and future clients to the site, as well as smoothing out conflicts that arise around the company/brand/product through competent responses to negative reviews/comments.
Thus, we can say that SMM is an effective tool for creating a positive image of a company or product, allowing you to convey information about it in the shortest possible time through active work in social networks.
SMM specialist and the limits of his responsibility
Now, having some understanding of the essence of SMM activities, we can move on to discussing the specialists who carry them out. What should an ideal candidate for this position be like, what knowledge and skills should he possess, and, finally, what are the main ones in the company?
Let's start with the fact that the profession is relatively new and is not yet fully understood by both employers and job seekers in this field. That is why today there are a huge number of such different and often contradictory opinions and ideas regarding the boundaries of responsibility of an SMM manager. So, for example, he should not be involved in one-time advertising and PR campaigns (this is the responsibility of PR and online advertising specialists) or drawing up proposals or managing clients (this is the direct task of the account manager).
An SMM manager is a specialist who is responsible for managing social networks. His responsibility is to achieve specific tasks set for the commercial platform (groups, pages, blogs) by communicating with the target audience in the virtual space. In this case, the tasks can be different: sales, increasing brand awareness and product memory, improving the company’s image, etc.
Thus, we can distinguish two main areas of work for a social media manager:
- attracting and increasing the audience (subscribers);
- working with an engaged audience (communication, answering questions/comments/dealing with negative reviews).
What does an SMM manager do during the day?
Considering the above, it is interesting to know how the working day of an SMM specialist goes? In order for its work to be effective, it is important to organize it correctly. So, throughout the day, an SMM manager needs:
What kind of SMM specialist is he? Qualities required by a professional
Agree, the above tasks cannot be called easy and, naturally, not everyone who calls themselves an “SMM manager” will be able to do them. What professional and personal qualities should a candidate for this “proud title” have?
In addition, a good specialist must be technically savvy and proficient in social media tools. So, it will not be superfluous to understand analytics and SEO, programming, and understand (at least at a basic level) the API of social networks.
Why should you “want” to become a professional in the field of SMM?
Today it is not so often to come across such a comprehensively developed SMM manager in his field. Meanwhile, vacancies are appearing more and more often on popular job search sites. If you are someone who dreams of a career in the field of social Internet marketing, then re-read the article again and evaluate the quality of your knowledge, skills and abilities. Weaknesses can always be developed, pumped up and built up, the main thing is to have the desire and not be lazy. However, the salary of an SMM manager is one of the incentives to become a real pro and get into a good company as this specialist. In some areas, wages for SMM specialists reach the level of 100 thousand rubles or more. Therefore, if you feel strong, go for it!
From this article you will learn what SMM is. Understand the principle of social media marketing and how it is useful for business. A detailed analysis of the concept with examples and useful videos from experts in social media marketing.
What is SMM
SMM (Social Media Marketing) is social media marketing that helps attract clients, customers or partners to a business. With its help, you can receive traffic to groups, communities within social networks and to external sites.
SMM includes:
- Targeted advertising
- Retargeting
- Content Marketing
- Video Marketing
These tools help companies attract the attention of their target audience and bring them to the first contact. With the help of SMM you can increase loyalty and trust from potential customers.
This kind of marketing works in all popular social networks: VKontakte, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Odnoklassniki, etc. It allows you to communicate with your target audience, respond to their comments, reviews, conduct surveys, quickly convey to them information about goods, services, discounts or promotions.
From the above, a single definition can be proposed.
« SMM is a set of marketing actions on social networks aimed at attracting the attention of the target audience to a brand, company or person. TargetSMM, like any other type of marketing - sales."
What kind of business is SMM suitable for?
SMM is not suitable for every business. Especially one where the potential client needs time to think or part with a large sum of money. For example, the sale of new cars, apartments, services for the construction of country houses. The target audience for such offers on social networks is small, and it is difficult to set up an advertising campaign so that the right person sees it. Accordingly, there is a high risk that advertising costs will not pay off.
- clothing, shoes and accessories;
- unique products (handmade) and souvenirs;
- B2C services;
- Training courses;
- event tickets;
- highly specialized services and goods from the B2C segment.
SMM promotion tools
Targeted advertising
This tool is paid, but is one of the cheapest advertising options on the Internet.
Retargeting
A man wants to buy a laptop bag. Through Yandex, he finds an online store with the desired product. Browses through the catalogue, gets distracted and leaves the site.
After a short time, a person logs into a social network and sees an advertisement for an online store that he recently visited. Thus, he remembers that he was going to order a bag. If he has not already done so, he will go to the catalog and continue selecting.
This happens thanks to a special social network code embedded in the external site.
Content Marketing
It is not enough to simply create a group, run advertising and receive applications from clients. We must constantly share useful and selling information. At the same time, there should be 80% useful materials, and 20% selling ones.
Publishing articles, posts, videos, and polls will enliven group members and encourage them to discuss in the comments. This helps increase target audience loyalty and brand awareness.
Content marketing includes publishing:
- posts;
- articles in the editor;
- video;
- infographics;
- surveys;
- audio podcasts.
Video Marketing
Everything is simple here: videos are published in the group. These could be reviews of new products, recordings of webinars or master classes.
Communication with target audience
Communication in SMM is an important component of the entire social media marketing strategy. Because people come to them for communication and it must be given to them. This will increase loyalty to the brand or company.
Newsletter
Since 2018, VKontakte has added the function of sending messages on behalf of the group to participants who have subscribed to this mailing list. Now all information about promotions, new products and offers can be delivered directly to users’ personal messages.
The rule of content marketing applies here: 80% of messages are useful information, 20% are selling.
Advertising in communities
You just need to understand that the more participants in the group where the advertising post will be placed, the higher the price.
Website optimization
SMM does not bypass external sites either.
To attract people's attention to the community using the site, you need to add to it:
- buttons for reposting articles or pages;
- community widget;
- comments from social networks.
SMM effectiveness indicators
When using SMM promotion, you should always look and analyze existing indicators.
- Number of likes;
- Number of reposts;
- Coverage of every record;
- Joining and unsubscribing from a group;
- Complaints about recordings;
- Advertising reach;
- In the advertising account: transitions, impressions, CTR and costs.
Experienced SMM specialists and marketers, thanks to these indicators, can draw conclusions about the effectiveness of marketing in social networks. In the future, depending on the collected data, you can think through subsequent actions to attract more participants, increase coverage, increase CTR and sales.
Advantages and disadvantages of SMM
Now it’s worth considering all the pros and cons of SMM promotion on social networks.
|
Advantages |
Flaws |
|
Wide coverage of audiences that meet certain criteria: geography, gender, age, hobbies, marital status, education, etc. |
Not suitable for companies offering complex services, expensive goods in the B2B and B2C sphere. |
|
There are risks of ruining your reputation with just one thoughtless comment or entry. |
|
|
Constant feedback from the target audience: communication in comments, discussions or personal messages. |
|
|
It takes a lot of time to create useful content, communicate with the audience and process applications. Requires the involvement of specialists: SMM specialists, copywriters, marketers. |
|
|
Does not require serious SEO optimization, since marketing works within the social network and does not depend on constantly changing search engine algorithms. However, posts, articles and wiki pages often end up in search results. Therefore, keywords should be used: especially in the name of the group. |
It takes time to get the desired result. To increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, they need to be constantly tested: change headlines, images, content formats, and advertising campaign settings. |
|
Users themselves promote the community by liking, reposting and commenting on posts: all these actions are seen by the participants’ friends in their news feed. |
Users rarely use internal search on social networks. They usually search for products through search engines. |
Is it worth using SMM to promote your business?
In May 2018, Internet marketing agency Texterra conducted a survey of where Internet users prefer to consume content. The survey results showed that the main share of content consumption occurs on social networks.
From this we can conclude that social networks provide an opportunity for any company or entrepreneur to promote their business and make their brand recognizable. Therefore, SMM is worth using. But only if the services and products are of interest to users of popular social networks.