As the year moves on, we observe that more and more clients are asking for Social Media Marketing proposals.There is definitely an awareness in the marketing circles on the feasibility and advantages that an SMM campaign can provide.
The biggest gain that any Social Media campaign can provide is of course the traffic.However what kind of traffic and what does it mean to the client are some of the things that one needs to gauge.
How does a news channel for example gain from traffic through Social Media.
For a subscription based journal such as the WSJ, it does make sense if the traffic converts into subscribers
For an ad based online model it would make sense as the probablity of clicks increases.However this traffic translates into clicks,impressions and subscribers only and if only your audience has been well researched.
Theres a plethora of web 2.0 sites on the web each claiming to enable the participant through unique features and functionality. A Youtube would allow you to post videos while a Digg would allow you to submit article content as potential link baits. Each of the sites does have an individuality which needs to be explored before taking the plunge.
As Jeremiah Owyang mentions in his post ,http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2007/12/17/how-to-effectively-talk-to-execs-and-clients-about-social-media/,it is not enough to simply say that “We will do SMM through blogs,blog submissions,social Bookmarking and RSS” or focus on the technology “We use Ajax etc”
A focus needs to be made on how best a client can add value by using or rather enabling social media.As such sites that are catering to his niche need to be evaluated.The advantage of having a plethora of Social Media sites is that you will probably find sites that are catering specifically to his domain.These are the sites that can drive conversions on the client sites.
The next question that obviously rises is where can I actually find the resources to enable Social Media for the client.
I can provide you with three starting points :
Apart from this monitor mentions of the client site on the web.A simple search on Google for the brand name can give you a kitty bag of ideas.
Use the Social Media effectively and always look to provide value.His ROI is what defines your success.Convince him on that.
