The Use of Social Media Marketing Helped 61 % of Businesses to Improve Communication
CompTIA reported that social media marketing has numerous functions and benefits for businesses but its number one goal of social campaigns as frequently cited is to improve its accessibility to prospects. A report by CompTIA showed that an improvement in the communication with prospects is experienced by 61% of businesses using social media marketing.
According to 61% of companies, a better communication and interaction with prospects is achieved with the help of social platforms. A two-sided communication channel is an effective method in transmitting messages and obtaining feedbacks, whether positive or negative.
Social media marketing is considered by businesses to be cost-effective method to enhance web visibility for their companies. But 51% find it effective using social for they are able to market their products and services even at a lower cost compared to some of their other campaigns.
Aside from improvement in its accessibility to prospects, greater brand positioning, quick customer satisfaction and lead generation are other popular goals for social media marketing.
Seth Robinson, director of technology analysis for CompTIA said that “In strengthening the relationship and gleaning insights on products, services and satisfaction, conversational nature of social media is important for it allows companies to carry on discussions with their customers.” “It makes good business sense to apply their success using social tools to internal activities and processes.”
According to Brafton, since competitors launch highly focused initiatives, businesses unable to strategize properly would end up a failure with their social campaigns. Although the use of social marketing is increasing, there are still many companies relying on the channel who have not defined their goals or the best ways to reach those target audiences via social.
Privacy-Protecting Bill in Maryland
In Maryland, a future employer is prohibited from obtaining a password to your Facebook or Twitter account as a requirement in getting the job applied for.
A bill was made by both Houses of the Maryland General Assembly who voted on a bipartisan basis to prevent this practice.
Employers have the freedom to view public posts online, but have no right to demand access to private material as a condition of employment.
The American Civil Liberties Union was so enthusiastic with the decision, which favored the cause after a Maryland Corrections officer was asked for his Facebook password during a recertification interview. Robert Collins, a division of Corrections Officer took a leave of absence from his job after his mother died. The day he returned to work, his job was already filled, and thus had to interview for a comparable position where Collins was asked for his social media password.
He agreed despite his discomfort but later he decided to ask help from ACLU, which brought national attention to Collins’ case. Now he’s glad after the privacy-protecting bill has passed.
Collins said, “I am excited to know that our esteemed policymakers in Maryland give importance for the protection of the privacy of Maryland’s citizens.” And he believed that privacy is a fundamental right and should not be an alternative in lieu of securing employment.
Melissa Goemann, a legislative director of ACLU of Maryland said that “We are proud of Maryland for standing up for the online privacy of employees where friends and family members keep in touch online,” “Our state has trail-blazed a new frontier in protecting freedom of expression in the digital age, and for one became a model for other states to follow.”
Bank’s Success with Content-Driven SEO
MarketingSherpa’s report highlighted the success experienced by Landmark bank with content-driven SEO. A case study detailed the SEO efforts of Landmark Bank, which deals with business and personal accounts. The bank analyzes website and launches a keyword-focused content marketing strategy which significantly help in the improvement of organic and paid search traffic.
With the bank’s in-depth site analysis and conducting keyword research, it then advances to optimizing and developing site content around core keywords. Landmark makes its website an industry resource and an engine for leads with the development of original website content and sharing it to engage prospects and current clients with social media marketing.
The report reveals that different organic link building strategies were being used by Landmark to drive traffic and improve its overall presence on the web. Furthermore, based on the trends discovered in its keyword research, alterations for its PPC campaigns were made. And it was found out that its SEO efforts boosted paid search performance.
Andy Craig, Landmark’s marketing manager said that “One of the benefits of doing both SEO and paid search is the possibility of doing a lot of overlap with our keyword selection, and that paid search campaign could be supported with the content on the site.”
Landmark increased its organic search traffic by 30% and a 360% rise in website visits generated by PPC campaigns, which is the result of its all-encompassing SEO campaign.
The success of Landmark proves how important SEO and content to PPC, as well as the banking sector’s increased interest in improving website quality. According to Brafton, only 19% are satisfied with their existing new media marketing use at the end of 2011 despite the industry’s struggle to effectively engage prospects on the web.
Other Social Marketing Articles of Interest
What 3 Content Types Drive the Most Interaction on Facebook?