Social Media Starter

It’s your first time in Social Media Marketing (SMM) and you feel stiff and not too sure on how to proceed.

Or you are a blogger, a solopreneur or a freelance business owner who needs Social Media like bread and oxygen to build a platform and find readers and clients, but you don’t even know where to get started.

In any case, you’re lucky. 🙂 I wrote this guide just for you!

It covers the basics, so worry not— you’re not going to jump start with a big bag of headaches as an asset. SMM is not as difficult as words make it look.

Let’s start with some fundamentals, will you?

Social Media Explained (with Donuts)
Funny but spot-on SM list by Chris Lott 😉
Preliminaries

The objective of Social Media Marketing (SMM) is to attract a user base through Social Media and build a relationship with it
Social Media Marketing takes time and must be scheduled in advance, month after month
Social Media users don’t appreciate being left hanging for weeks without updates– let them know why you left for a while if you had to and make sure there’s always something for them to do while you’re away. For example, if you went on a summer vacation, you may leave a social post like this: “We at ABC Company are going on vacation! How’s yours so far? Share your story in the comments below. :-)”. I’m sure you see the point.
Still not convinced? Here is how Search Engine Land puts it:

Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites.
Mainstream Social Media

“Consumers want to connect with Social Media StarterBrands and feel like they really are Friends. This means making an intimate connection that is built upon mutual interests, values and experiences.”

That’s what Kristoffer Holves of WealMedia.com told me in an interview via chat on Sept. 18 this year.

If you are skeptical about older marketing practices, you are not alone. People need interaction with other people, not with sterile sales pitches, especially on social, where they want to spend some quality time with friends and just chill out.

As Kristoffer adds, “people do not want to be “sold” a product/service. They are seeking recommendations. Regardless of whether that comes from friends, family or a Brand they trust, it is heavily influencing the manner in which consumers are making purchases. By helping the individual make the decision to purchase on their own, you empower them and thus they are more likely to be happy with their purchase and recommend it to their own friends, fans and followers.”

Through Social Media, you build trust by respecting the consumer’s freedom of choice.
“But how can I approach Social Media Marketing?”, you will ask.