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As the internet has evolved it has created fresh and innovative ways to reach new customers. Many people have heard of the term “social media marketing”, but many find it a difficult concept to grasp. Those of us that are used to the traditional forms of marketing such as TV, radio, newspapers, mailers and so on, may find ourselves a bit confused when it comes to this new form of marketing. Social media marketing has created a shift in how people can discover, read and share information and news. It has transformed consumers from mere content readers into content publishers. This hasengaged the consumer in an aspect of business that used to be owned by the marketing experts alone.

Since social media marketing has opened up the Pandora’s Box of marketing to anyone with a computer, there is more information available to consumers than ever before. People can create and comment on the millions of internet forums, blogs, social blogs, podcast sites and video sites on the internet with a few clicks of a mouse. They can have a video up on YouTube in minutes, post a comment on Google Groups and provide information to Wikipedia. They can comment on anything from products to politics and have instant access to thousands of people instantaneously. Whether they are good or bad, social media marketing allows anyone to voice their opinions and influence the thoughts and choices of others.

The easiest way to understand social media marketing is to realize that it is completely different than the traditional means of marketing that we have been used to for so many years. Where the traditional forms such as TV, radio and newspaper are a one-way interaction where the publisher feeds information to the consumer, social media marketing is very different. It provides a two-way interaction where businesses actually exchange ideas and thoughts with their consumers. The easiest way to fail at social media marketing is to leave out this interaction. You cannot just post information on your products or services on a blog and expect that to work. You need to engage the consumer and get them talking about your company and your products without them even realizing it.

What I mean is social media marketing is a way to build awareness of a company. It may not perform very well as a direct marketing tool, but that is not what it is meant for. You want people to want to hear what you have to say, so the information you are providing has to entice them into talking about it themselves. Simply placing an add for a product on a blog will not engage a consumer into an interaction. This type of media has to provoke a conversation. People look to social media marketing to interact with others and share information and content. They do not look to social media marketing as a way to receive advertisements. Like I mentioned before, this form of marketing is a two-way street. People who use social media marketing really want to make the world a better place. They hope that the information they are providing will help others to make a more informed decision whether they are buying a toaster or picking the next President.

If you can understand these significant differences between traditional forms of marketing and social media marketing, you will be able to indirectly build awareness of your company to more people than you can imagine.

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