How To Use Social Media To Help Your Business. Hint: It’s More Than Posting Cute Pictures.

by, Marc L. Goldberg, Columnist, You may read this article in its entirety HERE on Cape Cod Times website

One of the keys to small-business marketing is building name and brand awareness. Everyone talks about social media today, but it is more than posting pictures and snappy quotes. Social media marketing is all about gaining a voice in a very crowded communication space no matter what your business, industry or market segment. The key rule of thumb is to use your content to convert searchers, readers and fans into buyers by driving them to your website where they can take your call-to-action. (CTA)

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Content marketing is a marketing strategy used to attract, engage and retain an audience by creating and sharing relevant articles authored by others, as well as videos, podcasts, blogs and other media. This approach establishes expertise, promotes brand awareness, and keeps your business top of mind when it’s time to buy what you sell.

In “days of olde,” marketers talked of the 4 Ps – Product, Price, Physical Distribution and Promotion. Today in the world of social media marketing we must be concerned with the new marketing formula – the 4 Cs – introduced by Bob Lauterborn in Advertising Age magazine article in the early ’90s. Why? Because online marketing is one of the only ways to create a dialogue between sellers and buyers today.

The 4 Cs start with the most important element in the formula and that is the customer, since they are the people that will be purchasing or using the products or services being marketed. Who is the targeted customer?

Second is communications since it includes all the interactions between the brand and their customers. How are you going to reach this targeted audience?

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Third is cost that includes all the expenses a business invests to market and sell its products. What tools will you use and how much will you have to invest to position yourself with the potential buyers?

And lastly, convenience, which focuses on the customers shopping experience. This encompasses making it as easy as possible to make the purchase of the products or services of the business. How many outlets will you use to reach your customer to make it easy to buy?

What can a small business do to improve its content marketing?

By creating valuable and relevant content, a business can attract and engage their targeted audience so they are more aware of its offerings. It means following the buying continuum, which is unawareness to awareness to understanding to believability to trial to purchase, repurchase and referral.

Using curated content by brands builds credibility and trust. When informative and quality content is offered, buyers see the brand as industry experts and knowledge leaders.

Generating leads and driving conversions. Content marketing is the vehicle where sellers…

Read on…article continues HERE on Cape Code Times’ website