Social and new media has evolved into a very serious discipline in any organisations marketing mix!

One of the key components in successful social media marketing is building credibility in the medium. Such credibility or authority is developed when an individual or organisation establishes themselves as having value or expertise to share in their given field or area.

It is through this process of creditability that social media becomes effective. A key concept in social media is that you cannot completely control your message. It is through participation and conversation that you can engage and influence existing or prospective customers.

Participation and conversation must be cleverly executed because while people are resistant to marketing in general, they are even more resistant to direct or overt marketing through social media platforms. This may seem counter-intuitive but is the main reason building social authority with credibility is so important.

Using social media in your marketing mix presents new challenges. Your company must honestly convince people of their genuine intentions, knowledge, and expertise with accurate information on an ongoing basis without being too aggressive with overt marketing messages.

Vehicles which can help you accomplish this include but are not limited to:

• platforms such as Facebook and Twitter
• article writing and distribution channels such as blogs
• Using Foursquare to attract new customers through interactive and exclusive discounting

Macrison is constantly researching and refining our skills in Social Media! It is a marketing phenomenon that is extremely dynamic. Let us  guide and direct your social media marketing to ensure your business maximises its benefits from your social  media marketing.