Business

The buzz surrounding Social Media Marketing would seem to suggest that it is the ideal way for any individual or business to increase their online presence.

Now, Social Media Marketing (SMM) firms are springing up like mushrooms and devotedly spreading the message of the importance of social media like Facebook and Twitter.

But is this form of marketing worth the hype? One thing is for certain; social media has now indeed become a favourite choice of platform for marketing a plethora of products and services.

But to succeed in the highly competitive SMM arena, one has to go far beyond the so-called tried and tested methods of “community engagement” to turn the marketing campaign into a success. This is where the golden rules of marketing come into play.

The unbreakable rules of social media marketing

So what are the fundamental rules that can lead to a successful SMM campaign? These are not overly complicated or time-consuming methods, but simple ways that are often ignored by marketers.

Rule 1: Content is king

Yes! Marketing on social media is unlikely to succeed by posting fluff content with little or no value. To gain attention from the audience, your content needs to be unique and through provoking.

The ideal way to engage the audience while building your brand reputation is by posting quality content on a regular basis, which is not just a collection of information from other websites.

Try to match your content to your product and your market, as this will have the most chance of being well received by your audience as well as generating revenue.

An example, this post on The Canvas Factory blog, about photographic techniques. Great match to the product and the audience, no doubt it performed well.

Rule 2: Listen more

Far too many social media marketers are involved in making posts on such a frequent basis that they forget listening to the feedback of their audience. Y

our marketing campaign will fall flat on its face if it does not aim to build a rapport with the public and fails to deliver what they want. It’s very easy to buy likes on Facebook but getting people to participate on posts or conversations is an entirely different ballpark.

Rule 3: Be genuine

You’re probably saying to yourself “what’s up with all these clichés?” but this rule is as important as any other. You would want your marketing campaign to be community driven and genuine in its approach.

What does this mean? It means you’ll have to interact with the audience as a human and not a corporate gizmo. If you truly want organic likes and followers, your marketing strategy better involve prompt replies and round-the-clock help.

A great example of failing to be genuine can be found in the ‘Fresh in Our Memories’ promotion from Woolworths on Anzac day. Huge backlash, huge miss.

Rule 4: Expand your reach

Don’t just put your all your money on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube because there are dozens of other social networking sites that you can leverage.

To make the most out of your Social Media Marketing, utilize different platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, Tumble, and others. You may be shocked when you find out how much all these lesser known social networking sites can contribute to the growth of your online presence.

Rule 5: Give it time

If Rome wasn’t built in a day, you shouldn’t expect your brand to be known throughout the world at the same time. No, you’re not building a city but what you’re doing is going take time and effort.

An effective SMM strategy always focuses on attaining long-term results and seeks to establish a reputation by consistent service. If you can prove that your business is trustworthy, followers will automatically increase.

Final words

If you follow the five unbreakable as mentioned above with a passion and have the presence of mind to adapt to changing scenarios, it shouldn’t take you long to establish your business as a reputed online identity.

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There are many things you can use to help your business thrive, but apps are certainly up there. They represent how powerful technology has become, and how much it matters to our businesses. So, check out how apps can help your company thrive and grow as much as possible.

Connecting with more people

As a business owner, you should always be looking for ways to connect with as many people as possible. And the way to do this is to ensure that you use apps to your advantage. For instance, you might consider creating a business app.

This will allow you to interface and connect with a whole new set of customers. You will be able to appeal to them through their smartphones wherever they may be. And this is an excellent way of raising brand awareness, and connecting with more people.

Do work on the move

When you run a modern business, you’re going to find you’re a busy person. You will be moving around a lot and traveling quite a bit. And this is where you need to make sure you have plenty of apps.

You see, there are certain apps these days that allow you to work remotely. No matter where you are, you can still be sure you’re running your business.

And this is vital for ensuring you are always connected and constantly evolving. Working on the move is a vital part of contemporary business, and you need to make sure you do it as much as possible.

Payments

One of the best things that apps can do to help your business thrive is through payment methods. The best businesses are the ones who offer the most amount of payment methods.

Customers hate having to wait around to get what they want. And the fact is that you could easily lose sales as a result. So, you need to use any sort of small business app that can help with payments.

That way you can process multiple transactions at once, and increase the sales you make. Instead of simply enjoying a lot of leads and a few sales you will be able to convert every lead into a sale on the spot.

Marketing

It’s vital to look at every possible avenue you can to market your business. That means you need to think about using apps to help you promote and advertise your brand.

There are so many things you can do in this respect, and it’s really a case of deciding which to use. The best thing to do would be to get social media apps on your laptop or smartphone. Things like Twitter and Facebook are vital for marketing the brand.

And you can use the apps for instant connectivity and interaction. These allow you to update and promote your business at any time of day or night, wherever you are.

The good thing about owning and running a business these days is that there is so much out there to help you. Indeed, technology has developed to such a degree that we can use it to help our businesses so much.

If you harbour ambitions of developing a successful and thriving brand, you will need to make use of technology. And smartphone apps are one of the best formed of technology you can use these days.

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The app market is extremely saturated. But the mobile market is still gathering momentum..fast. Mobile apps have changed how we work, live, connect and what we do for entertainment. Mobile apps will continue to shape the thoughts consumers, small businesses, enterprises, and even the government.

Forrester expects that more than 25% of companies will use mobile not as a channel, but as a fully integrated part of their overall strategy. They believe 2016 will be the most consequential year for companies on the path to customer obsession, and that includes adapting empowered customers who expect to get anything they want immediately, in context on their mobile devices.

There is still a lot of demand for apps. Mobile apps have evolved beyond providing just information. Artificial intelligent and voice-based personal assistants are inspiring conversational and smart apps.

But most app developers are struggling to get attention. Majority of app developers don’t get rewarded for their efforts. Most apps don’t generate profits but serve as an extension of an existing business. And he vast majority of apps are free.

In-app purchases and advertising allow app creators to make money off their free apps. There are only few hits though. Here is what some redditors think about the prospects ofaunching an app.

1. kevinbracken

Absolutely, yes they do. I sold my fitness app last year to a larger company, and know many people whose app-based companies are making money.

However, the thing that many people fail to realize is that you are not building “an app,” you are building a business, and mobile is simply the fastest-growing channel in the world. You can do your own research but in the not-so-distant future, mobile will make up the vast majority of all web traffic and online sales.

To answer the second part of your question, if you have limited resources, absolutely target iOS. Notice how when new, serious companies with venture financing and previously successful founders start companies, they launch iOS apps first. Reasons:

• iOS users download more apps
• iOS users spend considerably more through their phones
• iOS users know they are iOS users. Don’t underestimate the importance of this: many Android users simply buy the cheapest phone and don’t spend much time thinking about downloading apps, would never put their credit card number in a phone, etc.

2. austincha

I created some apps for both the App Store and the Google Play store. The App Store is strict on the quality of apps they allow to be uploaded, so I then just focused on Android apps. I made simple games and even some Live Wallpaper apps. My best games only made a couple hundred dollars and the LWPs made about a hundred.

I’ve stopped creating apps because the payout wasn’t worth the time and effort I put into coding the apps. I’ll have to say 99% of the app developers out there are not making money for the time and effort they put into the apps.

3. ZeikCallaway

Android developer here. As others have pointed out, apps can still make money, but the days of just having an app for money are pretty much over. Apps become exponentially more powerful, and likely to be used if they’re complimentary to a bigger software or service.

Also when deciding Android vs iOS, if you can, you should target both because they’re pretty even as far as market share. If you had to pick just one to start, I can’t tell you which is better but from my perspective and experience, Android seems to be gaining more market share albeit very slowly but, iOS will have a more consistent experience.

In other words, some Android devices may not work with your app the way you expect, so even they do take a strong lead over iOS devices there will still be a number of them that have problems.

4. RPN

Of course they still make money. Actually now more than ever as every year the worldwide app revenue grows exponentially. AppAnnie predicts that gross revenue across all app stores will eclipse $100 Billion in 2020.

The problem is that it’s now more competitive than ever. For an independent developer it is getting increasingly difficult to make a living building apps.

5. EatSafeUK

A lot of people have a weird view on apps as if they are magical no effort cash cows. But you have to see it for what it is, simply a distribution platform.

Can you build an app, throw it out there and effortlessly get millions of downloads and rake on money? No.

But if you are developing a solution to a problem that is best served with mobile then an app is appropriate. My research for my current project showed that the problem was biggest when people were out and about, so a mobile app works best.

But it’s just the distribution method. The rest of the business is the same as before; you need to identify customers, you need to effectively promote, you need to push yourself in front of people.

The app store is too saturated to expect to be discovered there. But just like a real store, the brands on the shelves do everything they can to get you to want to buy their products before you ever get through the door. Its the same in the app world.

iOS does seem to have a less price sensitive user base though, so if you want to charge for the app they’re the best people to target.

6. the_brizzler

They haven’t died down. It is just harder for the average guy or gal to make sure it is discovered. Sort of like websites…anyone can build a website…but how do you get visitors?…well that takes some marketing and strategy.

There are plenty of people making a decent living making niche apps that serve a specific purpose. But if you are trying to make a flashlight app…forget about it…apple won’t even let you publish it since there are already too many. So you just have to be smart about what you make and how you get people to find your app.

Related: 6 Easy Steps to Get Funding for Your App Startup

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