Social media is nothing new to us!
Almost everyone has an account on one platform or the other. But, many people are still not aware that social media platforms are also used by marketers to promote their business, company, website or products. These networks offer businesses a good chance to learn more about consumer preferences, potential buyers, activities, spending nature and more.
Thus, marketers get a lot of relevant information about the likes, interests, dislikes and buying nature of their target audience. Thus, with so much information, they are able to create excellent marketing strategies that help in attracting customers.
Before you start to learn anything about social media, you need to know the different social media networks we have now and how these are different from one another. Remember, each network is different from the other and caters to different individuals. It is important to know their difference.
Top Social Networks which most people have an account:
Top Media Sharing Networks:
- YouTube
- Snapchat
Consumer Review Networks:
- TripAdvisor
- Zomato
- Yelp
Content Curation or Bookmarking Networks:
Discussion Forums:
- Digg
- Quora
Now, when these platforms are used for marketing or business promotion or for brand promotion, the process is called social media marketing.
Thus, we have different types of social media marketing, based on the platform where the process is being carried out.
- LinkedIn Advertising
- Snapchat Advertising
- Facebook Advertising
- Twitter Advertising
- Pinterest Advertising
- Instagram Advertising
- Quora Advertising
What is meant by social media marketing?
As mentioned above, it is the use of social networks and social media for marketing the products and services of a company. There are many tools associated which help in tracking the success of social media efforts.
Social media marketing involves the use of a number of techniques and processes developed in the form of strategies. These are developed by social media marketers who study different aspects of the business, analyze the social media platforms and based on the goals and objectives, they device social media plans.
So, what is the role of a social media marketer?
A social media marketing professional does several tasks. However, primarily the person is responsible for creating and maintaining brand promotions, devises marketing campaigns and does everything to promote the brand or website across different social media platforms.
The profession demands lots of hard work, immense study, critical analysis, creation of strategies, a vision to see results along with power to make decisions at the right time. The person needs to be dynamic and smart. An experienced social media marketing manager can quickly climb up the corporate ladder and make a good living.
Skills of a Social Media Marketing Professional?
Though, there isn’t any stipulated basic education needed to be a social media manager, there are certain skills which every manager needs to have. Here are some of the skills, every social media manager should have:
- Communication Skills
- Ability to write compelling and engaging copies, tag lines, content and more.
- Creativity
- Analytical skills to decide what will work and what will not
- Knowledge of SEO and digital marketing which are all a part of social media
- Ability to make and retain social connections
- Humorous and witty
- Aptitude to learn
- Marketing skills
- Content curation
How good is a career in SMM?
It is one of the fastest growing career opportunities which is expected to have great career opportunities for beginners and experts. This is a growing industry with lots of potential. With the raging global pandemic, more and more businesses are now turning online to sustain during the tough times. Thus, it is expected that there will always be good career growth and development opportunities for social media marketing experts.
So, here comes the question, where will one learn all the techniques, skills and techniques that are necessary to become a social media manager.
There are many SMM courses offered by top institutes and providers. These courses help in learning not just the basic but advanced level social media marketing as well.
Online Social Media Marketing Courses:
When any student enrolls for an online course, there are a number of topics that are covered in such a course. These include:
- Video learning where students are taught basics and provided theoretical knowledge
- Live learning sessions
- Assignments are provided
- Projects are required to be done
- Practical lessons
- Career guidance is provided to students
There are many institutes that offer social media marketing course as a part of the digital marketing course and students learn the techniques as a part of their digital marketing training
Subjects Taught in Courses:
Here are some of the topics that are covered in a course though it differs from one institute to another.
- Introduction to Social media platforms and platforms
- Introduction to marketing
- Understanding strategy making
- Ethics of SMM
- How to monitor and measure social media marketing strategies
What is the duration of a social media course?
The duration of any course depends on your schedule and the course you wish to take up. However, any specialization takes just 6 months to complete.
After the successful completion of any course, a student learns how to launch a campaign and utilize it to promote a brand or a company, helping it to achieve its objectives in the long-run.