Guest Post by Kara Falks
In today’s constantly changing media landscape, social media is a vital part of advertising for any business. This seems to be common knowledge, but the burning question for many businesses seems to be –“how can social media be used successfully as advertising?
In the “Building Elements of a Social Media Campaign” presentation, speaker Brian Carter, director of communications at Sea World, shed some light on how to successfully use social media as advertising. Carter spoke about the importance of two way conversation with customers, and how social media is able to provide this interactive dialogue. By using this interactive dialogue he explained how businesses can better achieve a successful exchange of ideas to extend customer service.
However, don’t just charge full force into using social media, he warns.
“It really pays to do your homework in terms of investing in a (social media) channel. Put together a plan. Just come up with a plan and say, this is how we are going to start in social media,” said Carter.
Several different types of social media were discussed during the session, including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Foursquare. The importance of knowing why your business is on any of these particular social media was stressed. An understanding of business objectives and who the customers are play an important role in choosing a social media outlet.
Carter explained how a business has to look at “what it takes to be effective in those (social media) places.
As for all the different types of social media out there, Carter (after grinning and calling it a cliche) named Facebook as his favorite social media for marketing. “It is where people are having conversation.”
Kara Falks is a Mass Communications student at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, Texas.
