One of the main advantages to utilising social media marketing for businesses is to generate additional exposure to a website. To increase the level of traffic going to a website and to build new partnerships and relations. Social Media is for the most part changing the way people use and interact on the internet utilizing a range of techniques employed by the incorporation of Web 2.0, Social Media Marketing is continually emerging as new age of online mass, marketing.

The Benefits of Social Media Marketing

1. Its a natural process. Social Media provides websites with natural links without any discernible patterns by providing natural links and exposure to large groups of people and users in a spontaneous fashion.

2. Through a combination of strategic marketing and viral marketing techniques, social media can be a great source of using social communities to increase the level of traffic already received from search engines.

3. Social Media is a low cost form of marketing implementing a variety of viral and buzz marketing techniques to get users and web communities to promote

4 Social Media complements many forms of marketing by targeting other websites or search engines.

As a direct form of marketing the short answer is no

Social Media is in essence a user interface. From a marketing perspective social media is not about making money its about creating connections and broadening social network. Creating a presence and base for developing ideas. With an ever increasing world of transparency in the global trade and economics traditional forms of advertising and marketing are perceived to be more obsolete and ineffective compared to the rising interaction of online advertising and social media.

The simple premise of social media is to implement viral marketing techniques to generate an initial buzz and a connection with the target market. With the incorporation of the internet these techniques can spread to users from around the world. Most importantly social media is about creating interest and not about a specific business or product.

6 Degrees of Separation of Social Media Marketing  

The simple process of social media marketing is to start off on social media sites connecting with as many people as possible, communicating and getting to know the target audience. In order to implement an online presence there needs to be a initial core group of supporters and users who can recommend the site to others. (Viral Marketing)

The more followers a site has the faster it will spread and develop. Social media marketing is an effective way to get people to come into a site and to spread the message across to others.

From there to attract users to interact more with the topic and theme of discussion, a blog or similar interface a common tools to generate more social interactions and exchanges between yourselves and users.

The purpose a blog from a marketing perspective is to generate an archive of information and content. Blogs can be used to store content and to develop content to attract users from social sites.

A blog is a user resource to add value to the user and to provide some gained shared knowledge.

Once a significant number of followers has been accredited to a blog and specific discussion board, then you can begin marketing the desired product or service. To target followers through membership to sites, newsletters and to implement viral marketing techniques that will create an exchange process between social sites.

Ultimately the purpose of social media marketing is to create a following, to generate an initial interest and retain a core base of users, who will themselves broaden a connection to the topic or theme of discussion with other social sites and subsequently develop an online community.

While there is no money directly involved in social media, it is a great way to indirectly get a message across to market products & services to generate an initial interest.

As my colleague Boualem Bouderba once said to me: "What get measured gets done" in the world of social media the way you can manage a social media campaign is by measuring the number of users, return users, posts, comments, links and discussions.

Social Media Marketing Template

1. Create a network utilise a wide range of social sites and media to generate interest and communication.

2. Establish a common connection

3. Build up as many social exchanges as possible and explore every opportunity available

4. Establish credibility as a social media figure and authority on social sites

5. Utilise affiliate programs as much as possible diversify the target message to cross as many online platforms as possible: for example (videos pictures, news feeds, etc)

6. Once attained enough of a following to begin driving traffic towards other sites – blogs – forums etc

7.Once a following has been generated: start to target forums of discussion with a targeted message of the product or service of interest

For more information about social media marketing and how to benefit from it visit:

Social Media for Business or alternatively The Importance of Social Media Marketing.