The 4 C's of Social Media Marketing

 Five Take Away Points

    Social media marketing is a huge aspect in having a successful business. Everything is online and everyone is on social media, its one of the best ways to reach your target audience. The 4 C's mentioned are: Communities, Conversations, Channels, and Campaigns. These are the "holy grail" to the social media "gold rush"! 

Communities

    Your intention should be to start viral dialogue, and one step to get there is starting a direct mail list. Gathering info on your audience as real people rather than just numbers on analytics will help identify who you want to target and once you know who you are targeting then you can create a community.  Knowing you audience will be key because you want to know who you're marketing too and how to get their attention. Creating a community will also help you attract and create engagement that you can track in the future.

Conversations

    Having a conversation involves listening, if you want users to engage then you must listen to them. What are they asking for? What do they want to see or do? Its very important to actively listen to your audience, this will create that conversation you are looking for. The article says "To achieve your business goals, you must help your audience achieve their personal goals." Which also aids in creating a discussion for your community as well.  

Channels

    In order to be a successful social media marketer you must know what channels to turn to for which specific situations. There are so many social media outlets at your finger tips but they all really specialize in different areas. Instagram is a great place for photos, where as Facebook can be a great place for a longer post maybe even a place to share a link to a blog. We have to know which channels to turn to, not only for our audience but to help that virtual dialogue going.

Campaigns 

    The article says "A social media marketing campaign requires a target community, a conversation, and a channel to drive word-of-mouth marketing that supports a social business goal, such as customer advocacy or viral demand generation." This is the lovely combination of bringing the other 4 C's together which creates a social media campaign.

    These are the 4 basic element to have a successful social media marketing career and plan to get people talking about your business. Understanding your community and having a conversation going will build a foundation and even have the opportunity to reach more people. Make sure you are using the proper channels to create these spaces for your audience. It will all pay off in the long run, and then it will help you design adds and create content when you have a strong understanding of the 4 C's.