With the development of the commercialization of the Internet, a large number of new specialties have appeared. What is SMM - many have figured it out. Well, for those who first encountered this abbreviation, we will tell in more detail.
Marketing
Internet marketing has evolved so rapidly that all aspects that companies previously used in the real world have gone virtual. But the main goal remained the same: the sale of goods and services, as well as their management.
What is SMM - they will explain it to you on the courses of Internet marketing. He now occupies a significant part of all e-commerce. It is sometimes called online marketing, but the essence of this does not change.
This segment is growing every year in the consumer sector. On this account can say the numbers indicating the number of open online stores. It is becoming popular in the B2B segment. The main advantage of this specialty is its interactivity. In addition, it is possible to select the target audience of the product as well as possible, target it, get a post-response and increase conversions.
It was Internet marketing that influenced the development of a huge number of new specialties that are closely related:
- Display and contextual advertising.
- Search engine marketing, where SEO belongs.
- Promotion in social networks (SMM and SMO).
- Direct marketing.
- Viral.
- Guerrilla.
- Email Marketing.
- Content marketing.
Social networks
Social media marketing has become very popular. People learned to advertise their business on social platforms, and in return received a gain in conversions. SMM is Social Media Marketing, i.e. social media marketing.
This is a kind of tool that draws attention to the product through social platforms. There are, of course, no regulated rules. It all depends on the topic, goals, audience, etc. Nevertheless, the main points have already been formed, by which this industry of Internet marketing can be distinguished.
The main goal is the development of high-quality content that users will want to share, and, accordingly, distribute it on their own. Studies have shown that social media posts have a high level of trust. This is most likely caused by a popular recommendation.
SMM-promotion helps to influence users in a specific way, to find sites where representatives of the target audience “live”. Thanks to social networks, specialists have successful ways of communication.
In addition to everything else, information companies also participate in promotions. So, you can sell not just a product or service, but also news. By placing part of the article on social networks, you can increase traffic on the site itself.
Specialist
The main operating specialty of this process is the SMM manager. It is not difficult to guess what he should understand about everything related to this topic. He uses a set of measures to promote sites, products or services, referring to social channels. The latter include social networks, as well as blogs and thematic resources (forums).
This specialty is not narrowly targeted. The fact is that the SMM manager needs to understand both marketing and IT. Accordingly, sometimes you have to work with a number of other indirect tasks:
- Publishing content on the site.
- Cases and strategies.
- Programming languages.
- Graphic editor.
- Online applications.
The process of SMM promotion itself is very creative and active. In order to succeed, it is important to search, study and analyze something all the time.
Specialty Features
Like any profession, this one has its own characteristics. For the SMM manager, both complex tasks and functional responsibilities are available. In the first case, he can help the entire department or supplement the available data, in the second - he follows the job description.
Immediately you need to warn that depending on the company in which the manager works, his tasks can vary significantly. But in general, he is obliged:
- Form and promote products using presentations, specific formats and pricing.
- Prepare and run advertising campaigns on social networks and blogs. It is desirable to use the maximum number of channels.
- Maintain communication with potential buyers and customers.
- Analyze competitors and their advertising campaigns, use their most effective methods of promotion in their project.
- Build a positive image of the company by writing comments on the forums.
Be able to do everything
Of course, this is far from all the tasks. Training SMM will certainly open up even more of your responsibilities. You will use something in one company, something in another.
For example, you might find it useful to develop strategies. In this case, you will be taught to define your target audience, to make a detailed portrait. After that, you need to analyze behavioral factors and look for places with the highest concentration of CA.
The courses teach how to manage advertising. In this case, you need to come up with interesting contests and flash mobs in order to constantly maintain interest in the product. You have to learn to write flattering posts about yourself beloved. Such support for the company's image is very important, because it is in the reviews and on the forums that the opinion of people about new products is formed.
During SMM training, you will meet a community manager. Sometimes this is a separate position, sometimes an SMM manager is involved. The main task in this case is to maintain a conversation under posts and direct it in the right direction.
Naturally, you need to learn how to work with all social network accounts, as well as manage freelancers. Often you have to adapt the content to the brand and certain sites. You need to be able to create advertising posts that are not intrusive. This includes hidden marketing.
Advantages
Understanding what SMM is, over time you will be able to determine for yourself the advantages and disadvantages of such work. Among the advantages, one can definitely single out the demand. As the profession is only developing, the demand for specialists in this industry is growing.
Potential customers perceive such product advertising much better, because it is “calmer”. Social networks are a cool tool for accurately selecting your target audience. There are many opportunities to customize marketing by location, gender, age and query.
The cost of promotions is small. Although everything will depend on the promotion channels. If you write posts yourself, then it will not cost you anything. If you want to use an opinion leader (blogger), you will have to pay him an impressive fee.
Thanks to the effect of word of mouth, the news of a new high-quality product quickly spreads over the network.
disadvantages
It is important to understand that due to insufficient knowledge and lack of regulated rules, SMM marketing has its drawbacks. Chief among them is the incompetence of specialists.
Not all business leaders clearly understand the goals and objectives of social promotion. This leads to the hiring of less qualified professionals who also do not understand their responsibilities. Therefore, the effectiveness of SMM is extremely low and not advisable.
Instruments
Most “smmshchiks” have already acquired some programs that help them in their work. For example, one of them was the SMM glider. This service will help you to be in touch all the time and use postponed posting.
This function works great if you have a content plan. You will be able to make a schedule and publish posts on time.
This service works with most popular social networks. It uses pictures, links, videos and even emoticons. There is a built-in graphical editor. You can set the time when the post will automatically disappear. This is necessary if you use advertising content that is paid for a certain period.
Despite the fact that the SMM-glider is almost always a paid tool, it gives the user many bonuses. Thanks to him, you can get 100 free posts for VKontakte subscriptions and Facebook likes. As a result, a simple young project can be promoted for free.
Through such a program, you can distribute the frequency of posts and originality. Automation of work in this area is very important, especially if you are working with several projects at once.
conclusions
What is SMM is not immediately clear. This is due to the fact that, despite a clear distinction from other specialties of Internet marketing, this profession often has to deal with even traditional marketing.
Working with social networks is currently an effective way to promote a product, service or information. People largely trust precisely social networks and forums, reading the reviews and comments of other users.
The main task of a specialist in this area is interaction with the audience. He needs to be part of the community and his best friend. It is important to be open, honest and funny. Then potential customers will trust and buy.