Social media marketing 'requires careful investment'

15:00 16th December 2009

Marketers investing in social media strategies must plan carefully, it has been asserted.

Although getting started will not be expensive as many of these portals are free to sign up to, it may be worth hiring a specialist in the field to advise on when, where and how to utilise these sites, Christine Fife wrote on the Idiomatic blog.

She said it is inefficient to waste time trawling through multiple sites which may not be relevant to a campaign, adding once the right platforms have been chosen, it is key to know when to say what to whom.

The correspondent recommended that small firms spread out the workload of updating these sites, explaining a set of clear guidelines will ensure a consistency of content.

She also underlined the importance of reading other micro-blogging streams or social media pages and responding them.

It is important for companies to know what is being said about their products or services – and that this feedback is internalised and acted upon.

Ms Fife remarked: "Speak to the overall market conversation with quality, supportive and helpful content that people want to respond to, inquire about and pass on to others."

In related news, earlier this month Drop Ship Access correspondent Madison Claire said setting up a blog on an ecommerce site can be effectively combined with search engine optimisation.