To the average Nigerian, a social media platform is a virtual meeting place where old friendships are rekindled (and old flames too), a place where families meet up to chat and exchange photos, where friends are made, and where appearances are kept. In all ramifications, social media platforms have become communities in their own rights, and typically have evolved the way a normal community would. These days old generation companies, as well as the new ones, have established departments to take care of their social media presence. With the steady growth in the number of people that have access to the internet, it has become imperative to establish digital businesses that would reflect the values of the real time businesses out there. What makes a business thick in the battle for online supremacy? Social media marketing.Social media marketing still sounds like a strange combination of words to me, especially when one has to state it as an occupation. These days, more Nigerian youths have assumed the role of social media marketers, and have been paid handsomely doing so. There are speculations as to the amount of money a social media marketer in Nigeria could make in a month as against what he/she would make if the traditional methods of marketing are employed. Some have boasted that they have made close to #100,000 in a month, while some have claimed to make less; my question is, how does the labor done influence the wages? One would assume that for a business to be willing to churn out #100,000 to maintain its “online presence”, there must be a certain amount of returns made. These marketers supposedly earn their pay by just posting links on a host of social media platforms, with the hope that it would drive the average user to the site of the business concern; others put up contact phone numbers and addresses to make it easier for the end user to contact the business owner. On twitter, there are endless feeds of links after links, leading you to either an article or a gossip column about some celebrity, or actually important news, and I am still puzzled as to how these feeds translate to monetary value.
Social media marketing no doubt has helped boost some businesses. In fact, some businesses that are SEO friendly (Search Engine Optimizer (key words) friendly) have gained more from social media marketing. Businesses that offer services that cater to the day-to-day needs of the average person stand more to gain from social media marketing. You could be scrolling down your timeline on either Facebook or Twitter and stumble on an ad about affordable shoes after stalling on going to the mall or market to get one, you probably would decide to opt for the option that assures you that the shoes would be delivered to your doorstep. However, not every day is Christmas for the average social media marketer, especially when you have to sell a brand that is not popular. Just like real time marketing, it becomes a tad difficult to gain the trust of the prospective buyer in the service(s) you are offering. The key to successful social media marketing is to be resilient and unrelenting in pitching your service, there are a lot of competitors out there as many people are latching onto the many opportunities the internet has to offer, pitch it, be it, sell it.
Click here for an article on Social media Marketing I found interesting, it could be useful to YOU.
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