I guess in some ways, Social Media Marketing can be considered a bit of a science, but it is certainly not something marketers need to be worried they can not do.

I see Social Media Marketing as more of a content strategy, where using Search Engine Optimization techniques with a Social Strategy that would work with current Marketing plans as the ’science’. Understanding the personality of content is important to use with your targeted social media platforms would be the majority of this science. For example, on Twitter regardless if your a small company or large corporation much of the same content will be the same. Personal and made to impact you’re audience through educated content. In Facebook content here can exist as case studies or company related news articles linking back to the corporate site or blog. Linkedin would be much the same of Facebook, but can be more corporate focused containing more corporate content.

Years ago when I was managing a team for a Canadian online pharmacy, our main focus was Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO had 3 main principals then: linking, relevant content and updated content. Years after I left to work for a promotional company, I saw hundreds of companies who were ‘SEO experts’ who have basically made a living out of the three principals. In many cases companies needed to exercise SEO on a large scale and fast so they needed companies like this, but if you plan ahead and build properly businesses can do this for themselves and easily.

Social media marketing is the exact same. The principals are generally the same as in SEO and still maintain the constant being content.

Experience will help you determine what is the best area for your company, so get out there and test out as many areas as you think you will gain followers, fans and consumers. One guarantee is that if you start today to get in touch with consumers with your brand you can’t lose you can only win by gaining more respect by being connected.