Most professionals in fields like law, healthcare, and real estate understand the imperative of comprehensive social media marketing. These sharp professionals already have an attractive website, an interesting and up-to-date blog, and even a couple of videos on a YouTube Channel. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and several other strategically-chosen social media sites. These pros study their analytics each month and tweak their social media marketing strategies accordingly.
If you’re one of these savvy social media marketers, you’re already doing everything right, but that doesn’t mean you can relax. One trend is already emerging that may revolutionize social media marketing over the next three to five years. Professionals firms in several fields are fashioning what are essentially their own journalism divisions.
They’re creating videos, regular webcasts, podcasts, and even internet radio stations. They’re using live webcams, conducting webinars, and creating publications for online distribution. They’re hiring webmasters, journalists, videographers, audio engineers, and social media marketing companies to create fresh and interesting content and to coordinate the various elements into sound social media marketing strategies.
What’s different is that traditional marketing material has so often been little more than a thinly-veiled sales pitch, only slightly more sophisticated than a TV infomercial. Traditional marketing often fails to connect with the daily concerns of the average consumer. The new trend is away from direct sales altogether. Instead, it’s about serving the community and being a voice of authority in your field of specialization.
With newspapers in decline and reductions in local TV news budgets, professional firms are also filling a real vacuum and meeting a consumer need. Real estate firms, for example, are creating webcasts covering events and developments in their own communities. Law firms are covering high-profile cases, court rulings, legislative developments, and controversial topics like marijuana, immigration, and more. Bypassing traditional media obviously allows you to control the content, tone, and overall theme of the content you produce.
In other words, if you’re doing everything right, keep doing it, but don’t rest on yesterday’s accomplishments. The future offers plenty of social media marketing challenges, and it also plenty of opportunities for success. Learn everything you can about the emerging trends, or talk with a social media marketing company about your options and strategies for the future.
