As the use of social media marketing spreads, more companies are beginning to exploit it. Today, a number of businesses are beginning to recognize the leverage of online tools in establishing a community where their potential customers can mingle – the fundamental foundation of social media marketing. On the other hand, the current query among these companies is “what should we do now?”

For businesses that have already created online communities and have some familiarity with how to build an online presence, the next step would be to use advanced social media marketing tactics.

These advanced social media marketing tactics are strategies that go beyond the standard social media presence. Before you move on to using advanced tactics, you need to make sure your company has already understood the basics of social marketing, has a crucial understanding of online marketing, and is familiar with getting prospects’ attention. Once you have met all of these conditions, you can now use all or any of the following advanced social media marketing tactics:

1. Take advantage of multimedia

Multimedia is an efficient strategy to grab the attention of potential customers due to the fact that the web is widely used by people today to search for photos or videos of products that they would like to purchase. The good thing about this strategy is that it is not difficult to carry out and has proven to be competent, among other advanced social media marketing tactics.

Show pictures of your merchandise, as well as your workers. By doing so, you can earn the trust of your customers and give them the assurance that they can safely use your products. Video clips are also very effective as they can make your prospects feel important, and you can even use videos to build powerful online communities on social networking sites. In addition, videos also allow consumers to have a complete understanding of the concepts regarding your products, superior to any well-written writing.

2. Mix online and offline marketing

While many users use the web, there are still some who rely on offline ads to learn more about products. By merging online and offline advertising, you could reach more potential customers.

You can do this by placing the URL of your site or online community on your flyers, banners, and other offline advertising media. With this tactic, you can grow your community and even gain the trust of more potential customers.

3. Personalization of messages on social media websites

Social networking websites allow you to build some kind of bond with your potential customers, but it’s pretty disgusting if the updates you post are the same for EVERY social networking site. The fact is, prospects don’t want to read posts that apparently appear to be scheduled. So every time you update your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or any similar social networking site, remember to personalize your posts and make it sound like you’re talking directly to your followers. Also make sure that the message you post on one social networking website does not convey exactly the same message as the one you posted on another.

4. Directories and Listings

This is probably one of the top advanced social media marketing tactics considering that it is normally the technique that can generate a lot of customers. It is important that you list your business on online directories so that prospects can discover it without much hassle. Also, if you have a point of sale or a place they can go to, don’t forget to add it to online maps like the ones on Google and Yahoo.

5. Promotions and Contests

Social media marketing is not limited to growing your online community. A strong connection with your customers is an important step in growing your community. A great technique to strengthen the connection between your business and customers is to run contests. Doing so will earn AND hold your prospects’ interest by connecting them through enjoyable activities. Exclusive discounts and promotions for them are also an effective technique to make them believe that it is worth being a member of your community. This advanced social media marketing tactic is sure to turn prospects into real buyers.

Social media marketing is about more than building a presence for your business. It’s all about making your online community grow and productive. Such advanced social media marketing tactics will surely help you to make your marketing more successful and your sales to develop.

To learn more about advanced social media marketing tactics, check out my author bio below.