market, thus creating higher-caliber
Facebook fans and Twitter followers.
channels as an example.
Because users of social media crave
new content, traditional marketing messages just won’t work, Smith continues.
By simply pushing the same marketing
campaign that ran in a print or e-mail
advertisement, “you’re going to turn
people off,” she says.
Instead, the association needs to
develop new content that’s appropri-
ate for social media channels. “For
my annual meeting, I could take three
of the best speakers and ask them
for three key points that I can use via
social media channels,” Smith says. “I
will push that messaging out because it
provides quality information from a reli-
able source that then directs them back
to my annual conference.”
This type of content creation is more
effective than traditional marketing
messages because it targets a specific
Be;Brave
Some people remain skeptical about
social media marketing. As far as Smith
is concerned, however, it’s here to stay.
Although the unknown can be scary for
some, she acknowledges, it also provides for creativity and new opportunity.
And don’t worry about taking on
extra work to communicate through new
channels: Social media marketing is
about working smarter, not harder. “I
look at it as actually being more efficient about my work,” Smith says. “By
targeting audiences, and messaging, figuring out what’s working and what’s
not, and utilizing different forums, you
can be extremely successful.”
Kim;Schneider is communications editor for The
American Student Dental Association. She may be
reached at
kim@asdanet.org.
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