Tashmeem Mirza
Social Media Project Manager

In recent times, it seems like things are changing at a speed faster than before. Communication channels are evolving, our education system is transforming, the government is becoming more proximate to its citizens, and businesses are adopting unconventional ways to leverage their income.

With the World Wide Web as the pedestal for all these changes, businesses, in particular, are in no way planning to be left out with the recent advancements.
Because of this, most big-time and start up companies are looking for ways to supercharge their presence and also their revenues. Some have already availed themselves of the benefits of the WWW by adopting social media and related platforms to their businesses. Some do the marketing through them but there are still others who are left clueless on what social media has to offer.
This article is specifically addressed to individuals, groups, and business owners who are not so familiar with social media in relation to how one can market themselves or their businesses online.
With the input provided by one of the most well-versed social media managers in the field of digital marketing, Tashmeem Mirza of Third Team Media (www.thirdteam.org) , you’ll get to know what social media marketing is.
But who is Tashmeem?
Tashmeem or Tash is the Social Media Project Manager of Third Team Media and a published author. She works with companies and executives to optimize their online personal and company brand through social media channels and other web technologies. She brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, specializing in social media marketing and inbound marketing for business and start-ups.
Scroll down to see what Tash thinks of social media marketing, the ins and outs of it, and what’s in store for it in the coming days.

1. So Tash, what is social media marketing?

Tash: It’s a cost effective solution for businesses looking to connect with potential as well as existing customers and other stakeholders. It puts businesses in touch with the whole wide world without a media filter which means that businesses can now connect with a global audience and generate leads at a global level without having to spend a fortune.
2. How does it differ from traditional marketing?
Tash: Traditional marketing is expensive, not to mention with traditional marketing you cannot create brand awareness on a global level. Plus there’s always going to be a media filter between the consumer and the business with traditional marketing, SMM removes that filter.
3. How effective it is compared to other mediums?
Tash: Very effective, I believe there are no limits when it comes to SMM but the success and failure of a SMM campaign depends on the expertise, time and effort put into it, just as traditional marketing.
4. What edge does social marketing have?
Tash: Again, it puts you in touch with a global audience and let’s you create a brand identity that traditional marketing can never achieve.
5. What is the biggest challenge social media marketers face?
Tash: Biggest challenge would be keeping it fresh. Since everybody is doing social media marketing the biggest challenge we face is keeping it different yet effective from what everyone else is doing.
6. For one to be a social media marketer, is it really necessary to have a marketing degree in college?
Tash: I don’t think so, in fact in this day and age I think you can be anything you want. FYI I am an audit and finance major, I don’t have a degree in marketing.
7. What are the skills required to be a social media marketer?
Tash: Being creative is obviously important plus its a very fast paced field of work therefore you have to be a quick learner and the willingness to learn needs to be there of course.

8. With tons of information available in the internet and some of them popping out in a user’s screen at any time of the day, how does a social marketer make his product/service stand out?

Tash: That’s exactly what I meant when I talked about keeping it fresh, people think what we do is easy but believe it or not it takes a lot of time, research, creativity and some times even tantrums to come up with a worthy idea, you just need to be willing to put in the necessary effort and be able to observe what everyone around is up to in order to make sure you don’t end up in the same boat as them.
9. But let’s say I own a business and want to adopt social media marketing in my operations, do I really need to hire an expert social media marketer to do the job for me? Or I can just simply learn the techniques on my own and apply it to my business?
Tash: Like I said you can’t learn to be a social media marketer in a day, it takes time and if you have time sure, you can probably do it on your own, it can take you quite some time to get it right though. But based on my experience it is probably the best idea to hire an expert to do the job, it would be the smart thing to do.
10. What is in store for social media marketing? How do you foresee its future?
Tash: I see it only getting bigger and bigger and more competitive. I’ve witnessed the growth myself and based on the statistics that we are seeing today compared to those we saw last year, well all I can say is Social Media Marketing is the future.

That’s it! Tash shared with us that social media marketing is a cost-effective solution for our businesses. Although it is an unconventional way to market the business, it nevertheless shares the same demand with the traditional ones, that is–the success and failure of a SMM campaign depends on the expertise, time and effort put into it. And if you have plans to be a social media manager, you can always learn it along the way as Tash did.

Our social media managers of Third Team Media will also share their thoughts on social media marketing and their relevant  experiences in the coming posts. So keep posted!