Social media is the general usage of various social media platforms and sites to advertise a product or service offered by another business. While the terms digital advertising and e-advertising are generally dominant in academic circles, social media marketing is fast becoming popular for practitioners and researchers alike. This sort of marketing has been around for quite some time and was first applied in 1998 when Yahoo! launched Search Marketing with the goal of making searching for specific information easier. Since then social media marketing has expanded into many arenas such as blogging, microblogging, video marketing, and events. Some of the most popular social networks today are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. However it is important to remember that the success of any social network is not solely the result of advertisers posting advertisements on their wall. Successful social media marketing depends on the user's participation and their interaction with the tools that are provided. In order to maximize your social media marketing efforts, there are several things you can do to generate traffic and interest. A viral marketing strategy will help you reach out to users who are not yet familiar with your services or products. An effective viral strategy often involves the creation of videos that answer common questions that need to be addressed on various topics. These videos can be short tutorial videos that offer step by step instructions on a particular topic or it can be a video documentary with background music interspersed with an engaging storyline. The most successful viral videos tend to be those that are funny, informative, or offer an inside look at a specific subject. Another crucial aspect of a social media marketing strategy of DC Social Media Marketingis creating a timely, engaging content that will connect with your target audience. The idea behind this strategy is to ensure that the audience can easily relate to your audience and feel like they are a part of what you have to say. For example, if you are offering free reports, you should create a content product that offers information about the free report as well as ways that readers can forward the link to others. Most Internet viewers are social media savvy and are able to identify an engaging content product that will entice them to click on a link. As social media marketing continues to develop and become a more integral part of marketing efforts, many marketers are adapting their strategies to incorporate social networks into their efforts. Many marketers, including those in the Internet marketing industry, are using video sharing sites such as YouTube to promote the products and services that they are providing. Videos can be posted in the form of text, audio, or PowerPoint presentations. These can be used to introduce a new product, an expansion of services, or a special promotion that has taken place. In addition to generating traffic and increasing brand awareness with the help of the search marketing agency dcfor a business, another benefit of social media marketing strategies is that they can provide feedback from consumers, helping to determine the success or failure of a campaign. Marketers are able to receive and measure user responses, which can help them to make adjustments to their advertising efforts in order to achieve better results. In fact, one of the most important benefits of using social media networks is that it allows marketers to not only reach their target market but also help to connect with those users who might be interested in the services or products that they provide.