What is social media marketing called?
Usually SMM, short for social media marketing. The other names describe parts of it: social media management, paid social, organic social.
Social media marketing is most often called SMM, short for social media marketing. You will also hear social marketing, social media management when it means the day-to-day posting, and paid social or social media advertising when it means the ads. All of them sit under digital marketing. Slate Marketing LLC provides social media marketing for local service businesses in Louisville, Southern Indiana and Cincinnati.
The names, and what each one means
| Name | What it means |
|---|---|
| SMM (social media marketing) | The umbrella term: using social platforms to win attention and customers. |
| Social marketing | Often used the same way. In public health it also means campaigns that change behavior. |
| Social media management | The day-to-day work: planning, posting, and replying to comments and messages. |
| Paid social | Ads on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn, aimed by location and interest. Also called social media advertising. |
| Organic social | Unpaid posts that reach followers and anyone who finds the profile. |
| Influencer or creator marketing | Paying creators to show a product or service to their audience. |
What it looks like for a local service business
For a contractor or home service business, social media marketing is less about going viral and more about proof. A homeowner who finds you on Google checks your Facebook or Instagram before calling, and a profile with recent finished jobs and fresh reviews reads as a business that answers the phone. One that went quiet last spring reads as one that might not.
- Post finished work every week, with the service and the area named.
- Turn each five-star review into a post with a photo of the job.
- Keep your Google Business Profile posting too, since it is the profile most local customers see first.
- Reply to comments and messages the same day.
That is how social media marketing works at Slate: job photos from your phone are enough, and we handle the captions, design, scheduling and posting. It runs alongside reputation management and local SEO, so the same proof shows up everywhere a customer looks.
Why owners pick Slate over bigger agencies
Seventeen five-star reviews in six months
Slate Marketing signed its first client six months ago and already has 17 five-star Google reviews from the owners we work for. There are agencies twenty years old with fewer. Read every one on our reviews page.
No contract that locks you in
Many agencies want six or twelve months in writing. We work month to month and keep your business by earning it, not by holding you to a signature.
Open pricing, open process
Every starting price is on our pricing page. Before you commit, you see the number, what it covers and exactly how we will do the work. No fine print and no surprise charges.
If you're unhappy, we're unhappy
Our clients come first. Both founders, Jack Moutardier and Daxton Noe, work on every account and answer the phone, so a problem goes straight to the people who can fix it.
A real guarantee, not a ranking promise
Nobody honest can guarantee rankings, and the Map Pack rotates. We guarantee you will be satisfied with the work, or we keep working until you are, and where your review history supports it we put a Map Pack guarantee in writing.
Common questions
What is social media marketing called?
Most often SMM. Depending on the part of the work, it is also called social marketing, social media management, paid social or organic social.
Is SMM the same as digital marketing?
No. Digital marketing is the whole category, including SEO, websites, email and online ads. SMM is the part that happens on social platforms.
Which platforms matter for a local business?
Google Business Profile, Facebook and Instagram for most local service businesses, with YouTube Shorts and TikTok when your customers are there.
Claim your free visibility audit.
Fifteen minutes with a founder, and you leave knowing exactly what is costing you calls, whether or not you hire us.