Social media channels provide opportunities to grow your business while building strong customer relationships. According to Hubspot’s webinar, “Secrets to Success in Social Media in 2014,” new social media tools are emerging every day that make it possible for users to maximize online customer engagement and drive sales. Follow these best practices for creating value on social media channels.
First impressions count. Create a Twitter profile that attracts more followers and gives people a compelling reason to follow your business. Keep in mind that the basics of a Twitter profile include a descriptive bio of your business, company information (website URL, blog article links, location) to make it easy for people to find you, and visually appealing photos (logo, products) that draw people in and complement your company website.
Your Twitter profile should bring your business to life! Get more engagement for your tweets by giving your audience what they want. They may be following your page to learn about new products and services, show support for your company, or get information for a question or problem they have encountered. Eighty percent of your content should not be focused on the products or services you are selling. People don’t want to be “sold” to. The majority of your content should reflect industry trends, useful information, and answers to common questions.
Tweeting about relevant industry topics builds trusting relationships and a supportive follower base. Tweet high quality content frequently, with the goal of attracting and retaining followers.
Do you hashtag? Build momentum by giving people incentives to use your hashtags. Participate in relevant industry conversations using hashtags. Incorporate hashtags into your other media platforms, like Instagram and Facebook. These activities market your business through word-of-mouth. A receptive audience is more likely to take action on your tweets and calls to action as you communicate with them online.
Build the foundation for social media success using a Facebook page. Ensure that your page has complete and accurate information about your business, including the business type, location, URL link to your company’s website, and contact information. This enables your followers and customers to search for your business and tag your posts. Along with your company information, remember to include a great profile picture and cover photo that represent your brand and your business. This establishes credibility and professionalism in the eyes of your audience.
After you build your Facebook page, grow your audience using some free tools. Contact Importer is a free tool that enables you to upload the email addresses of your current customer lists and then invites those customers to your Facebook page. Friend Invites is another free tool that invites your existing friends to like your Facebook page. As you grow your audience, test new types of content and spend time on page insights to gain useful information about your audience, traffic, and posts.
Did you know that you can target your content to a specific audience? Content does not have to be made available to the entire public. You can target your posts by location, language, gender, age, relationship status, and educational status.
Direct Response Advertising creates a solid foundation for target marketing using four main targeting options:
- Interest in Demographic Targeting – targets your audience based on age, gender, location, and Facebook likes.
- Custom Audiences – finds existing customers off of Facebook and attracts them into the Facebook platform using email lists, phone numbers, and Facebook IDs.
- Website Customize Assist – targets individuals on Facebook who have been on your website already and know what you do.
- Look-Like Audience – finds new customers on Facebook using existing customer characteristics.
Once you target your content to specific audiences, you can use conversion tracking, ad manager, and page insights to track users’ behavior, manage campaign effectiveness, and measure the ROI of your marketing efforts.
LinkedIn is the most professional platform for your online social media presence. Creating a company page that is informative and engaging delivers a strong representation of your company. LinkedIn company pages should start off with a compelling description that showcases your brand, what your business offers, and what makes you unique. In other words, who you are. A picture is worth a thousand words, so include an eye-catching image next to your description to invite people to read more.
It is critical to take your audience’s mindset into consideration when you post content. Understand the professional mindset of the LinkedIn audience. Many LinkedIn users want to learn how to be great at what they do, grow their careers, and find opportunities. Provide your network with professionally relevant content, such as best industry practices, trends, and tips. Experiment with different content strategies to understand what resonates best with followers and network. You want to showcase your expertise and engage with your community in order to build strong relationships.
While LinkedIn advertising has been in popular social media marketing, sponsored updates have gained popularity in amplifying your messages on LinkedIn. Sponsored updates extend your reach beyond your company page and gets the best content in front of your target audience.
Targeting capabilities ensure that your content reaches the right audience in an organic way through LinkedIn members’ feeds. Many companies use targeting criteria that include industry, location, job function, seniority, and company size. Once you identify the best strategies to reach your audience with content, you can grow your professional network and attract more customers.
Pinterest’s new feature, Guided Search, enables users to better find what they are searching for. People often have questions without one right answer. For example, what is the best chicken recipe for dinner tonight? Or, how should I make a travel scrapbook? As a business, good Pin descriptions help Pinners find your content. For those users who do not know exactly what they are looking for, they can use Guided Search to scroll through descriptive guides and search for the right content. The guides help your potential customers find their way to you, while leaving them room to explore on their own.
About Digital Impact Agency
Digital Impact Agency is a creative firm specializing in interactive media and inbound marketing strategies for manufacturing and technology companies, professional service firms (architectural, engineering, construction, legal and consulting), nonprofits and enterprise companies. We are a team of innovative entrepreneurs focused on creating the most strategic and effective communication channels for our clients.
