HOW TO UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA TO GAIN LEADS Understanding the Importance of Social Media in Today s Marketing World
When most business owners think about generating leads, they tend to think of marketing strategies such as e-mail blast campaigns and inbound/outbound marketing. However, in today s changing world, social media is quickly becoming an effective tool for generating leads in a budget-friendly way. With so many different social media platforms all functioning in different ways, it can be difficult to know exactly how to best utilize it for a company s specific marketing needs. and goals By keeping some guidelines in mind, however, it is possible to successfully develop a sound social media strategy and put it to use. www.initiate-it.com 1
Begin With a Solid Plan The first and perhaps most crucial step to take is coming up with a plan; this means establishing specific goals, defining a target audience, and figuring out how to measure the success of the strategy/campaign. Most likely, the main goal will be to generate leads through various business social media accounts. However, other common goals related to developing a social media strategy include: Building a brand identity Increasing awareness of a brand Boosting traffic to a business website Of course, in order to achieve these goals, understanding one s target audience is a must. Some important questions to answer in this regard before further developing a social media strategy include: What is the target demographic (age, gender, geographical area?) How does this audience utilize social media? Which specific social media platforms does this audience use? For example, a company that sells clothing for teenagers (male and female) will have no problem figuring out the demographic age. However, a little research may need to be done to determine what social media platforms they re using (Snapchat? Facebook? Twitter?) and how they use it/what type of language they use on social media. www.initiate-it.com 2
Use a Calendar/Schedule for Content Another important aspect of developing a social media marketing strategy is posting content regularly. What defines content will vary based on which social media platforms have been chosen to use. For example, posting content on Twitter may mean posting a photo or a tweet, whereas Facebook content may be more along the lines of sharing a news article or even creating a poll. Regardless of how one plans on sharing content, it s always a good idea to schedule it in advance. By having a weekly or monthly content schedule (and perhaps even using software to automatically publish content across platforms), there is never any need to find oneself wondering, what am I going to post today? The good news here is that there are a number of both free and paid software programs that can be used to schedule social media posts for added convenience and organization. Tweetdeck, for example, is a popular desktop application that can be used to post across Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all at once. Update All Social Media Channels Regularly Starting a business account on a social media platform also means committing to posting regularly. Otherwise, people will visit a dormant social media page and wonder if the company is even still around due to inactivity. As a result, they will be less likely to try to interact with the brand on social media and may even choose to un-follow or un-subscribe from the page. Typically, the most successful business social media pages are the ones that are constantly posting fresh, engaging, and share-worthy content for the target audience. Coming up with unique content for a variety of social media platforms can be challenging and time consuming, though, so be sure to keep this in mind while deciding platforms to use for one s own business. Some possible ideas for engaging content that can be posted and shared on social media to keep users engaged include: Photo contests (especially on Facebook and Instagram) like and share contests on Facebook Visuals, such as infographics or even product demonstration videos List-style articles that readers can easily skim for information www.initiate-it.com 3
Don t Overlook LinkedIn When it comes to social media platforms, LinkedIn tends to get overlooked as one of those profiles business owners fill out but never really interact with. However, it s worth noting that LinkedIn has some great tools and resources that could make all the difference for a company, especially when it comes to generating leads. This is especially true for those who opt to pay for the professional edition, which allows users to better expose their unique brand. However, even the free version of LinkedIn can be useful from a lead conversion standpoint. For example, it can be used for sharing blog posts/articles, thus allowing the company and its employees to be seen as a thought leader in the industry. Publishing an article on a new trend in the industry is a great way to share and display knowledge while also opening up the opportunity for others to comment and begin a conversation. Plus, LinkedIn also allows users to direct e-mail their connections, which can open up the opportunity for some great conversation. Use Social Media to Become a Thought Leader Speaking of becoming a thought leader, social media platforms are great for building credibility within any industry. In addition to sharing relevant news articles on a business social media page, consider writing and sharing one s own blog posts, articles, and other relevant content on the industry. The more it gets shared, the more it is possible to boost the credibility and reputation of the business. Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools out there these days...hands down. By keeping some key takeaways in mind when developing and implementing a social media marketing strategy, any business owner can establish a strong presence on social media and even become a thought leader in the industry, thus resulting in lead conversions. In conclusion, then: Get to know the audience and how they use social media Schedule content publishing and update all social media pages regularly Take time to respond to messages and comments Use social media as an opportunity to become an industry leader and boost reputation These are just a few tips to keep in mind while developing and implementing a social media marketing strategy to gain leads. As always, be sure to keep track of metrics so it is possible to reflect in a few months and see what s working versus what may need to be changed from a social media standpoint. www.initiate-it.com 4
About Lisa Rogerson, initiate-it s VP Lisa is an experienced digital marketer and social media strategist with expertise in integrated marketing strategy. In her 20 years in marketing, Lisa has created award-winning campaigns and highly successful online communities for her clients. Lisa brings a passion for content marketing to our clients as she helps them understand the best ways to use content as a major part of an integrated marketing plan. To learn more about understanding the importance of content strategy in today s marketing world. Call (804) 308-3654 or visit www.initiate-it.com today! Sources: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/11-free-services-for-scheduling-social-media-updates-1/?linknav=us-openforum-search-article-link2 https://www.linkedin.com/ www.initiate-it.com 5