Inbound Marketing Insights

Social media is not just about sharing funny memes or videos. Social media requires a cohesive strategy, sharing many different content types to align with your personas, and engaging your followers in various ways on their social media platform of choice. While there are many things to consider in your social media strategy, here are the four primary components for a successful social media strategy. Consider these tips when you start using social media for your business or if you are refining your strategy.

• 80/20 Rule:  Social media is about educating your audience. To do this, you need to share industry content and your own content. I like to use the "80/20 rule" when building a social media content strategy. 80% of your posts should be industry content or general helpful content. This type of content will build your thought leadership, and will let people know that your social pages are a "go-to" resource for information. For the other 20% of your social media content, you should post your blogs, case studies, and landing pages to drive visits and leads for your company. Remember, people follow you because they want to learn more about your business and are interested in the industry. Use this opportunity to drive leads while you build thought leadership.
• Use Different Content Types:  You won't know what content your audience likes until you start to test different content types. You can post articles, images, videos, PDFs, or brochures. Use all of these content types to vary the content your audience sees and how they engage with that content. You will start to recognize a pattern regarding the type of content that has the most engagement. You can then adjust your strategy and posts according to the content that performs best.
• Vary Post Days and Times:  Make sure you post on your social media channels at varying times and on different days of the week when you first embark on social media. By changing the times and days you post, you can engage with users on the platform at any given time. You will start to see a pattern in the days and times that work best, and you can use that data to optimize your timing strategy.
• Remember to Focus on Lead Generation:  Social media is a great lead generation channel. Your company has followers on those networks that may or may not already be part of your database. Allow those followers to access your exclusive content by providing them with direct links to your landing pages (using the 80/20 rule). Social media is not just about sharing funny images and memes; it's about building your thought leadership and engaging with your followers on a network where they already spend time. Use social media to connect with your audience and allow them to become part of your database to learn even more about your business.

When you're developing your social media strategy, start testing on the social media platforms where your audience spends time online. One type of post may perform very well, while others may not have any engagement. That's alright. It is all part of the learning process. Social media algorithms frequently change, so brands must continue to revise their strategy to stay in front of their audience. Remember, stay updated on changes to social media platforms to find new and innovative ways to connect with your followers. Social media isn't a one-time campaign or a singular post. Your social media strategy is about sharing content, connecting with your followers, and engaging with your audience.

Are you looking for ways to optimize your inbound strategy? The "book "Mastering Inbound Marketing: Your Complete Guide to Building a Results-Driven Inbound Strategy," written by Elyse Flynn Meyer, Owner & Founder of Prism Global Marketing Solutions, covers every aspect of the inbound marketing methodology, including the revenue generation trifecta of marketing, sales, and the customer experience. Check out the book to see how to most efficiently and effectively develop, implement, and maintain your inbound strategy.