Inbound Marketing Insights

It doesn't matter if you're a small business or a large corporation; every marketer has a desire to connect with their target audience. If you research what your target audience is searching for online, you can use social media to point them in the right direction, usually to your website or blog content.

Once the visitor is on your website or blog, you have the opportunity to engage them and convert them into subscribers, leads, or even customers. But first, ask yourself this question: What social media outlet(s) is best for reaching my target audience? Do they use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or a combination of those?

Here are some generalizations to consider, but the usage of social platforms depends on your audience. Twitter is great for short messages, broad reach, and impressions. Facebook allows for longer posts, reaching an audience between 20-and 65. Pinterest and Instagram are most beneficial for sharing imagery, so if you're in an industry that can support a lot of great imagery, that's the way to go. LinkedIn is essential for B2B business professionals, so that is the place to be if you're selling B2B products or services.

Once you've determined which outlets to choose, here are five tips to keep in mind with your social media marketing strategy:

1. Spend Enough Time to Maximize Your Efforts on Social
Social media marketing can be a time-consuming effort. Use a social media tool like HootSuite or HubSpot to tie all your accounts together and schedule posts during your downtime so you don't have to post throughout your workday constantly. Also, don't forget to consider the time changes. Determine the best time that your audience likes to engage based on how they have interacted with your previous posts to find the best time slot for each day.

2. Be Unique in Your Content
What sets you apart from your competitors? Show off your uniqueness by posting links to blog posts and articles highlighting accomplishments, news, and other helpful content. Leveraging these items is a cornerstone of a successful social media marketing strategy. Come up with your hashtags on Twitter and Facebook. Share pictures and host contests on social to drive engagement. Ask questions that only people with expertise in your field can answer. Think outside the box with your content to provide your followers with unique content to engage with and share.

3. Be Genuine with Your Connections
Don't constantly push for sales on social media. Use it to get to know people in your industry, prospects, and customers. Create and nurture mutually beneficial relationships with your potential customers and thought leaders. These influencers can make a significant impact on your social media marketing success. A single retweet or like for a key influencer can put your content in front of hundreds, maybe even thousands of eyes.

4. Be Engaging with Your Posts
Have you ever gone to a party, only to find out that you don't know anyone there, and the few people won't introduce you to anyone else? This is how social media marketing can feel at first when you may be posting to almost no one in the beginning. No one likes that feeling, but it's where we all start. That's why you have to follow other people and companies and engage them online. Help your followers find what they're looking for through your own social content. Take a few minutes every day to comment on crucial influencer accounts and offer your honest opinion and expertise. If you do this genuinely, you'll start capturing people's attention and building your network quickly.

5. Be Real with Your Followers
People want to interact with other people, not bots. They also don't want to be constantly spammed. Make your followers feel appreciated. Thank them for following, posting, and sharing your content. Try your best to return the favor when you can, and you'll start to see how social media momentum can continue to build. You can even consider exclusive content, discounts, and promotions just for your social media followers.

Need help getting started? We invite you to schedule an inbound marketing consultation where we can discuss your current social media campaign initiatives and overall strategy to see if there are opportunities for you to continue to drive success with social.