How to Optimize Your Social Media Presence

Apr 13, 2022
Social Media Presence

By now, your business or brand needs to have a social media presence – that’s where your current and potential customers are spending a good portion of their time. The bad news? All of your competitors are on social media, too, creating a ton of noise. To get your brand noticed, you need to have a social media presence that stands out as robust and engaging. 

Set Some Goals

Social media marketing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s generally a more minor part of a big-picture marketing plan (or at least it should be.) Take a look at that plan and your goals; connect them to your social media presence in ways that make sense. For example, if your plan was to grow your client list, set an objective to expand your social media following. More eyes on your content mean a more significant percentage of followers that become long-term clients.

Zero In On a Target

As much as entrepreneurs want everyone to be their target demographic, that’s rarely ever the reality of owning a business and finding the “ideal customer.” Social media platforms offer data-rich insights on the types of followers your business has, what time they’re using social media, which kind of content they’re engaging with, and so much more. It’s time to apply that quantitative data to help personalize your social media marketing messages.

Socia Media Icons

Authenticity Rules

Sterile, corny social media posts with stock photos are boring, period. Transparency in marketing and advertising has never been more critical, and you can leverage that growing trend to show off your human side. Remember to speak to your followers as humans because that’s what they are. Maybe even try some (appropriate) humor sometimes because you may be surprised at the reaction you get and the followers you add. 

Create and Stick to a Calendar

We all know that one cool coworker that never uses Google Calendar, but seems to remember every single meeting date and start time. Unless that coworker is your social media manager, you need an editorial calendar to follow. Scheduling and automating tools make it much easier for you to get a birds-eye view of your social media marketing, freeing you to focus on higher-value work that helps your business grow in other ways. 

Strike a Balance

Social selling is rampant, but your social media followers don’t want the hard sell in every post. By helping or offering information, you can grow your social media presence as much as (if not more than) when you push your goods or services. Not all of the content you share should be promotional. Sharing relevant industry news, trends, and resources on social media can open up your presence to fresh, new eyes.

Social Media Planning

Follow the Trends

This one can be a little tricky, so tread lightly. Trends on social media move fast, which means they could just as quickly fizzle out as blow up in a viral frenzy. Use buzz to create flashy social media content that shows your presence is keeping up with the Joneses, add trending hashtags to your posts for searchability, and reshare visual content that makes social media followers stop their scrolling and start engaging with your business or brand. 

Keep the Content Coming

Whatever you decide to create, on whatever social media platform you need to share it, remember to just keep creating and sharing. Original content that your followers want to see is the most tried-and-true way to expand your social media presence and spread your brand’s name.

Content marketing can skyrocket your business’s exposure, helping your prospects know, like, and trust you enough to want to do business with you. However, it can quickly become another burdensome, unproductive marketing tactic that draws your resources and provides a disappointing return.

While managing your content marketing strategy for your company can be done, it will require time, technical know-how, and skills you may not want to devote to making it work. That’s why so many companies outsource their content marketing to professionals.

If you’d like to talk about the role content marketing could play in filling your sales funnel, we’d be delighted to have that conversation. Contact us today to get started!

Forecasting the Next Ten Years of Marketing

10 Apr, 2024
Marketing is gearing up for significant changes as we enter the new decade. With new technologies, shifts in buyer behavior, and changes in consumption culture, the way businesses reach out to customers will look very different in the coming years. While we can't say what marketing will look like in 10 years, we can examine emerging trends and strategies to forecast its future. Here are some predictions experts are suggesting could take shape moving forward. Increasing Personalized Advertising Personalized marketing should undergo even more profound transformations in the coming decade, leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to forge deeper customer connections. With the ability to glean insights from vast amounts of data, companies will craft highly tailored ads and messages that resonate with individual preferences and behaviors, fostering stronger brand-consumer relationships. From dynamic content customization to predictive marketing algorithms, the era of hyper-personalization will redefine how businesses engage with their target audiences on a one-to-one level. Advanced Device Communication The proliferation of voice-enabled devices and virtual assistants heralds a new era in consumer engagement, requiring marketers to adapt their strategies to communicate effectively through these mediums. As voice technology continues to gain traction, companies must anticipate the rise of voice commerce and tailor their approaches to accommodate this emerging trend. By leveraging conversational AI and natural language processing, brands can deliver seamless, personalized experiences that resonate with consumers, whether shopping, seeking information, or interacting with digital assistants. Wider Use of Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is poised to become a ubiquitous tool in the marketer's arsenal, offering immersive experiences that transcend traditional advertising methods. With VR, brands can transport consumers into captivating virtual environments where they can interact with products and services unprecedentedly, fostering deeper engagement and brand loyalty. As VR technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, expect to see a proliferation of immersive marketing campaigns that leverage the power of virtual experiences to captivate audiences and drive conversions.

The Power of Storytelling

12 Mar, 2024
Marketing tends to focus on analytics and systems, but we sometimes forget about one powerful tool that has existed since the beginning: storytelling. From our ancestors telling ancient myths to be passed down for the generations to come to modern-day brand narratives, stories have held the power to inspire and connect in all different ways. Today, consumers face a constant bombardment of advertisements and catered content; using the power of storytelling in marketing campaigns has become critical for businesses, especially smaller firms aiming to create meaningful connections with their target clients. Why Storytelling is an Effective Strategy When a brand uses storytelling to convey its message, it connects with the audience emotionally. By telling a compelling story, marketers can create a memorable experience for consumers, making them more likely to remember and engage with the brand. Additionally, storytelling allows marketers to communicate the brand's values and personality more authentically. Instead of bombarding consumers with sales pitches, storytelling enables brands to share their stories and build trust with their audience, increasing brand loyalty and customer engagement. The Emotional Resonance of Stories At the heart of storytelling lies its ability to bring out emotions and create profound connections on a human level. Unlike traditional marketing messages focusing solely on product features or sales pitches, stories can engage the audience's imagination, stir empathy, and spark genuine interest. By weaving narratives that resonate with their target audience's hopes, dreams, and challenges, small marketing firms can create a powerful emotional bond that transcends transactional relationships. Building Brand Identity and Authenticity Storytelling is a potent tool for small businesses to authentically define and express their brand identity. Through compelling narratives that reflect their values, mission, and vision, small firms can differentiate themselves from competitors and carve out a distinct identity in the minds of consumers. Whether recounting the founder's journey, highlighting customer success stories, or showcasing the company's commitment to social responsibility, storytelling allows small businesses to humanize their brand and foster customer trust and loyalty.

A Guide to Employee-Generated Content

13 Feb, 2024
In a world of "influencer marketing" and brand deals, companies can easily overspend their marketing budgets and get caught up in the frenzy. An influencer may feature your product or brand only for their videos to perform poorly. At best, you lose out on the money spent sending the product to the influencer and whatever you spent on hiring them. At worst, your business gets a bad reputation online, and customers don't take your brand seriously. Consider that influencer marketing is just the "shiny new toy" in marketing. In that case, companies should continue to produce consistent, cost-effective outcome. One source for this? Your Employees. Employee-generated content refers to any videos, pictures, or copy that employees publicly post about their position and the company. Find out the benefits of employee-generated content (EGC), what this content can look like, and how to implement EGC into your overall strategy. What Does Employee-Generated Content Look Like? The beauty of employee-generated content is that it can take many forms. Any content your employees make that involves details about their role, the company itself, or the relationships they've developed with coworkers or customers/clients can be EGC. A simple, straightforward EGC piece can be an employee spotlight for new hires or veteran employees. You can choose to craft employee spotlights as infographics with a picture of the employee along with some fun facts about them, write a long-form piece from an interview with the employee speaking about their time at the company, or even long or short-form videos with the employee speaking on their experiences. While these methods may require the help of a graphic designer, copywriter, or videographer, the idea is that the employees generate the content by speaking about their experiences and introducing themselves. Other ideas for EGC pieces might be "day in the life" videos following a specific employee throughout their day, reflections employees have from conferences or professional development opportunities, employment milestones or recognitions, or even just pictures employees take with each other or showing what happened that day. There are limitless options and iterations for employee-generated content, and the key is to find out what works well for your business and why.
More Posts
Share by: