Most marketing and consulting companies will tell you that social media is all about sending eyeballs to your site. Although there is some validity to that, that’s not all it comes down to. What Goalpost sees very clearly is that in B2B marketing, the reality is that the number of eyeballs you need to become an influencer in your particular market segment is actually pretty small. All you need is the right strategy and content. As a result, you can leverage even a small team to reach the key people of an entire market segment. This can be done organically and in a powerful way.
Seven in ten Americans use social media to connect with one another every day. In 2005, only 5% of American adults used social media. In 2011, that share rose to half. Today 69% of the public uses some type of social media.
Worldwide, there are over 2 billion monthly active Facebook users. There are 1 billion monthly active users on YouTube. Instagram has 700 million monthly active users. Lastly, Twitter has 328 million monthly active users.
How Do We Actually Use Social Media and Make it Pay Off?
- Drive site traffic
- As additional channels to publish content – press releases, events, etc.
- Widgets for content sharing
- Engage with buyers – LinkedIn, Communities, blogs
- Identify “sharing advocates”
- Drive webinar attendance
- Demonstrate thought leadership
- Manage and protect the brand
- More
Using the old-fashioned way on social media to reach users doesn’t cut it anymore. Building up an audience over time and sharing updates isn’t enough. Feeds are more cluttered than ever with messages, videos, and photos. Algorithms continue to increasingly limit the percent of your own audience that sees your posts. What is the key to cutting through the clutter?
- Money Talks – Networks are evolving. Promoted posts and updates that look just like the real thing can be targeted towards a specific audience.
- Video is King – Help communicate your message in a simple and engaging way.
- Business Tools – Help employees understand the power of social media. Such as, how to use specific channels and leverage social media as a business tool.
- Employee Advocacy – Encourage and even incentivize employees to be your champions and share your content.
- User-Generated Content – Build ties with customers. Encourage customers to create and share branded content.
- Sales and Customer Service – Consumers learn about products and how to use them through individual channels. They think of these as a more trusted source.
Social media has never been more influential than it is today. Drive customers through the marketing and sales funnel with Social Media.
Next Steps
1. Review your social media channels and past years’ efforts:
- What worked? Can we do more of it and how?
- What did not work? Can we shut it down?
2. Review and develop goals:
- Create goals for individual channels and every stage of your social media marketing for the next year.
- Measure your goals to evaluate if you are on target and don’t be afraid to change course if something is not working for you.
At Goalpost Group, we help our clients break the cycle of bad marketing using strategy, structure, and killer content that drives sales and wins the day. Get in touch with a member of our team to learn more about how we can help transform your marketing.
