Social Media

Make sure you’re part of the conversation.

Stay Relevant With Social Media Marketing

In a fast-paced digital world like today’s, it can be hard to keep up, but falling behind means losing valuable leads you won’t find elsewhere. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the primary social media giants you don’t want to miss out on.

Identifying your audience and gearing your messaging to the right people is pivotal to your social media strategy. You may find yourself grasping at straws for content, confused about what to post (and where), and struggling to find the time to fit social media marketing into your busy schedule – we’re here to help you make sense of it all.

Social media marketing, especially on LinkedIn, is a proven method for B2B manufacturers and industrial organizations to increase brand awareness, promote website traffic growth, and widen their audience.

What should I be posting?

Every social media platform tends to favor one type of content over another. Instagram is geared toward photos and videos. Twitter can be used for short-form thoughts and information paired with links or images if desired. Facebook and LinkedIn provide the opportunity for longer captions and visual content, with a more professional audience on LinkedIn than on Facebook.

There are all kinds of best practices when it comes to marketing on social media: times to post, type of content to share, places to link back to, and keywords/hashtags to include in your captions. Whether you need help figuring out what to post, or you just need another set of hands to get it uploaded, our team handles all things social media based on your specific wants and needs.

Organic Brand Building

Organic brand building on social media channels is a component of Owned Media, content which is completely under your control. The messaging on your LinkedIn pages, your in-depth, technical blog posts, your outbound email marketing — this and more comprise media which you control. Content marketing, in its simplest form, is all about creating and using Owned Media to your advantage.

For the purposes of social media marketing for B2B clients, we stress the importance of using LinkedIn to join relevant conversations, demonstrate your knowledge of a subject and your willingness to provide insight and information your audience can use. We call it ‘organic’ because, like organic search results, you aren’t specifically paying for the attention.

Think of posting organic content on LinkedIn like this:

You’re at an after-hours session with your peers, relaxing and networking after a long day walking the trade show floor.

Most everyone is wearing a name badge with important information. Everyone present has some interest and involvement in the content and subject of the show.

Like most networking events, there are refreshments, light conversation and a mingling of like-minded people…

Which would you do?

1

Walk right up to a group of people, most of whom you don’t personally know, and loudly introduce yourself, your products and your services… And, instead of waiting for a response, ask everyone whether or not they would like to take advantage of the opportunity to work with you…

OR

2

Walk up to the group, introducing yourself when it seems appropriate, and listen for a while to understand where the conversation is going. It could be about the weather, sports teams, or more likely some aspect of the trade show. As the conversation progresses you might offer insight or relevant opinions, listening to see how your input is received. As the conversation continues, you’ll be alert to cues as to what type of information you might want to share… From there you build relationships.

Too many folks select option #1 when starting out on LinkedIn - with immediate connection requests, messaging and outright rude behavior. You wouldn’t dream of doing that in person, so why do it on social media?

Content Calendars

We’ve found that keeping your content organized is the key to staying up-to-date and never missing a beat when it comes time to posting. Content calendars allow you to plan out your messaging ahead of schedule, from the posting date down to the copy of the post. That way, when it comes time to upload, you’ll only have to worry about saving five minutes of your day to copy and paste.

Our writers can work to help you create posts for your content calendar using your company’s key capabilities. In between posts spotlighting your products and services, we’ll also find industry-centric topics to write about and highlight subject matter expertise, include posts showcasing company culture, and share relevant articles pertaining to topical industry news. Positioning yourself as a valuable resource to your audience creates a reputation founded on trust, credibility, and integrity.

Social Media Management

Don’t have enough time in your day to put your content calendar to use? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. In addition to creating content for you to use across your social media platforms, we also manage many of our clients’ pages for them. We’ll draft out the content, wait for your approval, and then make sure your pages are being updated consistently and as often as you need.