Social media marketing is a critical component of a well-rounded inbound marketing strategy. It may be used to market your content, raise brand recognition, and give your company a voice.
Social networking channels are used by 89% of business-to-business marketers to share content organically, barely edging both blogging and email as a preferred distribution method. Given that 53.6% of the world's population is on social media, this makes sense, so reaching your target audience should be simple, right?
Captivating a business-to-business (B2B) audience is more complicated. While individuals want social media material, effective B2B social media marketing entails more than just providing content on a regular basis.
To connect with your target audience and increase brand recognition, you need a plan packed with original content suited to each platform.
The following are the top ten strategies for raising brand recognition using social media marketing:
1. Understand your audience
To begin, you need to identify your target audience. If you don't already have them, start by creating buyer personas. They are a critical component of a successful inbound marketing approach. B2B marketers mustn’t make assumptions about the content or social media platforms their target audience interacts with. In other words, just because your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommates kid is on the new hot social platform doesn’t mean you should be.
To connect with your target audience on social media, utilize your preferred social media platforms as a search engine. To stay up with hot issues in your business, look for relevant hashtags, get inspiration from rival channels, and follow thought leaders. This can help you gain a better understanding of how your target audience interacts with social media.
2. Prioritise platforms that perform
Building manager Bob might not be scrolling through Instagram to find the next greatest plumbing solution. Or he could be. That’s up to you to figure out.
Investigate where your target audience spends the bulk of their time and adhere to these social media sites. When it comes to how many profiles you should keep, there is no right or wrong answer. However, rather than attempting to be everywhere at once, it is essential to make your efforts sustainable and constant.
3. Customise your social media content
When visiting a new country, it is usually good to become acquainted with the local culture, language, and currency. You should do the same with social media marketing. Investigate the optimal character length for your posts, suitable image sizes, and the best days or times to schedule your content.
Twitter, for example, limits the length of your message to 280 characters, but Facebook and LinkedIn do not. Similarly, image sizes differ per platform, and images used on LinkedIn will not function on Instagram. If you get these elements correct, you'll be one step closer to improving your social media marketing.
4. Create visual content
In the noisy world of social media, you need eye-catching visual material, such as photos and video, to get your message seen. It's no surprise that social media is a significant use case for marketers that utilize visual content; 33% use it for Twitter, 49% use it for Facebook, 47% use it for Instagram, and 42% use it for LinkedIn.
Fortunately, this does not imply that hand-drawn drawings must accompany each post. Royalty-free stock photographs (see our list of 43 vector sites with ratings for inspiration) and GIFs may be used to add a simple visual element to your article. At the same time, tools like Canva and Biteable enable you to generate unique images and video content.
5. Provide value with content
According to the findings, content that provides value beats content with high production quality. On social media, audiences are more engaged with helpful and 'human' interest content. Rather than focusing on what you're selling, think about how you might educate your audience and solve their wants and pain areas.
If you have instructional blog articles or e-books, social media is an excellent platform for sharing them. This type of material is more likely to interest your readers, and it demonstrates your expertise and knowledge.
You may also utilize social media to interact with your audience. Respond to direct messages, mentions, and comments as soon as possible.
6. Combine strategy and action
Like Alice in Wonderland, you don’t fall down the rabbit hole that can be social media strategy. It's essential to follow best practices, set quantifiable goals, and be consistent. However, social media is a fluid medium.
A fast Google search will provide results such as “the rule of thirds” (1/3 of postings advertising your product or service, 1/3 connecting with others, and 1/3 providing industry news), or that you should post to Twitter three times each day.
But take the time to figure out what works best for you. Experiment with several variations and watch how your audience reacts.
7. Leverage social media trends
Trending topics on Twitter and LinkedIn provide a chance to share material contributing to or building on more extensive online conversations. This is known as "Newsjacking."
“Newsjacking is when a brand or firm mentions or creates a campaign centered around a major, well-discussed news item.” – HubSpot
This does not, however, imply that it must be front-page news. It might just be a point of contention or a new trend in your business. HubSpot offers several excellent examples of brands that have done newsjacking successfully.
8. Make influencer connections
Every sector has its own set of influencers, even if you don't anticipate it. Connecting with non-competing “influencers,” whether thought leaders, bloggers, or industry news websites, is an excellent method to grow your social media following. You may form joint venture agreements as basic as sharing material or as complex as commercial arrangements or affiliate payments.
9. Use your social accounts
In the case of social media, The New Radicals were correct: you get what you give. It's unrealistic to expect others to appreciate and spread your posts if you're not doing the same. Therefore, try sharing and liking the content of others rather than expecting engagement without anything in return.
It's also critical to let go of the expectation of anything in return. If you promote and foster a culture of sharing and engagement, then people may do the same for you.
10. Track your performance
The majority of social media sites will provide you engagement numbers for your postings. Certain marketing CRMs, such as HubSpot offer in-depth social media analytics reporting capabilities to provide even more data. The HubSpot platform may also be used to organize, publish, and monitor your social media material. This contains technology that generates trackable URLs for you, providing you with a wide range of metrics.
Whatever method you select, tracking the performance of your social media marketing will provide you with greater insights, allowing you to understand what works and what doesn't, allowing you to refine your strategy constantly.
Build brand awareness with social media marketing
A solid inbound marketing plan will integrate your social media, content, blogs, search engine optimization, and other channels to increase brand recognition and attract new clientele. If you want to take the initial step or supplement your existing inbound strategy, one of the simplest methods to expand is through social media. You will be rewarded if you follow these methods for increasing brand recognition through social media.
If, after reading this, you feel like you might need some help with your social media marketing, then we at Cube Creative are here to help. Reach out to us for a free consultation. We would be happy to see if we would be a good fit for you and your business.
