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LinkedIn Best Practices

LinkedIn is, arguably, the most important social media channel for B2B professionals. Originally started as a job search network, LinkedIn has evolved into a gathering place for a wide range of business professionals. Unlike other social media, LinkedIn content is heavily skewed toward the sharing of professional information, although more personal posts have been creeping in recently.

Still, super users suggest Continue reading “LinkedIn Best Practices”

The Role of Social Media in Your Marketing Efforts

Every once in a while, I’ll come across a post suggesting that social media is dead. With all of the recent buzz about Twitter—given Elon Musk’s takeover of the company and predictions of doom—I wondered if marketers’ usage of social media is declining. The short answer is no.

A longer answer is that while social media still makes up a significant part of most marketers’ communication efforts, how they use it and which channels they use have shifted. That is likely to continue. The effectiveness of marketing channels ebbs and flows; newer channels and newer entrants to the space tend to reap the benefits of early adoption, while laggards may never experience the same results. This means that marketers of all kinds—and especially content marketers—need to stay up-to-date on these shifts and continually evaluate their social media strategies to ensure they’re making optimal use of these platforms. In this column, I look at some insights from experts in the field about how their social media use is shifting and how they stay on top of new trends. Continue reading “The Role of Social Media in Your Marketing Efforts”

How to Choose the Right Social Media Channels to Target Your Ideal Audience

These days it’s probably safe to say that most businesses have a presence on at least one social media channel. In fact, according to a 2021 Entrepreneur article, 97% of Fortune 500 companies rely on social media. The number is probably less for smaller companies, but it shouldn’t be. Social media can be a very cost effective way to raise awareness, generate leads, and build business.

There are a lot of channels out there, though, and not every channel is right for every business – or audience. Just because a channel is getting a lot of attention – take TikTok, for example – doesn’t mean that it makes sense for your business.

Continue reading “How to Choose the Right Social Media Channels to Target Your Ideal Audience”

7 Steps to Social Success

In October 2008 I launched my firm Strategic Communications, LLC. Not the best timing for such a move given the bad economy at the time, but it’s all worked out for the best; 12 years later and still going strong! One big benefit of starting a communication firm during a recession is that I had plenty of time to learn about social media which was rapidly emerging as an important channel for marketing communications. I jumped on board early, primarily with LinkedIn and Twitter, and since that time I have managed social media accounts to help my company and my clients’ companies drive awareness, website traffic—and business. I have a good following on my social channels and people often ask me to share my tips for building a solid following. I’m happy to share! Here I share “7 Steps to Social Success.” Continue reading “7 Steps to Social Success”

6 Tips for Using Social Media as a Lead Generation Tool

We launched Strategic Communications in 2008, at a time when the country was plunging into a deep recession. It wasn’t a great time to land new clients. But it was a great time to take a deep dive into something that was relatively new at the time, at least from a business perspective–social media. At the time there was an interesting talent gap that represented an opportunity for us. Most businesspeople didn’t have experience in using social media channels for marketing purposes and colleges weren’t yet educating students about these new marketing tools. So we were early adopters and spent quite a bit of time learning about and experimenting with the tools that were best positioned in the business-to-business (B2B) space: LinkedIn and Twitter.

Since that time we’ve built our social channels organically and have helped a number of clients do the same. There’s no real magic to this. In fact, the basic tenets of effective marketing via social channels are really the same as they are for using any marketing tools. We recently responded to a reporter’s inquiry about our top tips for marketers using social media as a lead generation tool. We pointed to six:

Continue reading “6 Tips for Using Social Media as a Lead Generation Tool”

Best Practices for Business Building on LinkedIn

I’ve had a profile on LinkedIn for a number of years now. LinkedIn and Twitter are two of my favorite social media platforms. Most business people would agree with me that LinkedIn is a great tool for building a strong network and engaging with others. Most would likely not agree with me that Twitter can also be a great business-to-business (B2B) business-building tool. We have, though, definitely found that to be the case for ourselves and for our clients. (More on that another day.) Here we want to focus on LinkedIn. Continue reading “Best Practices for Business Building on LinkedIn”

Don’t Slack With Your Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing should be a key component of the marketing mix for virtually any company. Not only is social media marketing relatively inexpensive, it also provides a greater level of engagement than mass marketing efforts because it’s targeted at those who have some connection with your brand—shared interests, common connections, etc. At the same time, many companies pay lip service to social media marketing. They are technically doing it, but they aren’t putting in as much effort as they could, or should. Continue reading “Don’t Slack With Your Social Media Marketing”

How to Reach Out to Potential LinkedIn Connections

Having the right connections—whether investors, customers, partners, suppliers or employees, etc.—can make a huge difference in company success. LinkedIn, the Facebook of professional networking, was purposely built and marketed as a great way to develop and maintain these connections. And it works if used effectively. Continue reading “How to Reach Out to Potential LinkedIn Connections”

Social Media Shifts Hold Both Challenges and Opportunities for Marketers

Not so long ago, social media was the wave of the future in online activity. Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn revolutionized how we connect with one another; and apps like Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat altered how an entire generation communicates online. These applications aren’t likely to go anywhere soon, but the landscape has changed drastically in recent years, and social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have been slammed over concerns of privacy, data sharing and online trolling.

Let’s take a look at some of the recent developments and the potential for user impact—whether for personal or professional purposes. Continue reading “Social Media Shifts Hold Both Challenges and Opportunities for Marketers”