Case Study: Buckeye Corrugated Inc. (BCI)
Case Study: OAK Interactive Boosts Buckeye Corrugated Inc.’s Digital Presence, Driving 15% Year-Over-Year Growth Overview Since..
Many organizations hope to have a social media presence like some famous YouTubers do. But few come close to that dream.
Building a following means creating content. Creating a blog (written) or vlog (video) are just a few ways you can build your social media following. You’ll also need a little technology (computer and video equipment) and some business acumen because once you’ve got your audience’s attention with your content, you’ve got to know how to capitalize on it. Some marketing executives choose to sell their products with fancy advertisements allowing their organization’s social media presence to disappear into oblivion. Big mistake.
Old school marketers still think that marketing is the brand selling one-way to consumers. But, today, it’s more of a conversation with your consumers. And it has to be INTERESTING. Just merely selling your products and services on Instagram or Facebook will become boorish for your viewers. It’s like you’re a cocktail party and you walk up to a group of people and just start selling your shit without building some kind of relationship with the group. Chances are, they’ll walk away or, in the case of social media, just stop “liking” or following you.
So here are 4 tips on how to build your social media presence by thinking more strategically:
1. Define your niche
Whenever you write about something or make a post on your social media, remember that it all must link down to a common theme. This will be your niche. Define your tone, the type of content you post, how you interact with your followers, even the fonts that you use online. If you have a brand strategy, this will outline what your brand voice is and how you converse with your audience. Keep in mind that you don’t need big numbers to be successful. You just need to reach the right people who need what you do or sell.
2. Develop a strong brand
We know it’s easier said than done. That’s because building a strong brand takes more than just being popular on social media. To truly be effective in communicating your message, make sure you add a personal touch to everything you do.
That means, communicate with people, not entities. This is a huge oversight in business-to-business marketing. Brands seem to think that just listing bullet points is enough, but people make 90% of their decisions based upon emotional reasons. Don’t take that out of the equation with half-hearted posts. Give your audience a glimpse into why you do what you do. What is your higher calling that roots back to your mission, vision, and values as a company? Yes, all businesses need to make money, but the ones that define the emotional gap it fills with its product or service are the ones that create true value.
3. Be friendly
Your brand can grow bigger if you’ve got lots of friends and connections in the industry. Instead of trying to compete with your rivals, try taking a “rising tile raises all boats” approach and grow your industry–not just your company. Be an ambassador for your industry by mentioning your competitors’ work into your content. We’re not saying every piece of content should include a competitor, but, if they do something that moves your industry forward, acknowledge it. You could even collaborate with them through industry associations to educate your audience on the good that your industry does for the world or the community.
4. Close the deal
Your social media presence will die out if you’re not capitalizing on it. It has to produce solid business results. You’re producing a ton of content to engage and inform, but you also have to ask for the sale. That means a strong call to action. In most business-to-consumer scenarios, you want them to “like” you on Facebook, fill out a form or call a phone number. For business-to-business, you may have a multi-year closing cycle where the prospect needs to go through stages. Maybe they download a whitepaper, subscribe to your newsletter or download a market study that your team has created.
A full service marketing firm like OAK Interactive can help you find out how your social media presence maps within your customer journey.
Get in touch with Houston’s leading digital marketing ad agency . At OAK Interactive, we can set you up with the right people to help you build your social media presence as part of an overall marketing strategy.
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