social media

Managing Social Media — Why Can’t It Be A Little.. Easier?

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Many businesses see social media as a “necessary evil” — Something you have to do because everyone else is doing it. After all, if you’re not using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc., you’re missing out. While that’s true, it gives us a sad face every time we think about businesses seeing social media as a chore, because, done right, it can be easy, and powerful.

It’s all about having a plan — Now, before you click away in disgust at having to plan something else, it’s not a big plan. We’re not talking a high-fallutin’ plan for a Rube Goldberg-esque style machine, just a simple, common sense approach to make things easy, and, perhaps, a little more joyful.

Don’t believe us? Read on…

Who’s going to have the responsibility for social media? First things first, who do you want to handle your social media accounts? Now, that could be one of your people who have a great understanding of the right approach, tools, and techniques to use — Or, you could outsource it to a creative marketing agency who has your brand\’s best interests at heart. Like… Us, for example? (we aren’t always subtle)

Anyway, you need to have someone who is going to have responsibility for your social media, who can review and post everything you need, and who can speak with your company’s voice. They need to understand and love your customers.

Where do you post? Different types of business will get the most advantage from different social platforms. You probably won’t find much of an audience for your recipes on LinkedIn, and folks on Pinterest probably aren’t going to be thrilled by your course on chartered accountancy. But, once you can match your message to your social media, that’s when things get real interesting.

  • Facebook — Pretty much everyone uses Facebook — Over 20% of all pages seen on the web are on Facebook. You need to be there, simple as that.
  • Twitter — With millions of people using Twitter, and the opportunity to easily go viral with the right message, Twitter is also pretty much essential.
  • Pinterest — Do you have a visually appealing product, service, or brand? If so, Pinterest is a great place to get traction.
    Instagram — Like Pinterest, Instagram is perfect for pretty products.
  • LinkedIn — Marketing more to professionals and business people? This is your natural choice.
  • YouTube — Although not seen as a “traditional” social network, YouTube gets billions of hits every month. Make an amazing video and watch your views skyrocket.
  • Google Plus — Yes, there are still people and businesses using Google Plus, don’t disregard it and ps. it could help with your Google ranking.

When should you post? You know where to post, but do you know when to post? Once you understand when your customers are likely to be using social media, you can take advantage of that, and share delicious bits of information, just when they need it. They’ll be wowed by your ideas, share them on themselves, and suddenly you’ve got a viral social media presence. Nice!

Get to scheduling. One of the main pains businesses have with social media is having to send out all their posts manually, to all the different platforms. Well, good news, friends. There are some great scheduling tools out there to make posting and sharing a breeze. Two that we love are Hootsuite and Buffer. Both are awesome at letting you queue up posts, then setting things off and letting them post on your behalf.

Be careful though, lots of social media is about reacting, responding, and posting in real time — That’s what gets you engagement. So, don’t just rely on scheduling tools, build them into your overall social media approach.

And there you have it, the basics you need to get in place for easier social media success — That wasn’t so bad now, was it?

Managing Social Media — Why Can’t It Be A Little.. Easier? Read More »

Do B2B Companies Need Social Media?

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Everyone is using social media these days. In fact, so many people are using it that businesses have dived into the fray. You can connect and interact with some of your favorite brands – even the biggest companies in the world. Social media is so prevalent, in fact, that it’s changing the way big and small businesses think of marketing. But what if you work in a business-to-business (B2B) environment? You don’t sell consumer commodities or anything suitable for mass-market consumption. Your target is actually quite specific. Your product is definitely not sexy.

You may think social media isn’t suitable for your B2B company, but you would be wrong. B2B companies are run by people. And those people are using social media like everyone else. They are looking for new ideas, solutions to their problems, and content that inspires and entertains them.

Build trust with a strong B2B presence. If you were cold emailed by another company, you would probably look them up before committing to their offer, wouldn’t you? You would Google their name, check out their website, and exam their social profiles if they have any.

Undoubtedly, you would be reassured if that company had a robust online presence. If they are investing in content publication, community engagement, and customer support through social media, you could assume they aren’t a fly-by-night operation looking to grab your cash. You would even use that online presence to learn more about the company before you responded to their pitch.

By making yourself present on the Internet, you build trust and authority that supports everything else you do.

Move short term sales to long term value. Keeping your brand in front of the customer is an important part of securing future sales. If the customer forgets you exist after the sale, they’ll seek a similar solution when the problem arises again, instead of returning straight to you.

Many salespeople make the mistake of only approaching a customer when they want a sale. That creates an antagonist relationship, where the salesperson is always looking to take and the customer is always trying to avoid giving.

Instead of ignoring the customer until it’s time to buy again, social media can be used to delight the customer over and over. Solve their problems, offer resources and education, and make yourself available for their questions – even if it doesn’t entirely relate to your specialty.

This keeps your brand in their face between sales. When it’s time to buy anew, the customer knows right where to go.

LinkedIn is your Holy Grail. LinkedIn was designed for professionals. It’s a natural place to begin your B2B marketing because it’s tremendously effective for collecting leads. Companies regularly use LinkedIn to make connections, hire new talent, arrange deals, and even convert big sales.

Create a profile for yourself as well as a business page. Publish content related to your business for other users to find. If you’re looking to create a business opportunity, use the advanced searching feature to find other professionals who meet your specific needs. You can drill down by location, industry, title, etc.

Other social media networks are valuable too. It all depends on your industry. Check where your competitors are spending their resources.

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Expand your reach. The Internet has made the world a lot smaller. Suddenly people and businesses on the other side of the globe are just as accessible as the company next door. You just have make yourself present in the digital world and give your brand a voice – even B2Bs.

Don\’t forget to share your most engaging posts with us. We love getting feedback on what types of posts work best for different industries.

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Insurance Providers + LinkedIn = New Customers

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It’s time to learn to love LinkedIn (again). We know it might have been a while — You signed up once because you thought it’d be a good idea. Occasionally you get an email people are looking at your profile. Perhaps you’re subscribed to a few groups. You get notified about new insurance jobs or industry people who want to connect with you.

But you never sign back in — Who has the time? You need to service the insurance customers you\’ve got now, right? Well, yes. But that doesn’t mean you should dismiss LinkedIn out of hand. Here’s the thing — Used well, it’s an incredible way to get new customers, grow your insurance business, and get noticed. And who doesn’t want that? Certainly not you, and certainly not us.

So, deep breath, head over to LinkedIn, and learn how it can help your business thrive.

Connecting with potential customers on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the largest network of professionals and business people in the world. And you know what all professionals and business people need? Yep. Insurance. Whether it’s business and professional liability, property, product, or personal coverage, they are your marketplace. You can use this to your advantage. It’s really not that hard – Trust us – Here’s how it works:

  • Update your LinkedIn profile — The five-year-old picture of you with the cheesy grin probably isn’t going to cut it. Go professional, and create a compelling profile to match. Tell your story, don’t just list your resume highlights. Why should someone buy their insurance from you? What’s your Secret Sauce?
  • Look at your Prospect List — Are you connected with any of them? Probably not, and that’s ok – We will get there! Now, see if any of your connections are connected with any of your prospects. Ask for introductions.
  • Make new connections within your tribe — Connect with other insurance professionals, people you used to work with, and other LinkedIn members. Stay on top of industry news and see what other folks are doing.
  • Join relevant groups — Where are your prospects hanging out?
  • Once you’re connected, develop relationships — Don’t try to push the sale – Build relationships, offer advice, have conversations. Wait for opportunistic moments to talk about your expertise
  • Move towards a sale — When the time is right, offer your guidance and ask prospects to view their insurance portfolio. The sale will happen if you’ve built up some trust.

Becoming an expert in your field. Something else LinkedIn allows you to do? Demonstrate your expertise. No, we’re not thinking about your talent at creating origami swans, or that time you replaced a carburetor without a manual, we’re talking about your insurance business acumen. There are several ways to share your expertise and build authority.

Writing on LinkedIn Pulse. LinkedIn Pulse is LinkedIn’s blog platform. Think of it as a place to create and write insightful, interesting articles and publish them to a wide audience. There are dozens of questions people have about insurance, but don’t know who to ask. You can create posts about those subjects, answer questions, and provide awesome advice.

If these posts do well, they’ll show up in other people’s LinkedIn feeds, LinkedIn search, and maybe even on Google. As the author of these pearls of wisdom, people will look at your profile, see where you work and… Well, you fill in the rest.

Participating in LinkedIn groups. While it’s true that many LinkedIn groups are nothing more than awful, awful spam factories, there are still some good ones out there. Once you’ve found a good group you can respond to questions about insurance and help people out with their insurance issues. Again, this builds your authority as an expert. The next time those people are looking to renew their policy, guess where they’ll turn? Right.

So, you can see, LinkedIn can be a great way to expand your reach and find new customers. Don’t consign LinkedIn to be somewhere you’ll visit “when you have the time.” Rekindle your LinkedIn relationship today, and turn it into a beautiful friendship.

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4 Ways to Use Social Media to Build Brand Awareness

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You’ve heard that social media is a powerful tool for your brand. You’re ready to make content people love to share, but without those first fans, how do spread your message?

Choose the right social media networks

There are hundreds of social networks, but they aren’t all useful to you. Don’t spend your time putting yourself out there on a dozen networks. Find the ones that provide the best results and focus.

Facebook is the most common, but some brands fine it hard to get their content in front of fans if it’s not “sexy.” Instagram is designed for striking visual content and interaction, but there’s no real way to send traffic to another website. LinkedIn is designed for professionals who want to further their careers or find a job. Pinterest is best for visually pleasing subjects that need to be linked elsewhere, like crafts, recipes, and tutorials. Tumblr is for… Well, Tumblr is Tumblr.

Find influencers and exploit their fan base

When you don’t have much of a brand, you need to get your content front of eyeballs. The best way to do that is to leverage the fan base of someone who has already done the hard work.

First, find popular accounts with similar fan bases. Then, collaborate with those accounts so they share your content. You won’t have much to offer in return, so your content has to be stellar (something their fans would love to see) or pay for the privilege.

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Don’t sell too hard

People aren’t using social media to buy products. As much as the social networks would like that to be an avenue for sales, they just aren’t effective. If you’re looking for a clear ROI from your social media marketing efforts, you’re gonna have a bad time.

Social media is about putting yourself in front of your fans with value. At least 80% of your content should be about the customer, not about you. What are their problems? How can you offer information, links, or images that solve those problems? You don’t have to get fancy here. Sometimes the user just wants to be entertained.

Use paid campaigns

Technically, you can build an audience on any social network without investing anything other than time. But who has time? Each social network has their own ad platform. You’ll have to decide which is right for you. In the case of Facebook, for instance, you can pay to have Facebook push your page on other people. On Twitter, you can buy a promoted tweet that forces your content into people’s feeds.

No matter which platform you use, always use their targeting options. Drill down as deep as you can to stretch your money as far as possible. You only want to show your content to people who care.

Post often

At first, it may seem like you’re publishing for no one. Once a few start trickling in, maintain a consistent publishing schedule. Many would-be fans check out your content before committing to make sure you’re worth their interest. If they see you post infrequently or irregularly, they won’t both.

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Be engaging and responsive

Social networks are just that: social. People expect to talk to brands. They want to interact with you because they love your content or product. If you don’t respond, they’ll stop engaging or unfollow from your page/account.

However, if you delight your fans by replying to their comments, liking their content, and making yourself a part of their lives, they’ll reward you by spreading your message to their fans.

Always remember: social media is a tool. And like all tools, it’s only as effective if you use it. Don’t sit around and wait for results. Be active. Be social.

Need some additional guidelines and tips – give us a call!

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Banks and the social media compliance debate

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We work with several financial institutions, and we know that one of their main concerns is compliance – How do you make sure that what you’re saying in your Facebook or Twitter feeds meets all of the rules, regulations, and guidelines of the financial industry? Compliance can be a headache, but that shouldn’t stop you having a good social media presence.

We’ve got a solution we think you’ll love. Here’s why you should consider adding social media and social selling to your marketing.

The way to make sure your posts are compliant is to be proactive – You need to create and manage a proper editorial calendar and have a solid review process for your content. Run your content calendar, posts, blogs, and social media strategy by your compliance department.

They’ll likely provide some advice on how to phrase your posts, what to add, and what to remove. Make sure the person responsible for your social media profiles has regular conversations and check-ins with your compliance team. That way you can ensure everything your publishing has a seal of approval.

As a local bank or credit union, you’ve built up a great reputation in your area. Targeted marketing is a good way to get noticed and to encourage personal and business customers to come to you, but that’s only half the story. If you want more chances to sell your financial products and services, you need to seek out and act on opportunities — We’ll explore exactly how you can do that.

If you’re a commercial lender, your main purpose is lending money to expanding businesses. In addition to income from loans, you can upsell other products like financial protection, insurance, retirement planning, and more. The question is, how do you find those expanding businesses in the first place?

Fortunately, there’s some good technology, which, combined with some tips and tricks, can help you create some powerful leads for your banking services. In this article we’ll cover three main areas – LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Twitter, and other social media.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

As the largest social network for professionals, LinkedIn is already a strong resource for businesses. Hopefully you’re already making the most of your bank’s LinkedIn presence, but today we’re going to focus on one specific part of the platform, LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator lets you collect together prospects from across all of LinkedIn, whether you’re connected to them yet or not. It has built in algorithms to help you identify potential clients and businesses who might be in need of your bank’s financial products. It helps you understand where people are changing roles, when organizations are launching new initiatives, and how a business posts about any changes.

You can bring all of this information together in one place so you can start having informed, relevant conversations with the people that matter — The decision makers in your target businesses. It helps you put context around these conversations too, building trust with your potential clients. Combine this with insights into your professional network, other’s profiles, and lead recommendations, and it becomes a very powerful tool for finding commercial banking prospects.

Twitter

You might not think of Twitter as a way to find business banking opportunities, but used correctly it can be a great way to connect with potential customers. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide:

  1. Follow the Twitter profiles of any businesses and professionals in your target geographical area.
  2. Review your Twitter feed to see what people are sharing — Are they discussing new opportunities, products, services or research?
  3. If they are, engage with them — But here’s the trick — Don’t try to sell them anything. Provide useful financial advice, professional banking support, and insight. The idea is to build up trust.
  4. Once you’ve built up that trust, you can suggest products and services to help them achieve their business goals.

It’s vital that you don’t just promote your banking products and services — That can turn people off very quickly. Instead, you want to spend time building up a good reputation and strengthening your expertise and authority.

Other social media

Finding leads isn’t just limited to Twitter either. Facebook, Instagram, even Pinterest can be good places to find new banking customers, if you know how to look. As with Twitter, start by identifying the people and businesses in your local area and connect with them.

Then, spend some time cultivating relationships — Share genuinely useful financial information and links to your Facebook page or Pinterest board. You’re looking to build a brand focused on financial trust. As you add to that content, you’ll get more visibility and potential customers will start to see you as the “go to people” for advice on their money.

As you can see, these tools can help you rapidly expand your banking market. When you start out actively seeking leads, and engaging with them in the right way, you’ll be able to build trust which will lead to more sales of your financial products and services.

Still feeling a little hesitant on tackling social media? Give us a call – we can set up a training session with you and your banking team.

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