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7 Tips to Grow Your Business Using Social Media

November 9, 2016 No Comments

Featured article by Dan McCarthy, Event Manager at Ultimate Experience

Is your business growing, or has it reached a stalemate? If the latter, then the marketing aspect is likely falling short. First of all, you should be using social media. By using it, this doesn’t mean just sending out a few posts here and there.

This means really using it by taking advantage of all the different features available. The bottom line is that you have to harness the power of social media for increased business output; there is no way around it.

1. The Hashtag

Always look for a reason to create your own hashtag. Think of events, product releases, discount sales, and any other type of noteworthy event that can be promoted on social media. These all warrant the use of a hashtag that can be used for all posts related to a particular activity.

Not every hashtag will go viral, but consistently having new ones for each event or activity will help get people talking about it and spreading the word. Hashtags should be included on all relevant tweets, Instagram, and Facebook posts, while encouraging followers to do the same.

Use a tool like Key Hole to track hashtags and gauge how will they compare to competitors and even some of your other ones.

2. Post About Your Events

If you regularly hold events, then share the news with your social media followers. It doesn’t matter if this is a live event or a remote conference. If the public is invited, then use social media to heavily market it.

Event social media marketing is all about building hype and getting people excited. Use your networks to link to event-related content, such as all blog and vlog posts. Also, use social media for the latest announcements and updates.

Finally, consider hosting some type of contest or sweepstake. This is always effective because it creates direct engagement from your followers. Keep the contest simple; an Instagram contest where participants edit a selfie or add a funny caption will suffice. This should include a prize for the winner, such as an event ticket.

3. Follow Key Influencers

Identify key influencers on Twitter. These are people in your own industry who already have their own legion of followers ranging in the thousands; follow these people. Also, be sure to check out their other profiles, such as their websites or YouTube channel if they have one. Once you begin following, engage with their followers in the comments section or through forum discussions.

After several months, when you become a familiar member among the key influencer’s circle of followers, go ahead and recommend members to check out your own website, product, or event. Just remember that the key is to get yourself established first. Don’t follow key influencers and immediately begin promoting your brand.

4. Add Links to Your Email Signatures

Do you send out email newsletters? Every newsletter, regardless of the content, should conclude with a signature. Usually, this includes your name, your company, a contact number, and your role within the company. You can add to that by including a link to your official social media channel.

The same goes for forum sites. If you regularly contribute to discussions or start your own thread, then also end each response with a signature, again with a link to your social media channel. Finally, don’t forget article directories. Contrary to popular opinion, article directories are not dead. Most allow authors to contain a link in a bio box. Use it to include your links.

5. Cross Promote on Social Media

Ideally, you should have a business channel on more than just one social network. You should also be giving equal attention to each account. It’s not unusual for one or two of your social networks to have a disproportionate number of followers compared to the others. To even it out, cross promote your material.

Cross promoting is simple: just ask your Twitter followers to follow you on Pinterest. Ask your Pinterest fellows to follow you on Tumblr, and your Tumblr friends to join you on Twitter. Each social account can also include a link back to your official website.

This way of interlinking ensures no social account is left out while delivering additional traffic to your main website.

6. Share Quality Content

Some social networks allow you to submit full length posts. Most also allow for images, GIFs, and short videos. Use your social networks to share high-quality content, or link to high-quality content. By high quality, this basically means anything of a non-promotional nature.

This can entail many types of content, such as those that are:

– Informative (ex: infographic, how-to)

– Food-for-thought (ex: fun facts)

– Entertaining (ex: a funny behind-the-scenes video)

– Inspirational (ex: a niche-related underdog story)

– Industry-related news (ex: current events)

High-quality content should make up the bulk of your postings, with promotional and marketing content being the exception. By emphasizing heavily on non-promotional content, you will establish yourself as an authority figure in your niche.

7. Use Social Media DURING the Event

Social media for event marketing was discussed earlier as a pre-event strategy. However, social media during an event is another method for promoting your brand. Incorporate a social media wall with tweets from attendees appearing in real time. People will be more inclined to tweet when they see their peers doing so.

Be sure to remind everyone to use the event hashtag with each tweet. Keep in mind that social media walls also include Instagram posts. Encourage guests to take selfies and upload them on the spot to show their friends what a great time they’re having. Again, remind them to use the event hashtag.

This is the information age, and social media plays a pivotal role in that. Use social networks to their full advantage to bring attention to your company brand. If you’re consistent, people will gradually begin to take notice.

Dan McCarthy is an Event Manager at Ultimate Experience, an event management company based in the UK. Dan has five years of event project management under his belt. He has worked on many successful events, and currently, he shares his knowledge by writing on the company blog. Follow him on Twitter @DanCarthy2.

 

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