Why should tech companies incorporate social media into their marketing communications strategy? Simply put, it’s an organic way to reach your customers, drive traffic to your website, and ultimately generate leads. After all, social media is the #1 content marketing tactic used by B2B brands.
So, if you’re ready to integrate social media into your inbound marketing plan -— or want to make sure your existing social channels are performing as well as possible — there are a few things to consider. Take a look at our 10-step social media checklist to make sure social media is supporting your holistic inbound strategy:
1. Pick Optimal Social Channels for Visibility
Considered the “professional” social platform, LinkedIn offers a productive space for thought leadership and company news. Facebook may have the most users, but Twitter is a place for targeted engagement. With that said, choose social channels that your customers interact with often to connect with your audience and build brand authority - and don’t worry about the rest.
2. Keep Your Username Simple
A social media username or handle should capture your brand’s most identifiable name. Make sure your profile uses a clean version of your company name to allow customers, prospects, and partners to easily find your channel.
3. Write a Compelling Description
Think of your social media profile as an extension of your website and your social media description as your “About” page. This description should briefly explain what your tech company does, who you serve, and your value proposition in 100 words or less. Bonus points if it also includes one or two of your priority keywords.
4. Select a Familiar Profile Image
For businesses, your social icons and cover photos are a visual representation of your brand, so choose your logo or another recognizable trademark to ensure consistency. Once you select your images, confirm that they are crisp and fit to size for each platform.
5. Set Goals
Strong engagement? Website referrals? These are effective social media metrics that should be set and measured once your channels have time to develop. Keep in mind that social platforms can also be used to drive other business objectives like lead generation, so make sure to align social media goals with your overall marketing objectives.
6. Choose an Effective CTA
Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn allow business accounts to have a custom button on their page. Once your marketing team sets social media goals, select a call-to-action that best represents this objective (i.e., if your goal is to drive website traffic, try “Visit Website”), and measure the performance.
7. Define a Post Cadence
A post cadence is exactly how often your channels post content. Social profiles with an active social presence and consistent posts help build trust with your customers. Whether that is three times per week or once every two weeks, have your marketing team stick with a pace that they can steadily keep up with to stay active.
8. Use Targeted Hashtags
Hashtags are a gateway to reaching targeted users tuned in to your industry and solutions. This is an opportunity to join in on conversations about your specific services like #healthcarecybersecurity or #digitalcurrency. Posting and engaging with the right hashtags will help foster engagement, mentions, and follows for your tech brand. Tip: 2-3 hashtags are considered optimal on Twitter, and up to 5 hashtags on LinkedIn are preferred.
9. Identify Your Content Mix
Establishing your “content mix” should be a key part of B2B social media strategy. Decide how much of your content should be promotional, industry news, recruitment-centric, and just-for-fun.
10. Support Engagement
Did you know that social platforms reward you with better post-placement and reach for interacting with your own posts as well as others? Liking, commenting, and sharing posts help drive more mentions and followers and result in better visibility for your content. Tip: Encourage social engagement from your employees to help authentically promote your brand to their audiences while supporting your engagement rates.
How many of these best practices are your B2B brand following? Not sure? Get started with a social media training to learn more tips and how to implement these optimizations for your brand.