Mediaboss Marketing

Business-to-business (B2B) companies need to research and understand buyer behavior on social media before executing a social content marketing plan, which can be done through social insights.

Knowing that buyers are using social networks is only the beginning, said Jillian Ryan, an analyst at eMarketer and author of the latest report, B2B Social Media 2017: Tying Efforts Back to Larger Business Goals. (The full report is available only to eMarketer PRO subscribers).

B2Bs still need to do research to understand audience behaviors on social platforms to deliver targeted content to the right person, on the right network, at the right time in the buyer journey, she added. These sort of audience insights can be extracted through social data mining and listening.

Companies that skip this step tend to be unsuccessful in their social marketing.

Chief evangelist and startup advisor Jill Rowley explained that mining social networks for signals is the backbone of understanding buyers. Do the research to be relevant to your buyer and the entire buying committee. B2Bs should use social networks to find buyers, she said. Insights allow you to listen to your buyers so you can relate, connect and engage them.

For marketers, this is a big shift in behavior, since social media is often thought of as a downstream method to share content with customers. However, using it with an upstream approach for persona analysis is valuable, explained Tim Barker, CEO at DataSift, a tech company that recently announced that it would be partnering with LinkedIn to bring engagement and audience insights to LinkedIns advertisers. If marketers have a pulse on their audience, they are better informed before they start to spend their effort building communities and sharing content, he said.

This means understanding buyer usage habits, channel preferences and content consumption patterns, according to Amber Long, vice president of engagement, PR, content and social media at B2B agency gyro. When a B2B maps out its whole social ecosystem and framework according to the needs, desires and preferences of their buyers, it means the strategy is all aligned to the buyer journey, she said. This is the epitome of audience-centric.

However, Long also noted that many B2B brands that she works with are still a little skeptical about leveraging social insights and intel. An August 2016 survey of US B2B marketers by Demand Metric and Socedo showed that the majority of respondents arent taking advantage of social media monitoring tools: only 39% used them.

Business-to-government defense technology contractor Raytheon, however, is sold on the power of social intelligence. We set up dashboards so that we can understand where the target audience is and listen to what theyre saying or what theyre talking about within these channels, said Pam Wickham, Raytheons vice president of corporate affairs and communications.

eMarketer analyst Jillian Ryan discusses B2Bs use (and misuse) of social in the latest episode of Behind the Numbers, eMarketers podcast.

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eMarketer Releases New Report on B2B Use of Social Platforms - eMarketer

Last year, my partner and I raised $3 million to scaleJumpCrew, our social marketing and sales outsourcing business. Our first task: sharingour ideal hiring profile with the new recruitment team.

Related:Why, and How, to Hire for Potential Over Experience

JumpCrew wasn't our first venture. Over the past seven years, we have hired hundreds of salespeople for JumpCrew, LocalVox and other clients. And during this period, the composition of our teams and our ideal profile of a top performer have bothmaterially changed.

What started as a surprising observation about top performers turned into a fascinating discovery, one which performance data ultimately supported and one whichre-shaped our hiring strategy.Last October, that discovery helped us set our 12-month hiring goals and defineour ideal team and individual profiles.

Subsequently, the majority of our first 100 hires had . . . little or no experience in either marketing or sales. --How's that, again?

Like most companies, we had started with the assumption that our top performers would be experienced salespeople who transitioned to digital marketing with sales savvy. Butwe were wrong.

In our fast-growth SaaS environment, we learned that recent grads often outperformed sales pros with 10 to 15 years experience.In hindsight, we were experiencing a transformative moment in the SaaS economys influence on productivity. The impact of new sales and marketing technologies had fundamentally altered what creates "success."

In fact, time and again, our top performers were:

In short, we found that more experienced employees brought more biasregarding how they thought they could be most effective. Less experienced employees, in contrast,brought less bias and enrolled in our processes more fully.Above all, our most successful salespeople were those who were team players and collaborated effectively.

We were also able to identify, as our outperformers, reps who took the Challenger approach. The Challenger approach describes employees with the insight and confidence to challenge assumptions they know are not true. This seems obvious, but in reality a lot of salespeople don't work that way.

The correlation between those taking the Challenger approach and those who are outperformers was not surprising.A 2007 Harvard Business Review studyshowed that fully 54 percentof the top performers looked at werechallengers (as opposed to "relationship builders," "hard workers," "lone wolves" and "reactive problem-solvers.")

The surprise for us was that even among those we considered challengers, the majority of top-tier performers had little or no experience.Instead, they shared these traits:

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Building to Scale, 'No Experience Required' - Entrepreneur

Above the Law

Four Ideas to Implement Today on Social Media Inside Higher Ed (blog) ... adapt it to your school, for your purposes. Social media can be strategic, fast, and effective on the fly. Paul Redfern leads the communications and marketing team at Gettysburg College and is a frequent presenter on marketing and brand topics at ... 50 Amazing Social Media Marketing Ideas, Strategies & TipsBusiness 2 Community Social Media Strategy: How Much to Spend and WhereHospitality Net Why Social Media is Critical to Ongoing Professional SuccessAbove the Law Forbes -MarketingProfs.com (subscription) -Real Business all 58 news articles »

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Four Ideas to Implement Today on Social Media - Inside Higher Ed (blog)

According to Snaplytics' survey of 500 brands with 217,000 Snaps across 24,180 Snapchat Stories, brands are becoming more efficient at using the platform to reach target audiences "at eye level". Almost half (48.8%) of brands use Snapchat, and that figure is expected to rise to over 70% by the end of the 2017.

Videos are becoming an increasingly popular Snapchat format for brands. Just over six in 10 (61%) of brand content on Snapchat is video, up 5% from Q1 2016. Furthermore, brands are being more consistent with content posting. On average, brands post twice a week and completion rates in Q4 2016 (the number of people who view an entire Snapchat Story) rose to 88% from 84% the previous quarter.

According to Snaplytics, more than half (55%) of users are between the ages of 18 and 29, and 80% of all users live outside the U.S. The platform has more female (31%) than male (21%) users and more urban (32%) than suburban (28%) users.

Of interest to marketers is that 50% of Snapchat users follow at least one business on the platform.

"Snapchat is unique because it allows businesses to connect with people in the moment and offer a different brand experience," said Thomas Cilius, founder and CEO, Snaplytics. "It's the only social network where marketers aren't seeing a decline in reach. With 161 million daily active users on Snapchat, brands are quickly learning this is the go-to outlet because it allows them to engage their brand ambassadors and deliver content that really resonates with people, in real-time."

Tags: brand engagement, engagement marketing, social marketing, video

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61% of brand content on Snapchat is video - BizReport

Is social media part of your marketing strategy?

If it is, you know how hard it can be to keep up with all of the latest news from the different social platforms. Things changing constantly can make it difficult to craft a cohesive social media marketing strategy for your business.

Have no fear Ive put together 50 amazing social media marketing ideas, strategies & tips to help you put together a successful social media marketing plan. Ill cover 10 takeaways each for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.

Lets get started!

1. Run Facebook Ads to content

Running Facebook Ads is commonplace for social media marketing now. Oftentimes, however, running these ads straight to products can make them stick out like a sore thumb on a Facebook users News Feed. Running ads to content can make them feel more native to the Facebook platform. If all goes well, people wont even notice theyre ads, and before you know it, theyve visited your website and subscribed to your email list.

2. Run a Photo contest

Use an app like Wishpond to run a contest in a tab on your Facebook page, and prompt your fans to submit photos related to your brand and product. Running a contest is one of the best ways to increase engagement and spread awareness of your Facebook page, all while generating leads for sales and collecting user-generated content that you can use in future marketing campaigns.

3. Run a sweepstakes

Just like running a photo contest, running a sweepstakes is a great way to quickly grow your following and spread brand awareness. Because sweepstakes are so easy to enter, its simple to get people interested in your products. Make sure your prize is a product related to your brand, so you can connect with non-winners in the future with the purpose of turning them into sales. Add a Like this page popup box to your contest as well, to ensure contest entrants become connected with your brand.

4. Run a Facebook Live campaign

Interacting with your fans in real-time adds a layer of honesty and realness to your social media marketing. Running, for example, a live interview to answer fan questions or to preview your newest line of products adds to the fan experience by creating a channel where you can engage your audiences right away, driving interest in your brand.

5. Use videos and photos to preview content

Content marketing is a big marketing strategy for brands everywhere and social media is a great outlet to share your content. Though you could just link straight to your content, previewing some of the content youre sharing in a short video or picture (like an infographic) can help to pull viewers in and drive traffic from social channels (like Facebook) to your blog.

6. Post relatable tag a friend content

If youve been on Facebook recently, chances are memes have been taking your News Feed by storm. Youll also notice that most of the comments are people tagging friends they think would like the post kind of the modern-day equivalent to forwarding a chain email to friends. Post a funny, relatable picture thats relevant to your product or brand and encourage fans to tag their friends this helps to spread brand awareness without feeling overly promotional.

7. Post coupons on Facebook

Providing value in the form of discounts or coupons on your page keeps current fans interested, and can convince others to interact with and Like your page. Though your regular content can be exciting, remember that your end goal is likely to drive sales introducing Facebook-only coupons can help to increase social engagement and turn passive Facebook fans into customers. Theres also the added possibility that fans may share the discount with their friends, spreading awareness and raising sales even further.

8. Respond to customers concerns

As marketers, we know by now that social media isnt just a platform we can use as a content megaphone. Were responsible for using it to create and maintain connections with your customers to strengthen our brand and keep fans around. Its also happens to be a popular place for customers with complaints to vent their frustrations. Respond to your customers complaints and concerns on Facebook. Avoid being defensive use it to listen to and solve their problems, and youll see you can turn a bad situation into a brand-building opportunity.

9. Run reaction campaigns

Something Facebook subtly introduced this year was an added array of reactions that people could use in place of the standard Like, including love, haha, angry, sad, and wow. Get users engaged by posting an image asking fans to vote for an option using the reaction buttons. For example, a protein bar company might ask fans what their favorite flavor is by saying press Like for peanut butter or Love for chocolate. This not only increases engagement, but also helps you gain insight into the minds of your consumers.

10. Post infographics

Though Facebook isnt usually the best place to post dense or numbers-heavy content, you can circumvent this by creating and posting visually-appealing infographics. Take interesting statistics and turn them into easily-digestible and shareable visual content. This is a great way to inform customers about your product and industry in a way thats not overbearing. Use this tactic sparingly, for information you know your customers will be surprised by or particularly interested in.

11. Schedule your posts with a tool like Buffer

Tweeting constantly is the best way to ensure you remain relevant by increasing the likelihood that youll show up on your followers Twitter feeds. It also shows people that youre active on the platform, and allows you to space out your content easily without running into periods of content overload (or drought). Using a tool like Buffer also allows you to track metrics for your links, so you can see which of your Tweets are receiving the most engagement.

12. Use BuzzSumo to curate content relevant to your account

If you like to share content from other places, use a service like BuzzSumo to find content with proven engagement. Use keywords relevant to your brand or product to look for content your followers will enjoy, and share the top posts. Because BuzzSumo has metrics on the most engaging posts for each keyword, it gives you a foolproof way to share content thats interesting to readers.

13. Reach out to other accounts to share your content

Tools like BuzzSumo (or other analytics platforms) also allow you to identify influencers people with large followings. If you have a high-value piece of content you want to share with the world, its a good practice to reach out to influencers who follow you (or share content like yours) and ask them to give yours a share. More often than not, theyll be willing to do it, helping to disseminate your content in different social media circles.

14. Host a Twitter round table

Twitter can be a great medium to hold discussions with your social media circles. If it fits your brand, hosting a live chat or round table is an awesome way to learn more about your consumers. Companies like Buffer host weekly chats, with different questions and discussion topics for each chat. These chats are all linked by a hashtag, making it easy for participants to follow along.

15. Create Moments

Twitter recently made their Moments feature available to all users, meaning its easy to compile a selection of Tweets, photos and videos to create a seamless experience for viewers. If theres a specific campaign youre running, take Tweets from your various accounts (and followers if they send you content) to create a Moment that summaries the campaign. Share this Moment with your followers to easily share the entire experience with them.

16. Run a poll

Webcast, February 21st: Supercharge Your 2017 Recurring Revenue with Channel Partners

One of Twitters less-used features is Twitter Polls. Theyre engaging and easy for followers to interact with, meaning running a poll is a good way to drive engagement and start a discussion with your customers. Though the options are endless, some creative uses include letting followers make decisions for you or vote on an item to go on sale. Play around with Polls and see if they have a positive effect on your engagement.

17. Leverage other media when interacting with customers

One of the most common things I see from brands replying to users on Twitter is a tone thats a bit too customer service-y. Mix it up a bit when interacting with fans on social medias by responding with funny images or GIFs. Not only does this make your brand feel more personable, it also increases the chance that theyll retweet your Tweet, leading to increased brand awareness.

18. Host a live Q&A

Twitter owns Periscope arguably the most popular livestreaming app which means you can embed Periscope streams right in your Twitter feed. Make sure you host your livestreams on Twitter in addition to other platforms like Facebook Live to increase their reach to your other social platforms. Twitters feed algorithm also seems to prioritize videos from Periscope, which can help your account out a bit.

19. Share user-generated content

Add some flair to your content strategy by retweeting or re-uploading content that your users have sent to you about your brand or product on your Twitter account. Though it wont do much in terms of sending traffic to your website or driving sales, it shows that you care about your fans and followers and helps to strengthen your brand.

20. Reply to/engage with fan tweets

One common thread linking the best brands on Twitter is that they take the time to engage with their followers and fans, even if some of them have millions of followers. Though you dont need to reply to every Tweet you receive, retweeting brand-related content from fans or answering questions from followers is a great way to show your social media audience that you care about what they have to say.

21. Create a partnered post with an influencer

Instagram is the palace of the influencer its users religiously follow high-profile grammers for inspiration in areas like fashion, food, and lifestyle. Partnering up with an influencer that has a large following in your target market to created a sponsored post is one of the best ways to share your brand and product with new potential customers. Reach out to influencers and send products to those who are interested, so they can share their thoughts with their followers.

22. Host an influencer takeover

Once youve cultivated a strong enough relationship with some influencers, you might want to move to the next step: a takeover. Get your chosen influencer to take over your Instagram account, posting pictures as theyre at an event or throughout the course of their day (a day in the life). Make sure your influencer teases the takeover on their own profile so their fans follow your brand as well.

23. Run a giveaway with another brand in your industry

Weve touched on the effect giveaways can have on your social media engagement and brand awareness, and Instagram is another great platform to run contests on. Partner up with a another (non-competing) brand in your industry to offer a prize package of your best products. You can run a few types of contests Id recommend a photo contest, to help you collect user-generated content that you can share on your profile in the future.

24. Tag influential accounts in your photos

Tagging big accounts in your Instagram posts (the photo itself, not just the caption) is an effective way to get your account noticed by others. Find high-profile accounts in your industry and tag them directly in your photos. This puts your photo on the feed of photos theyve been tagged in, increasing the likelihood that someone who doesnt currently follow you will stumble upon your account. Because youre only tagging accounts related to yours, people who come across it will be more likely to be interested in your brand.

25. Use an analytics platform

Though Instagram Business accounts get access to some analytics, you might want to consider using a platform like Iconosquare to drill down on your Instagram performance. In addition to helping you manage your content output with scheduling, you can use these analytics platforms to measure follower growth, post engagement, and optimal post timing.

26. Host a livestream on your Instagram Story

Instagram recently made their Live video broadcasting feature available to all users. You might be inclined to ask what sets it apart from Facebook Live or Periscope the primary difference is that Instagram videos arent stored anywhere, meaning your viewers can only watch when youre truly live. Use Instagrams live video broadcasting to run quick Q&As or share information on a flash discount get creative with it and see how your followers respond!

27. Use a monetization platform

If youve got an e-commerce shop, consider using a platform like Like2Buy Have2Have.It to make it easier to link your Instagram posts to product pages. Using one of these means you can have a single link in your bio that brings followers to a shoppable replica of your feed. Put a CTA in each of your product posts saying check out the link in our bio to get [product]! These platforms also have analytics, helping you measure the effectiveness of your Instagram marketing.

28. Use your Story to promote flash discounts

I love when brands use their Instagram Stories as an extension of their marketing strategy. There are tons of great ways to utilize your Story one of the best ways is to share flash coupon codes with your followers. You can even be creative about it hide it in the background of a Story post or post a riddle for viewers to solve.

29. Run Instagram ads

Instagram ads are incredibly powerful because they look native besides the small Sponsored text above the image, Instagram ads look just like theyre part of a users feed. Theyre also great because you can add CTAs to them so even though they look like photos, you can link them to landing pages, content, and more.

30. Create creative product videos demonstrating your product

With the introduction of longer videos on Instagram, the number of things you can achieve with your Instagram video marketing is through the roof. One great way to leverage video on Instagram is to create a product demonstration video. Show people the best (or the most unique) ways to use your product these kinds of videos are engaging and helpful to your followers.

31. Post your Snapcode on your other social platforms

Snapchat is a unique social platform because its really not easy for your followers to find you. Make it easy to connect with them on Snapchat by posting your Snapcode (that QR-looking code) on your other social platforms with a CTA like add us on Snapchat to keep up to date with our latest products! to drive traffic from other platforms to your Snapchat profile.

32. Preview content in your Story

If creating content (like blog articles or videos) is part of your digital marketing strategy, you can push Snapchat followers towards it and build hype by previewing it on your Snapchat Story. Post a short video or photo of a piece of content to get people interested in it, and post a CTA like visit [website link] to see the rest!

33. Buy a Geofilter for company events

One thing that Snapchat has made available to all of its users is its Geofilters feature. Purchasing an On-Demand Geofilter is a great way to spread brand awareness, particularly if youre hosting a company event or your company is attending another event. Design a filter featuring your brand and encourage attendees to post to their Snapchat Story using the geofilter youve created.

34. Partner with an influencer to host a Story takeover

Similar to an Instagram takeover, getting an influencer to take over your Snapchat Story for a day can do a lot to build your following. Get the influencer to post about it on their social platforms in the days leading up to the takeover, so users can make sure to add you before it begins. Because users need to add you to see your Story, youll be adding a large amount of users to your Snapchat following that you can market to in the future.

35. Run a Snapchat Q&A

The great thing about Snapchat is it makes it easy for fans to reach the brands they love. Host a Q&A with your followers by asking them to send you Snaps with their questions. Restate these questions on your Story and then answer them in a video featuring your employees. This strengthens the connection between your brand and fans, and is a great way to add unique content to your Snapchat Story.

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50 Amazing Social Media Marketing Ideas, Strategies & Tips - Business 2 Community