Stay ahead of your competition by adding inbound marketing strategies
As search engines change how they rank organic results, businesses develop new ways for consumers to find them online. While some businesses feel that social media is a luxury when it comes to marketing efforts, the truth is that it is a necessity and has been for some time. Businesses that integrate social media efforts with their content strategy see the impact of it in terms of lead generation, referral traffic and revenue; and, although some benefits of social media are measurable, the benefits that cannot be measured are just as valuable. Improved brand awareness, increased customer loyalty and trust and improved audience reach and influence are also attributed to social media.
Finding a single guideline for social and content marketing that suits all businesses is difficult because the most effective content marketers have few traits in common, proving that businesses need to find what works best for them. However, there are generalities that businesses can adopt to improve effectiveness. For instance, more successful marketers use multiple social media platforms and have someone who oversees content marketing strategy. However, the best way to build buzz on social media is to get out there and get connected. By sharing quality content, whether original or that from other people, your audience will share it with theirs on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, their own blogs and more and potentially increase the amount of quality followers.
A business also has to engage with its audience, which means thanking people for retweets and shares and joining people in discussions. This doesn’t have to take a lot of time, but, ideally, you should spend a few minutes a day focused on engagement. Businesses should be accessible to its audience in all mediums. Building relationships is one of the most important parts of social media marketing success, so always acknowledge every person who reaches out to you. Followers online can be fickle and won’t hesitate to replace you if you disappear for weeks or months.
The most important thing to remember about inbound marketing is that success doesn’t happen overnight. While it’s possible to catch lightning in a bottle, it’s far more likely that you will need to commit to the long haul to achieve results; but, add a comprehensive social media marketing plan, and the results will pay off.
Using social media, you can deliver your message more effectively and at a lower cost.