Social media is a complex and evolving medium that education marketers are utilizing more than ever before. Knowing how to create a strategy that works for you is half the battle. In our most recent CB&A Expert Series Event, Leoni Consulting Group’s finest broke down the myths and doubts surrounding social media. After hearing their expert advice, here are five of their top tips that B2E marketers should know when revamping their social media strategy.
5 Things All B2E Companies Should Know About Social Media Strategy
Posting is NOT Everything
Posting content is at the forefront of what most people see and think of when it comes to social media. Yet, it’s essentially the tip of the iceberg. What isn’t on people’s feeds is the effort and strategy hiding underneath the surface of a social post. Who and what you follow are just as important as the content being posted.
People often assume that if they post a piece of content that their followers will do all of the work for them, but letting a post sit there without showing your followers how to engage with the material is counterproductive. For example, if you are posting something about a recent piece of content added to your website, don’t be afraid to ask for opinions. This will encourage your followers to read or watch that piece of content and provide feedback that you can incorporate into your future marketing materials. Adjusting your posting strategy to reflect what your followers want to see within your content is a key element to an effective social media strategy.
Engagement IS Everything
If watching social media evolve over the years has taught us anything, it’s that interacting with your followers and curating content to meet their needs leads to success. Social media has never been about the number of followers your accounts have, how many people have liked your page, or the number of comments or likes you get on a single post.
Ultimately, if you increase engagement among your followers, the more people your content will reach and the more your followers and customers will trust your brand. Engagement is done very strategically by good B2E marketers in order to keep their customers engaged throughout each part of the customer journey.
Engaging with Followers Humanizes your Brand
As customers move down the funnel of their customer journey, they associate your brand with different levels of trustworthiness. The ultimate goal of a brand is to get the right customers all the way to the advocacy stage. This is where customers feel personally connected to your channels and messages to the point where they will champion your products and services to others.
One of the greatest ways to bridge that connection is through engaging with followers. It truly is everything that creates the foundation for your customers to feel as though they are being heard and taken care of by your team. Engaging with followers provides valid feedback and information that help you to inform your marketing and content development in a strategic way. By creating a two-way communication platform on your social channels, you can form the most organic relationships with clients and thought leaders.
Social Media is Constantly Evolving
Thinking back to the early days of Facebook, Youtube, Instagram or even TikTok, no one ever anticipated that these platforms would have as dramatic of an impact on the lives of individuals and businesses as they do today. Social media used to be utilized to send people to your website; now it’s all about creating unique, channel-specific content and experiences for customers.
As social media algorithms become more and more complex, you need to evolve with the change to feed the right content into the algorithm. Whether it be videos, polls, images or gifs, make sure you are staying up to date on the latest trends and keeping up with what is engaging your target audience.
Different Channels Accomplish Different Goals
Although it may be tempting to put your message on every single social media platform, you won’t be putting out smart content or reaching your target if you aren’t utilizing your strongest platforms. For example, a B2E company selling services to educators and district leaders does not need a Pinterest page linking back to products.
Take the time to research in-depth each of the social media platforms you are considering. See where your target audience is going to seek out their information and go to them on the appropriate channels and with smart forms of content.
Want to learn more about what it takes to make a great social media strategy for your B2E company? Register to watch our September Expert Series event replay.