Go All Out! Improve Your Inbound With Social Media
Improving your presence on Social Media channels can increase your inbound leads and help you make better connections
Moving into digital marketing changed the online world for me. I spent years as a history teacher in secondary schools, which meant I had to be stealthy if I was going to use social media.
Those teenagers are crafty!
I made a career switch to Digital Marketing that suddenly required me to put myself out there and create online networks. I now had to be present on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
I read a book called Social Selling by Tim Hughes, and after an incredibly helpful chat on the phone with him, I started to realise my online presence was cold and impersonal —
My social media profiles didn’t represent who I really am!
The advantages of having a great profile are obvious for the individual, but there’s a great value for businesses too. Employees branding themselves as unique individuals who are human and worth connecting to can increase inbound leads. It can be challenging, but there are a lot of great ways to get started.
Profile Pages on Social Media
Which social media channels you use will likely depend on your goals, as well as your industry, but one thing that’s consistent is that what your profile looks like will determine your effectiveness.
Your profiles should be professional, but should also show some personality! Trying to keep your profile too professional will have you looking more like a robot than a human being. Add cover photos, update your self-summaries and be genuine and authentic.
One of the most common things we hear when talking about inbound marketing is the importance of building trust. You’re more likely to achieve this if you seem human, a real person that they can trust, rather than a company just trying to sell something.
Replying, Commenting and Sharing
Use your social media channels to engage with other people. Replying promptly to others’ comments, commenting on posts you like or found helpful and sharing other people’s content are great ways to engage. It shows you’re active on your social media accounts, but also can give you opportunities to build connections.
There’s also a good chance that if you engage with other people’s posts, they will make the effort to engage with yours too!
Building an Online Community
Building a community is a great way to get your message out there. Add new people to your accounts and personalise messages to these new people to show them your genuine interest. Developing these online communities means that you’ll have more people to share your content with, and more interest in your product or service. Everything you post will have a greater reach when you are part of a larger community.
It’s important to note that it’s not just about adding everyone and anyone. You want quality over quantity. So make sure that the people you are connecting with are people you can provide value to, and can provide you with value as well!
Creating Engaging Content, In an Interesting Way
Create interesting content! It should be relevant to your product or service, but shouldn’t be pushy. All your content should provide some value to your followers or connections. This sets you up as an expert in your field and helps to develop trust.
Your content can be anything from a blog post to short videos. Whatever it is, make it interesting, relevant and keep it human! And don’t forget, it must provide value!
Practising What I Preach
I decided to start by making changes to my LinkedIn account by using advice from Tim Hughes, the author of Social Selling, and looking at examples of outstanding profiles.
Admittedly, the change in how I was presenting myself made a big difference.
I started to receive more requests for connections and noticed that the views of my profile had increased.
Updating a profile isn’t a one-time thing either. It’s something we need to continue to do as we change and grow in and out of our industries.
I must say, it was satisfying to see the difference in people’s reactions to my posts, connection requests and conversation starters once I put the time in to really present myself in a more authentic way. In time, I will have built a larger online community, who are interested in the content I am creating and sharing, which will inevitably mean more quality leads!
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About the Author
Sona Kerim is a Digital Marketing Specialist at EL Passion. You can find her on LinkedIn.
Find EL Passion on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
