Social Networks are a very important tool for increasing one’s Business regardless of whether it is BtoC or BtoB.
Currently, in fact, the market is more and more influenced by the dynamics of the Web; this is because it is precisely on the Web that people delve into information about each product, comment on it and review it: blogs, forums and social media become the places where a company’s bond with its consumers is built; in fact, it is no longer the company that tells its story, but it is the Social Network that tells about the company by sending its opinions and experience.
Eric Qualman is right when he explains “the business world has no choice about whether or not to use social media. The choice is only about how intelligently they can be used.”
Strategies, tools, engagement and ROI measurement. Start here!
Starting to earn one’s position in the world of Social Networks (SN) for a company is often a source of concern and strong doubts. In a nutshell, one is faced with answering questions such as:
- What techniques and tactics are most effective? SNSs are constantly evolving not only from a GUI perspective, but also in terms of functionality and opportunities for business. This means having to constantly monitor ongoing updates in order to redesign one’s strategy.
- How to get maximum Engagement?
Being present on SNS is not enough, what really matters is being able to engage your audience to generate shares and get the “long tail” going. - How to create a Social Media Strategy of success?
The starting point for any company is just that: analyze its reality and target market and then develop, based on the objectives and the technical and economic tools available, an integrated strategy on which to work in the short, medium and long term. - How to measure Return on Investment (ROI)?
Understanding whether one’s marketing strategy is working and where changes and improvements can be made becomes paramount for any investor. But for a detailed analysis that draws the picture, a number of tools must be used. Hence the next question; - What are the best Social management Tools?
Managing a brand’s activity within Social Media involves considerable effort and time. To optimize one’s work, it is ideal to start by taking advantage of the great potential offered by ad hoc tools that can simplify content production, sharing and monitoring.
Social Media Management is a constant activity and needs specific skills also because, contrary to what one might think, if it is true that the stream on the bulletin board flows quickly, there will always remain a trace on the Web of every single action taken or comment left; in this sense, it is enough to do a small search on Google to see some of the most memorable failures of large companies and well-known brands. So we always carefully consider, in terms of not only professionalism but also the time to devote to it, whether to manage from within or outsource. In any case, the biggest (and most common) mistake a company can make is to be present in the various Social Networks without having first defined objectives and planned an editorial line that represents them.
The first step to take is, therefore, to indicate one’s objectives: inducing sales, generating leads, improving one’s reputation(awareness), branding. In the second instance, it is necessary to analyze the tools available and choose the most suitable social and web 2.0 platforms (for example, Trenitalia has a very active Twitter account but no official Fan Page on Facebook…what we see is actually an unofficial page).
Let’s look at some practical examples.
You will choose Facebook if your goal is to increase traffic to your site and expand your audience. Create a fan page where you share quality content and choose the periodicity based on your target audience. You will choose Twitter especially if you have a lot of content, for leads and customer care. It requires a lot of attention given the frequency of posting; a good way to stay up-to-date and comply with the rules of this SNS is to become a follower of industry influencers; always respond to mentions; retweet interesting content and use hashtags (#) that identify a topic. Linkedin and Google Plus are among the best and most used for B2B because they create a professional network and develop highly profiled direct contact. Pinterest is still little exploited in Italy but is rising rapidly, given the communicative immediacy of images with the famous Pins collected in Boards. It must be said, however, that Instagram ‘s integration with Facebook has somewhat cannibalized the timid Pinterest users. Starting one’s own blog within which to write and share with your readers important business information and, above all, news related to your industry is rated highly by both people and search engine algorithms; in both cases, original and quality content is rewarded. Research content carefully and post periodically following a schedule; open to comments and encourage them by sparking constructive debate. One suggestion is to network with blogs similar to yours with which to exchange content and useful links.
Vademecum for getting off on the right foot and monitoring results
If you don’t know where to start and want some advice, we share with you a small, very simplified guide that you can use to remind yourself of the first “things to do.” If you want to go deeper into the topic or have more information, choose a personalized consultation to a qualified figure.
You have completed the preliminary phase we have talked about so far, that is, you have defined your goals, planned your strategy also evaluating the tools available, you have chosen the social platforms on which you want to be present. You are ready to go:
- Create detailed profiles and update them with new information and content;
- uses each chosen channel actively;
- integrates the various channels while maintaining a single image;
- always put your customer at the center of attention because they will read and share your content only if they find it interesting; for example, it should respond to a need or necessity, be engaging or entertaining, however chosen according to its target audience and differentiated according to the policies and uses of different Social Networks;
- Propose original content;
- begin to communicate, build connections and relationships;
- Listens to and analyzes customer conversations;
- measure results. Metrics to consider include newsletter subscription (if you have one), comments posted by readers, shares and reposts of content, engagement, country reach, and overall brand sentiment.
To assess engagement you can use this formula
Some of the most widely used tools for monitoring results and performance on Social Networks are:
