Social media marketing is not just about slapping up a static company page. You have to give it some life. The key word here is ‘social.’
Your content should elicit some response and engagement from your followers. You'll gain more followers if your posts are shareable because it is free exposure for your company or brand. That means your content has to be good. It doesn’t have to be epic. It just has to be good.
Here’s my go-to list for social media content. I find it works for B2B and B2C. Just because you’re a B2B organization doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun with social media too.
1. Announce an event like a job fair or an open house.
It doesn’t matter if you’re hosting an event or if someone in your organization is attending an event. Just post it. Even if you don’t think it’s very interesting, someone out there will be interested.
Posting about events lets your followers know there’s a real human behind your page who does things offline.
2. Post positive client feedback.
Any positive feedback from your clients should serve as a testimonial. You should ask for permission to post, but odds are if your client took the time to provide feedback, she won’t have a problem if you make it public. In fact, she may be flattered that you want to highlight her.
3. Capture behind-the-scenes moments at your office or store.
This is my favorite. Having a cupcake party in the break room for a coworker’s birthday? Snap some photos or a 30-second video and post it right away. It adds levity and a human element that will draw people in.
4. Share tips from the people you follow.
This is another favorite of mine. I’m sure you follow people, organizations and companies you admire. You follow them because they provide information you find useful.
Why not share that with your followers? Not only will you provide good information, you’ll flatter the person you follow. They’ll know you’re paying attention. Everyone likes a bit of flattery and they’ll probably follow you too if they don’t already.
But don’t just click the share button. Make sure you ‘@’ them on Twitter or mention them by name on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram. You’ll also want to tell your followers why you’re sharing the information with them to provide some context.
5. Post all content from your blog and earned press.
If you aren’t doing this already, start immediately. It’s a no-brainer. It’s also a way to cross-market. You can design email campaigns from blog posts and vice versa. Plus, it’s a good way to recycle content or drive traffic to your website or blog.
If you are fortunate to earn attention from the media, share that too. It lets your followers know what others are saying about you. It’s okay to boast on social media. Everyone does it.
6. Promote your brand in short videos.
I can’t think of any reason you would want to post a video that runs longer than three minutes. I see these from time-to-time, but it has to be seriously compelling for me to watch for that long.
Marketing videos that promote your product or service are nice to post sometimes, but never rule out a good cat video if you can get creative enough to tie it to something relevant. I always click over to watch a good cat video. Always.
pull it all together
Go back to the first tip and take a short video, less than a minute, of your job fair. Interview an attendee who has good things to say about her experience there.
Next, take a photo of one of your employees during the set-up for the job fair and provide a humorous caption that speaks to his excitement about the event.
To break up the monotony, post any press about the job fair, even if it’s only a flyer. Remember, you can also share a post from another company or a speaker at the job fair who has something substantial to say.
Don’t be afraid to post several times about the same event using these tips. Show your company or brand’s personality. Be funny. Be serious. Be smart. Be something, anything that creates a positive experience that will elicit a response or engagement. Give your followers something to share with their followers.