Effectively focusing on social media during a time of social distancing can be a challenge for many organizations. For starters, employees can’t get together for photos and videos on social media channels. In addition, staffing cuts and reassignments make it difficult to prioritize social content when more critical communiques are needed nonstop.
So, how important is social media at this time and how can it really help you?
4 Key Benefits of Social Media – During and Post Pandemic
Social media is a powerful tool that often is not used to its full capacity, especially in B2B marketing.
Many of your stakeholders are stuck at home and are frustrated, distracted, even struggling. By harnessing the power of social media, you can cost-effectively yield four primary benefits. These are: 1) Maintaining connectivity with stakeholders; 2) Developing organic, authentic content that people want and need; 3) Supporting content marketing through syndication and promotion; and 4) Proactively managing your reputation online.
Maintaining Connectivity with Stakeholders
Staying top of mind with key stakeholders can go far to grow sales, keep existing customers informed, and maintain strong communications with investors. Social media offers your VIPs a steady stream of digestible content, which demonstrates relevance and continuity – especially during challenging times. It can show you care, are listening, and are available to help solve timely problems. At this time your social presence can be more crucial than ever before. While social distancing is likely to persist at some level into the foreseeable future, maintaining your online presence and increasing social media engagement can keep you and your clients connected.
Developing Organic, Authentic Content
Creating content is necessary to continuously develop your company’s social channels. Search engines are programmed to ignore duplicated content, which is why authentic copy is crucial for your business. You want to get on a schedule of when to post organic, authentic, and relevant content on your website, social channels, and in blogs. Not only does this help boost your online visibility, but it benefits your clients or customers by keeping them well-informed and in the loop. It is important to ensure that your content is not overly promotional or commercial and that you are sincerely looking to add value. You want to help others and build a following, not turn them off.
Content Syndication & Promotion
Building and syndicating content allows your company to attract more web traffic and expand your reach. By using a variety of channels and integrating these, along with your marketing messages, you can expand reach, visibility, and brand exposure. This holds true whether you are a person, for-profit, nonprofit, brand, or municipality. As people are generally staying home, this can play to your advantage as your audience is “captive.”
Be aware of your company’s strengths and submit guest articles to relevant industry publications to draw more attention, LinkedIn engagement, and website traffic. Any time your company is mentioned in an article or news site, summarize it, use industry key phrases, post it on your website, and share it across your social media channels. This draws attention to your business while also developing connection between industry platforms and your site.
Managing Your Reputation Online
Your social media accounts help “control” your business’ narrative and perception among key stakeholders. Managing your social media presence by responding to comments and interacting on your followers’ posts can help maintain a connection between your organization and its target audiences. The lines of communication you establish with customers through online platforms shows who you are as a brand, which, in turn, can create a stronger or more positive reputation online.
Your organization’s reputation online is increasingly important as most people/companies search online before purchasing products or services. While people are isolating, a reputation online is even more vital to maintaining your reputation and brand integrity; it can ensure that your messaging and image are effectively being managed.
These social connections are essential to keeping and increasing customer loyalty. Interacting with your customers on your posts keeps driving relationships.
People look for communication during uncertain times; by continuously doing this, you are staying top-of-mind while also giving them something to consider while they are at home working, hanging with their kids, or watching a show on Netflix.
A strong social media presence is important in this time of social distancing. It can go far to increase engagement among stakeholders, grow your content marketing, and manage your reputation.
To receive a sneak peek of Chris Rosica’s forthcoming book, The Power of B2B Social Media – The Marketing Strategy You Can’t Afford to Ignore, email PR@rosica.com with “Sneak Peek” in the subject line.