When it comes to marketing your product or service, there’s such an abundance of tools at your disposal that it can feel impossible to know where to concentrate your time, energy, and resources. After all, there’s a finite amount of hours in the day – and even fewer of those hours in the average workday. So where should your business dedicate those limited work hours to?
If your business strategy revolves around inbound marketing – that is, the methodology of marketing to your customers by creating tailored, audience-centric content as opposed to brand-centric content – then the answer lies in social media. But just why is social media an important part of inbound marketing? Let’s start from the ground up.
What is meant by social media?
A general assumption for many is that social media consists only of online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. While it’s true that these platforms are a large part of what social media is, social media is actually an umbrella term for a diverse and opportunistic range of channels. This includes blog posts, podcasts, viral videos, and even webinars. Understanding the different components and what makes each one appealing to their audiences is a core part of integrating social media into your inbound marketing campaigns.
For instance, it’s futile to try and push out universal content across all of the various social media platforms. What might work for the audiences that browse Facebook will simply not work well for Twitter users. Understanding and embracing the USPs of each type of social media platform could see your business make huge waves for those surfing the internet.
So what is it about social media that makes it so well-matched for inbound marketing strategies?
Why is social media an important part of inbound marketing?
Whatever channel of social media you use, at the heart of it lies a crucial, direct creator-to-consumer relationship. And when inbound marketing functions on a basis of delivering content that is bespoke to the audience you’re trying to attract, this is an opportunity that cannot be explored enough.
Take, for example, Instagram. Instagram is a fresh, popular form of social media that relies primarily on the visual. More than 1 billion people use Instagram every month, making it a great way for you to reach an incredible amount of new potential customers. What’s more, a staggering 81% of users use Instagram to browse products, brands, and services – especially thanks to the platform’s new Shop and Reels features. This high conversion rate makes it an ideal choice for businesses with younger audiences under the age of 35, or those more likely to be persuaded via imagery, consistent branding, or the latest trends.
How can social media trends help your inbound marketing strategies?
Social media is a fast-paced beast. As a marketer, it’s your job to spot or create the latest trends across social media, be it the newest TikTok craze, a hashtag on Twitter, or the latest genre of podcast that could be beneficial to your brand and wider business. Rather than be intimidated by the amount of engagement that these trends sometimes garner, use it to your advantage! The whole point of inbound marketing is to attract, convert, close, and delight new audiences. When used effectively, trends demonstrate relatability and a common source of interest between your business and consumers.
As an example, 2021 has seen an increase of more approachable, humourous content across social media. An example of this would be the Weetabix and beans trend that made national news across the country and beyond this year. The now-famous ‘Bix and Beans’ tweet by the official Weetabix account on 9 Feb 2021 increased the food brand’s sales by 15% after users viewed it over one billion times.
By creating content that was unexpected and humorous to the public, Weetabix attracted new customers and, by being relatable, converted those new customers into direct sales. Being adventurous with your brand’s marketing methods can have a huge payoff if done well.
How do you start out using social media for inbound marketing campaigns?
When it comes to beginning to push an online presence on social media for your company, the first step is to take the time to research what each channel offers.
For instance, LinkedIn and Pinterest are both branches of social media…but they couldn’t be more different in terms of user profile and the reasons why new users sign up. Establish the type of image you want to create online, and pay close attention to how this image will appeal to the type of audience you want to attract.
Create some content before you post to make sure you have enough to get the ball rolling. Seek out who your competitors are engaging with online and engage with them yourselves. Take advantage of your chosen social media’s unique features and see how others are using them. Whether it’s Twitter’s Fleets, Facebook’s Stories, or Snapchat’s filters, social media is a rich landscape to attract your audiences via the means of a two-way conversation.
Social media is great for inbound marketing for B2B and B2C because it allows you to learn more about your consumers directly from them. There’s an abundance of data at your fingertips to pull apart and use for SEO and more. Social media boasts the advantage of having a high ROI when utilised effectively and consistently in-line with your brand’s image.
If you’re a fresh, young business engaging with your audiences over Twitter, answering their queries, regularly posting content, and promoting your products through relatable means, that audience will likely translate into customers. It’s a lot easier to keep your customers once you’ve proven that both parties are on the same page!
Think of this blog post, for example – we’re engaging with like-minded businesses looking to improve their inbound marketing strategy. We’ve established expertise that you know you can trust. Now we just have to hope that our list of reasons why social media is an important part of inbound marketing has shown you the value of creating a diverse content marketing strategy.
Main image: Adam Jang on Unsplash
Embedded images: Solen Feyissa on Unsplash, Twitter.com/Weetabix screenshot, Jakob Owens on Unsplash
