Social media has become incredibly prevalent in our daily lives. From the moment we get up to when we go to sleep, we are constantly engaging with some form of online content. For B2B brands, this mindset should be no different. Social media has become an important tool that companies can use to showcase their offering, establish thought leadership, and engage with their target customers and prospects to build loyalty.
During my two summers as a marketing and social media strategy intern at Zer0 to 5ive, I’ve been involved in creating social media content both internally and for clients. In this blog, I’ll dig into best practices for social media research, content organization, and copywriting.
The Importance of Social Media Content for B2B Brands
Social media platforms are more than just channels for self-promotion; they are the bridge between companies and their customers. Everything from products and thought leadership to news announcements can be shared via social channels. Social media content helps B2B brands increase:
- Brand Awareness: Consistent and engaging content helps increase a brand’s visibility and recognition. It allows brands to share their story and value proposition with a broader audience.
- Brand Engagement: Social media offers a direct line of communication with customers. Engaging and educational content fosters interaction, builds community, and strengthens customer loyalty. Companies can engage in industry conversations, reshare articles of value and immerse themselves within their industry community.
- Brand Reputation: Through social media, brands can create and manage their image and respond promptly to industry trends and feedback. This proactive approach helps in building a trustworthy reputation with buyers and partners.
- Brand Preference: A strategic social media program can help create brand preference and also showcase momentum within the industry with customer case studies, original data, and educational content that provides value.
Writing Social Media Content
Creating social media content is a meticulous process that begins with understanding the company’s social media objectives. Once those are determined, a strategy can be developed that ensures content aligns with goals and fully leverages internal assets – from subject matter experts to white papers and reports.
Getting into the tactics of content creation, there are a few key steps to follow:
- Research: It’s important to research what’s being said in and around the industry you are writing for, especially when you’re looking to provide commentary on industry trends. Scouring X (Twitter) by searching through accounts and hashtags relevant to whatever client you’re writing for and conducting google searches on keywords is the best place to start.
- Content Curation: When looking for content that you can comment on related to industry trends, you should carefully review multiple articles. This not only helps with information gathering, but provides insight into different approaches brands are talking about and how you may be able to best provide additional color. You must also consider what your audience will find valuable and engaging.
- Drafting and Editing: Each post should be crafted to be concise, engaging, and aligned with the brand’s voice. It can be helpful to share your drafts with a team member for editing to ensure clarity and correctness if you have any doubts. This can also help you make sure that each post hooks the target audience, leaves an impact, and is error-free.
- Scheduling and Analysis: Once your post is live, you are able to track its performance. By looking at the performance of your posts over time, you can better understand what your audience engages with and appreciates. That allows you to continually refine your content strategy and test new approaches.
Creating social media content is both an art and a science. It requires you to immerse yourself in each brand. Social media is a powerful tool, and with the right strategy and execution, it can elevate a brand and leave a lasting impact – so much more than another click on LinkedIn.
To learn more about how B2B brands can win at other forms of content marketing, check out our previous blog on this topic!
This blog was written by our 2023 and 2024 summer intern, Espy Zelov.
The term “thought leader” can be traced back to 1887, but it was brought to life in 1994 by Joel Kurtzman, the founding editor-in-chief of Strategy & Business magazine. Joel used the term to describe someone who had a deep understanding of a business marketplace and customers’ needs and had original and unique points of view and ideas.
Fast forward to today, being known as a thought leader is a coveted status across all industries, and unlike 20 years ago, there are many more ways for folks to share their points of view and insights. Perhaps the most prominent and accessible channel is LinkedIn. With over 1 billion members (yes billion with a “B”), it is the ideal platform for professionals to build their brand and reputation as thought leaders.
Outlined below are the steps to building LinkedIn thought leadership credibility.
Create a Professional Foundation
Before posting on LinkedIn, ensure your profile is optimized for the public eye. Your LinkedIn profile should highlight your professional experience, special skills, and notable achievements. Use a professional photo and header image, add a captivating headline, and update your summary to include keywords relevant to your industry.
Develop Compelling Content
Now that your profile looks legitimate, start sharing your unique perspective, industry insights, and professional advice. The LinkedIn algorithm tells us it prioritizes relevant, high-quality content, so your posts should be educational and informative, providing valuable insights to your audience. You can also share curated content like articles, blog posts, industry updates, and research findings with your own commentary.
An important note to keep in mind when creating and sharing content is maintaining authenticity and credibility. Sharing marketing materials or branded content can dilute your voice and insights, potentially alienating your audience. While occasional posts sharing your company’s recent news or achievements are great, remember that your audience is looking for you to provide unique commentary on your industry and beyond.
Engage and Collaborate
After your posts are published and start garnering attention, ensure you’re actively engaging with your network by interacting with your commenters and commenting on others’ posts. This helps build relationships, demonstrate expertise, and increase visibility within your industry. You can also grow your network by joining LinkedIn groups and communities related to your industry and experience, where you can participate in discussions with the group members.
You can also contribute to LinkedIn’s Collaborative Articles. These are articles on a professional topic or skill, written with AI’s help but completed with experts’ contributions. Regular contributions can land you in the top 5% of contributors and earn you a gold Community Top Voice badge. As your reputation grows, you may receive an invitation-only blue LinkedIn Top Voice badge featuring senior-level experts and leaders.
Be Consistent
Becoming a notable thought leader on LinkedIn doesn’t happen overnight. The steps and activities listed above take time and commitment, but consistent efforts will have positive results. By regularly sharing your POV and industry insights and engaging with your community, you can establish yourself as a thought leader on LinkedIn and build a strong professional brand in your industry.
If you’re looking for more resources on thought leadership, check out our blog, Why Startups Should Consider a Thought Leadership Strategy.
If you’re ready to take the next step in accelerating and expanding your online presence as a thought leader, 0to5 can help. Contact us today.
The right media coverage can significantly impact your brand’s visibility and reputation. Knowing how to effectively leverage your coverage is essential to reaching the widest possible audience and achieving your marketing and PR goals. The following strategies and tactics can help your business maximize its media coverage and drive brand awareness.
The All-Mighty Press Release
Press releases are vital for sharing news, enabling businesses and organizations to communicate significant developments and events to the media and the public. They generate media coverage, enhance visibility, and provide a structured, professional way to convey information. Press releases help share achievements, product launches, financial reports, and more. They also serve double duty as a valuable reference point for journalists and contribute towards a positive public image while maintaining transparency for your business.
Once your team drafts and approves your press release, the best way for quick and widespread distribution is to share it through a distribution service like PR Newswire or BusinessWire, then follow up by emailing the release to key reporters and publications in your field.
After the press release has been distributed on a wire service and delivered to reporters’ inboxes, a few more strategies can help you reach a broader and more engaged audience. The first is to share the press release on your company’s website. Posting on your website can significantly enhance your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
Leveraging social media is another effective way to optimize your press release’s reach. Share it across social media channels, and consider pinning it to the top of your business’s page or profile. Make your content more engaging by creating graphics with pull quotes and relevant images to accompany the post.
How to Share Great Media Coverage
Now that your press release has gone out on a wire service and been pitched to reporters, you hopefully have some great media coverage! While many folks will find your article in print or directly on the publication’s website, you can employ additional strategies to maximize your brand’s reach and visibility.
Sharing media coverage on your company’s website is a fundamental step that archives and showcases your news and increases organic search traffic. Consider prominently featuring news on your home page to ensure that visitors to your site immediately see and recognize your company’s success and momentum.
Leveraging your social media presence is also crucial for sharing media coverage effectively. Be sure to include a link to the article and consider tagging the reporters and media outlets responsible; this helps you engage with journalists and enables them to easily repost to their audiences. Additionally, you could update your LinkedIn profile or, in the case of platforms like X (Twitter), your bio with a mention such as “As seen on CNBC” to bolster your credibility.
Another approach is to draft and share posts about the media coverage on behalf of key figures within your organization, such as executives, featured spokespeople, and partners or clients mentioned in the article. Consider turning the placement into an advertisement to reach a targeted audience directly.
Similar to sharing press releases, including your media coverage in email marketing efforts is a valuable tactic to ensure your key stakeholders and supporters can access the latest news and are well-informed about significant developments. This approach broadens your reach and ensures that individuals with a vested interest in your company’s achievements are kept in the loop.
Beyond email marketing, there are additional avenues for disseminating your media coverage effectively. One such approach is incorporating media mentions into investor decks and sales presentations, bolstering your credibility and showcasing your company’s recognition to potential investors and clients. Another is to share your media coverage with industry and networking groups to engage a targeted audience and position your company as a thought leader and an active participant in relevant communities.
The power of media coverage in shaping a company’s reputation and bolstering its visibility cannot be overstated. Press releases, distributed through wire services, serve as a structured and professional means to communicate significant news and updates. Amplifying the impact involves strategically sharing the release and its corresponding media coverage on company websites, social media platforms, and email marketing. By combining these methods, businesses can effectively maximize the impact of their media coverage across diverse channels, ultimately influencing perceptions and driving success.
To learn more about how Zer0 to 5ive can help drive visibility and industry leadership for your company drop us a line.
By Sydney Peterson
Happy Book Lovers Day! At Zer0 to 5ive, we’re excited to celebrate this holiday as we value the opportunity to expand our knowledge through reading. Are you looking to learn more about PR and marketing? Explore one of our recent blog posts highlighting industry-related books.
Three Takeaways from the Book, “Pitch Perfect: How to Say It Right the First Time, Every Time,” That Can Be Applied to PR and Media Interviews
The book “Pitch Perfect” shares lessons that can help clients improve their communication skills. Distilled into seven principles these lessons can be applied to public speaking, interviews, or any important conversation. In this blog post, we look at three that are especially relevant for PR and media interviews.
Adam Grant’s “Think Again” Teaches Us to Stay Curious – and Ask (a lot) of Questions!
In Adam Grant’s, “Think Again,” he discusses how things might improve in our work and personal lives if we keep an open mind. There are three key tools we cling to, says Grant, and those are evenly distributed between our assumptions, habits, and instincts, leaving out the most valuable, “having an open mind.”
How Boxing Is Like Social Media – and How to Land Those Killer Blows with Outstanding Content
Learn about the six characteristics of compelling social media content that are outlined in Gary Vaynerchuk’s book, “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World.”
Looking for More PR and Marketing Book Recommendations?
Check out our full recommended reading list. Happy reading!
By Sydney Peterson
Andie Levine, Director of Social Media
1. What types of social media campaigns have you worked on at 0to5?
There have been a few exciting campaigns I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of. In 2021, I helped Sony AI announce Gran Turismo Sophy, their breakthrough AI agent, which started with a series of cryptic posts hinting at a big announcement on the way. Across all channels, the organic campaign generated 650K social media impressions, 15K link clicks, and 2.2K new followers in a week.
In addition to global announcements, I’ve helped companies establish their presence at industry conferences, accelerate recruitment efforts, launch new products and services, and participate in national awareness days.
2. What is your favorite part about working in social media?
There are general best practices to follow, but there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” strategy that can be applied to each client – which is my favorite part about working in social media! Each organization that comes to 0to5 for social media support has a unique set of goals it is working to achieve through its social media presence. Our job is to find creative ways to meet those goals that resonate with their target audience.
Social media also keeps you on your toes. There are new platform updates weekly, and understanding how each new feature works is essential. It is mentally stimulating, and there is no shortage of new things to learn!
3. What are some brands or campaigns that you admire?
There are so many great B2C brands out there that – rightfully so – get a lot of attention for their fun and often-viral content. However, there’s a misconception that B2B companies can’t also have fun and creative social media. A few great examples I like to point to are: Salesforce, IBM, and Gartner.
4. How do you think social media has evolved since you started your career?
The technological advancements, even in just the past year, are impressive. There are more ways to share content than ever before, which has led to more opportunities for impressions, engagement, leads, etc., which is exciting but also easy to get caught up on. But as much as it has evolved, its ethos has remained the same. At the heart of social media, being transparent and offering value to your audience works.
5. Where do you see social media going in the next few years? What trends are you excited about?
I like that social media is becoming more accessible and conversational for B2B organizations. In the beginning, many felt that their online presence needed to be super polished and sterile – and for some industries, this resonates with their audiences! – but now, they are more willing to lean into “being real.” I’m glad to see companies ditch stock photography in favor of images of their real employees or customers. Even a quick photo snapped on an iPhone is better received than a stock photo.
6. What is your advice for creating more engaging social media content?
If you’re struggling with engagement on social media, you’re likely not sending the right messages to your audience. Start by clearly identifying your top two to three audiences. You should already have a good idea of who your buyer personas are through research, surveys, and customer pain points. After identifying their key challenges, develop content around how your organization can help address them.
7. What are some great resources or blogs to follow for someone who wants to accelerate their career in social media management?
I’m a big fan of Hootsuite. Not only do we use their platform here at 0to5, but I highly recommend their webinars to anyone interested in staying on top of the latest and greatest social media trends. What’s more, the great thing about social media is that you don’t need a client to show off your skills! Your channels can serve as a case study for your ability to create professional, engaging content.
8. What does being Zer0 to 5ive’s Director of Social Media mean to you?
Zer0 to 5ive has a remarkable depth and breadth of expertise and talent, making us a valued partner for organizations building a brand and market presence. As Director of Social Media, I get excited to work with organizations ready to take their social media to the next level: whether this means revamping existing accounts or creating them for the first time.
Social media is sometimes easy for companies to overlook. After working with 0to5, I hope our clients can see the value in creating impactful social media strategies that drive brand growth, engage audiences, and deliver measurable results. In this role, I want to help clients navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape and position them for success in their marketing and PR endeavors.
To learn more about how Zer0 to 5ive’s team can help your company, visit our PR and social media page, or drop us a line.
By Sydney Peterson
Andie Levine, Director of Social Media
1. What types of social media campaigns have you worked on at 0to5?
There have been a few exciting campaigns I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of. In 2021, I helped Sony AI announce Gran Turismo Sophy, their breakthrough AI agent, which started with a series of cryptic posts hinting at a big announcement on the way. Across all channels, the organic campaign generated 650K social media impressions, 15K link clicks, and 2.2K new followers in a week.
In addition to global announcements, I’ve helped companies establish their presence at industry conferences, accelerate recruitment efforts, launch new products and services, and participate in national awareness days.
2. What is your favorite part about working in social media?
There are general best practices to follow, but there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” strategy that can be applied to each client – which is my favorite part about working in social media! Each organization that comes to 0to5 for social media support has a unique set of goals it is working to achieve through its social media presence. Our job is to find creative ways to meet those goals that resonate with their target audience.
Social media also keeps you on your toes. There are new platform updates weekly, and understanding how each new feature works is essential. It is mentally stimulating, and there is no shortage of new things to learn!
3. What are some brands or campaigns that you admire?
There are so many great B2C brands out there that – rightfully so – get a lot of attention for their fun and often-viral content. However, there’s a misconception that B2B companies can’t also have fun and creative social media. A few great examples I like to point to are: Salesforce, IBM, and Gartner.
4. How do you think social media has evolved since you started your career?
The technological advancements, even in just the past year, are impressive. There are more ways to share content than ever before, which has led to more opportunities for impressions, engagement, leads, etc., which is exciting but also easy to get caught up on. But as much as it has evolved, its ethos has remained the same. At the heart of social media, being transparent and offering value to your audience works.
5. Where do you see social media going in the next few years? What trends are you excited about?
I like that social media is becoming more accessible and conversational for B2B organizations. In the beginning, many felt that their online presence needed to be super polished and sterile – and for some industries, this resonates with their audiences! – but now, they are more willing to lean into “being real.” I’m glad to see companies ditch stock photography in favor of images of their real employees or customers. Even a quick photo snapped on an iPhone is better received than a stock photo.
6. What is your advice for creating more engaging social media content?
If you’re struggling with engagement on social media, you’re likely not sending the right messages to your audience. Start by clearly identifying your top two to three audiences. You should already have a good idea of who your buyer personas are through research, surveys, and customer pain points. After identifying their key challenges, develop content around how your organization can help address them.
7. What are some great resources or blogs to follow for someone who wants to accelerate their career in social media management?
I’m a big fan of Hootsuite. Not only do we use their platform here at 0to5, but I highly recommend their webinars to anyone interested in staying on top of the latest and greatest social media trends. What’s more, the great thing about social media is that you don’t need a client to show off your skills! Your channels can serve as a case study for your ability to create professional, engaging content.
8. What does being Zer0 to 5ive’s Director of Social Media mean to you?
Zer0 to 5ive has a remarkable depth and breadth of expertise and talent, making us a valued partner for organizations building a brand and market presence. As Director of Social Media, I get excited to work with organizations ready to take their social media to the next level: whether this means revamping existing accounts or creating them for the first time.
Social media is sometimes easy for companies to overlook. After working with 0to5, I hope our clients can see the value in creating impactful social media strategies that drive brand growth, engage audiences, and deliver measurable results. In this role, I want to help clients navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape and position them for success in their marketing and PR endeavors.
To learn more about how Zer0 to 5ive’s team can help your company, visit our PR and social media page, or drop us a line.
By Patrick Reilly
Everyone is on social media. That part is obvious. And, it’s important to use social media to achieve your business objectives, and put time, energy, and dollars where consumers are. The bottom-line profits achieved from social media require hustle, heart, sincerity, constant engagement, long-term commitment, and artful, strategic storytelling.
Bestselling author and social media expert Gary Vaynerchuk outlines this elegantly and in simplified, digestible terms in his book, “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World.” He argues that social media marketers are throwing the best right hooks or knockout punches – and how most of the time they are still failing to land killer blows. The book is an update on what Vaynerchuk and his team have learned about successful social media campaigns through their work with thousands of startups, Fortune 500s, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and celebrities.
Social media is immediately gratifying and hugely addictive (look at TikTok). People using their smartphones are often using them to stay updated and entertained through social media. Most companies are still not getting the message. They may have Twitter and a Facebook page, but Vaynerchuk says that most of the content isn’t resonating. Social media has its own language and businesses need to learn it. People may be seeing brands’ social media posts, but when the content isn’t compelling, they scroll away, sometimes forever.
Put up your Fists When Strategizing for Social Media
Vaynerchuk argues that there’s a reason why boxing is considered a sweet science – it’s often compared to chess – it requires strategic thinking. The right hook gets the credit for the win – but the series of jabs that come before set you up for success. For marketing, there is no sale without the story and no knockout without the setup. The jabs are lightweight pieces of content that benefit customers. These types of posts make users laugh, snicker, ponder, feel appreciated, and escape. The right hooks are calls to action that benefit your business.
Vaynerchuk believes social media marketers are not setting up jabs as well as they should – specifically by perfecting distinct, native content throughout multiple social media platforms. There is a science to creating memorable, effective social media content. Perfect hooks require three characteristics:
- A simple and easy-to-understand call to action
- Perfectly crafted for mobile and all digital devices
- The respected nuances of social networks for making content
The book includes guidelines for creating relevant, valuable content that consumers will pay attention to and want to share. This type of content creates the brand awareness that can be critical to your next sale. Marketers should approach social media with the same intensity as boxers – to create better content. Boxers are observant and self-aware – which are the same traits of good storytellers.
The Characteristics of Great Content and Compelling Stories
Only outstanding content can cut through the noisy world of social media. Vaynerchuk shares social media content rules in the book that are still applicable today. Below are the “6 Characteristics of Great Content and Compelling Stories” from the book:
- Native Content – Crafted to mimic what makes a platform attractive – Companies often don’t take the time to learn about social media platforms’ native ways. Social media posts should blend with the platform’s natural offerings and tell stories that engage consumers on an emotional level. Don’t shove marketing content down consumers’ throats. Try to enhance consumers’ interactions with the platform and do not distract from the experience.
- Doesn’t Interrupt – Ads and marketing are supposed to make consumers feel something and act on that feeling. They shouldn’t affect a consumer’s experience on the platform or intrude on that experience. Ads need to be part of the entertainment.
- Doesn’t Make Frequent Demands – Jabs are ads that are informative, generous, funny, inspiring, and written for your audience – not yourself. The company needs to interact with people and needs to be human. They tap into the conversation and find shared interests with consumers by responding and reacting to what they are saying. They are building an emotional connection with jabbing which paves the way for the right hook. If the content is great, you won’t annoy your consumer. Skillful native storytelling increases the likelihood that a person will share content.
- Leverages Pop Culture – Generations are defined by their pop culture and content has to compete with all of it. Create content that reveals your understanding of news and issues that matter to your audience. Integrate content into a stream where people can consume it with other pop culture candy.
- It’s Micro – Think of social media content as microcontent – a tiny, unique nugget of information, humor, commentary, or inspiration that you reimagine every day. Businesses can create deeper connections with consumers and their brands’ communities when they use social media effectively. Every year – a social media campaign should be as simple as: jab at people all the time, every day, talk about what they are talking about, when they start talking about something different, talk about that instead, repeat, repeat, repeat.
- It’s Consistent and Self-Aware – Every post, tweet, comment, like, and share will confirm your business identity. Your microcontent will vary, but it must reflect who your brand is. No matter how you tell your story, your personality, and brand identity must remain constant too. When you are self-aware, you know the message and it’s easy to keep consistent. Creating microcontent is a way for a brand to adapt to circumstances and to the whims of your audience and a brand’s best chance of being noticed in a busy, disjointed, distracted world. When you create stellar content native to the platform – you can make a person feel, which makes it more likely to be shared with others and amplifies your message at a fraction of the cost of other types of promotion.
Vaynerchuk believes that the social media equation requires quantity and quality, but content for the sake of content is pointless when posts are out of touch or unimaginative. If your social media posts come off as straight-up promotions, they will be largely ignored by the public. Following these six characteristics to create great content can help you cut through the noise and land that killer blow.
By Andie Levine
It’s 2022 and ICYMI – social media is not just for consumer brands anymore.
If you’re reading this, you’re ready for, or at least curious about, including social media in your organization’s marketing strategy. B2B has been often left out of the conversation about social media marketing, but not anymore. Social media is a worthwhile marketing channel for your business because even though you are selling to other businesses, you’re still selling to people!
The Hootsuite & We Are Social, Digital 2022 Global Statshot Report found that 38% of B2B decision-makers say they discover new products and services relevant to their work via social media. And they aren’t just using social media for discovery – about 8 in 10 B2B decision-makers also say that social media plays an influential role in their research, putting it ahead of trade press outlets like online and print trade magazines. That’s huge.
Now that you’ve seen the potential for using social media to reach your audience, here are a few steps you can take to get started.
Identify & Find Your Audience
The data tells us that your audience is on social media – but who are they and how can you find them? Let’s start with who they are. Your audience has a unique challenge that leads them to find a solution. You should already have a good idea of who your buyer personas are through research, surveys, and customer pain points.
Once you’ve clearly identified two or three personas, determine where they“live” online. Twitter and LinkedIn are the most popular platforms for B2B audiences but don’t rule out other channels. 62% of active users aged 16-64 say that they use Instagram to research brands or products.
When it comes to social media, you shouldn’t put all of your eggs in one basket, or rely on just one channel to reach your audience. Every social media channel has advantages and drawbacks and can be used differently to reach different audiences or meet unique business goals.
Develop Content
Now that your social media channels are set up and audiences are identified, it’s time to start posting. Providing free value to your audience builds trust, reputation – and even sales. Valuable content includes, but is not limited to, white papers, case studies, on-demand webinars, e-books, factoids, graphics and even blogs – we have a great blog post about the importance of blogs for social media.
It’s also important to diversify content – each post shouldn’t be about your organization. Valuable content can also include credible and relevant industry articles. And speaking of diversifying, build a content plan to include visuals, such as infographics and videos. Video posts typically receive high engagement. Uploading videos natively can earn four times the views and two times the engagement!
User-generated content (UGC) is also great for boosting engagement. Tap into UGC by highlighting the exciting things your employees or customers are doing or achieving with your product or service. Use social media to feature the work your key leaders and innovators are producing.
To learn more about how to develop engaging content for social media, check out this blog post.
Listen, Adapt, Grow
So now you’re on social media and posting engaging content – let’s keep the momentum going!
An important way to stay connected with your B2B audience is to listen to your audience. Listening is an important skill in social media and one that’s easy to forget. What are your customers saying? What are your competitors saying? What are the media and analysts saying?
There are many free and paid tools to help keep your ear to the door: Google Alerts, Social Mention, or Hootsuite. Pick out five, or more, keywords or phrases people may use to identify themselves as potential customers and conduct searches on your top social accounts; then use what you’re hearing to help shape your content and join the conversation.
Social media can play an important role in your B2B marketing plan and is worth your time and energy. Whether you’re at the beginning of your social media journey or looking for an experienced partner to help accelerate your reach, our team can help effectively integrate social media into your existing strategy. Contact us to learn more.
Why are you reading this blog post? That, I’m not really sure about.
Who are you? Why are you reading this blog post? I can take a good guess. You probably have marketing, communications or PR in your profile somewhere. Chances are, you’ve read a post on a similar subject or even read something on the Zer0 to 5ive blog before. If our readership mirrors a site such as MarketingProfs, you are likely a professional at a small or medium-sized business in North America.
How do I know this? Because we’re inside an optimization loop. It’s similar to the social media bubble of our own design that keeps the unpleasant posts of our crazy uncle out of our feed and keeps feeding us posts that we’ll like, comment and share on. The optimization loop is more automated and more invisible. Every Google search (at least 5.5 billion a day), Amazon purchase (600 items a second on Prime Day 2016), or Facebook like (500,000 a minute) is being captured and analyzed to keep us clicking, buying and engaging.
Past performance is generally regarded as a good predictor of future behavior online, so the optimization loop keeps on working to drive more clicks. For those trying to get someone to take a new action online, the loop can be hard to break into. Here are a few ideas on how you can get your message out (or your client’s message, since you’re probably from an agency!):
1) Publish Outside Your Box
When creating content for potential customers to read, it’s important to get it published in the right places and engaged with by the right people so that it leaves your brand’s loop and enters the content loops of your prospects. This can best be accomplished through contributed content to publications or blogs that serve a target audience. When it comes to Google, they will have stronger authority on the content topic, and will be more likely to make your content rise to the top of search results.
There are also ways to leverage social media to try and break into new areas (e.g. hashtags in Twitter, audience targeting in Facebook), but if your account is outside of the loop, it’s less likely to be effective. With systems like Facebook’s algorithms in place that rely on thousands of factors tied to affinity and actions around a company’s page and individual posts, having your content pushed out by a well-regarded third party is a great way to increase impressions on your message. Plus, it allows you to use your brand and personal accounts to spread that message rather than relying on self-published content, which is likely to receive fewer eyeballs.
2) Become an Expert to Your Audience
There used to be ways to fake it online without real content, but the methods employed by Google and Facebook to determine valuable content are largely driven by user behavior. Bounce rate, time on page and post engagement all matter when it comes to rankings and visibility, so time spent creating good content will pay dividends over time. By combining strong content and wider distribution, it’s possible to become an expert source for target audiences.
This emphasis on quality carries over to email marketing as well. Gmail and other services increasingly monitor user engagement to determine if an email will be delivered. They examine behaviors at a macro (sending account) and micro (individual email) level to build reputation scores, so if your emails are ignored for being of little value (let alone marked as spam or unsubscribed), it’s going to keep your content from being seen.
3) Understand the System
It takes a lot of work to keep up with the changes being made by the big online platforms. Keeping up with what’s working on Google and updating your content and communications strategy on an ongoing basis to match can pay big dividends. Factors go beyond content too. For example, if web pages are slow loading, not mobile friendly, or not protected with SSL encryption, there can be penalties from Google because your site is not providing a good, secure user experience.
There’s also a degree of “follow the money” that smart users can capitalize on. If Facebook wants to push Facebook Live video to users to increase its popularity, it would be wise for you to use it and break through the walls that the algorithms put up. Being aware of best practices and using them to influence your communications strategy can create a lasting competitive advantage, as the optimization loop only gets stronger in your favor.
By: Bob Minkus, Director
A great way to promote your brand is by leveraging popular trends. Through a few well-managed steps you can create a strong link between your product and a popular trend, giving you an extra boost from the association. One notable example is the recent AR/mobile hit Pokémon GO. The game itself garnered massive amounts of media attention and numerous marketing capitalization articles to follow. In light of such a successful launch, I want to detail how you can successfully capitalize on the next big trend when it gets here.
Timing
In baseball, if you swing a second too late then you’ve missed the ball. The same applies to the launch of a PR or marketing campaign. Timing is important because there will be a surplus of companies and individuals racing to produce content surrounding any trend that beings to grow in popularity.
Pokémon GO launched in mid-July last year. If you hadn’t introduced your marketing idea by at least the first week of the launch, you were already edging on late. Joining the party a month in? You missed your chance. Trends move quickly in the digital age and it’s always better to be one step ahead of the game than even a millisecond behind.
When planning a trend-based PR or marketing campaign, make sure to carefully monitor the news for any pre-buildup of the trend and make sure to launch as close as possible with the actual hype of it. This way you ensure that you can be one of the first thought leaders commenting on the trend or one of the first brands to interact with it.
Focus on the Right Trends
Everyone loves a one hit wonder, but hits like that won’t have enough traction to sustain your PR and marketing efforts. What made Pokémon GO such a great trend to promote was the longevity of the brand and the multigenerational fan base. The first whisperings of this project had both adults who grew up in the ‘90s and young fans of today jumping with excitement to see their favorite characters come to life before their eyes. Buzz for this game started well before the release, and the hype kept growing the closer we got to the game’s release date.
If you are going to use marketing efforts in line with a popular trend, make sure it’s a trend that will last for a while. Even though Pokémon GO has had a decrease in users, it’s still popular and, more importantly, successful. It might be some time before we see another trend as popular as Pokémon GO, but it’s important to keep your eye out for the next trend that will have a potent presence in the media.
Find the Connection
Anyone can associate themselves with a trend, but the more meaningful the association, the more successful the campaign will be. To ensure people are paying attention to your brand amidst the hype of the trend, you need to make sure that your brand has a logical and meaningful connection to the trend. Don’t just talk about a trend for the sake of talking about it. Talk about it because it is relevant and you have something to add to the conversation. In any media or marketing relationship, you are looking to provide each other with relevant and useful information.
So, if you are trying to promote your brand in association with a big trend like Pokémon GO, find the logical connection before you promote. If you are a floral shop, a marketing idea could be creating Pokémon-themed floral arrangements that you give away to local stores with Pokéstops, an integral feature in the game. This type of “trend ride” is relevant, fun, and helpful for others, which is a great recipe for receiving positive media praise.
Overall, trend-based campaigns are an exciting and creative way to help promote your brand. With the correct attention to detail, you can create an interactive campaign that helps form a meaningful bond to a trend and successfully promote your brand. Pokémon GO may have had its time to shine, but will you see next year’s hit trend before it’s here? And, more importantly, will you catch it in time to capitalize on it?
By: Jaimie Yakaboski