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How To Make Social Media Part Of Your Inbound Marketing Strategy

3 mins read

Here's our 10 steps to make sure that your inbound marketing strategy includes a killer social media presence, in order to bring you maximum results. 

user on social media on an ipad

 

Why You Need Social Media As Part Of Your Inbound Marketing Strategy

Here are the 10 reasons why you need social media as part of your inbound marketing. Below, we will explain how to make sure your social media is working perfectly in regards to each and every one.

  1. Content Promotion
  2. Content Research
  3. Improves Audience Awareness
  4. Can Target Ideal Customers More Directly
  5. Great ROI
  6. Helps SEO
  7. Can Incorporate Paid Ads
  8. Build Links More Often
  9. Become Part Of The Conversation
  10. Brand & Authority Building

 

social media logos

 

How To Make Social Media Part Of Your Inbound Marketing Strategy In Terms Of...

1. Content Promotion

Firstly, it should be a given that you need to share your content via your social media accounts in order for people to view it. Organic search results will come eventually (if you follow proper Search Engine Optimisation practices), but social sharing needs to happen in order to let your audience know your new content is live.

Share on the day of publishing and again in the future. Be sure to communicate in a way which is apt for both the platform and your ideal buyer persona.

With proper buyer persona research, you should be able to deduce what will be an effective way to share your content in terms of frequency and timing.

social icons in digital 22 purple

2. Content Research

Before you get to the point of sharing your content (blogs, downloads, podcasts, videos), you obviously will be researching what to include.

Use social media to gain an insight into what your community or industry is interested in. Find out what people are talking about and what content is already being published. Looking at the number of comments, shares, likes on related accounts will give you a good idea of which topics are going to be worth researching further. A good place is to start by making notes on the persona in easy-to-read segmentations which can be done with effective inbound marketing templates

Don't forget to look at the conversation on social media within your niche from an alternative angle too. What are people not talking about? Or what do they want? Both of these can be opportunities for you to move into.

 

3. Improves Audience Awareness

By following the prior piece of advice, you will be aware of the wider audience on each particular social platform.

But, also, make sure you continually report the interaction of your followers with your content and are adapting your output in response to what they enjoy.

They (or the type of followers you are targeting and hoping to attract) should dictate how you present yourself on social just as much as the "face" you would like to show the world.

 

4. Can Target Ideal Customers More Directly

That is because social media is a great way to target your ideal customers directly.

For both B2C and B2B businesses, the conversational benefits of social media can be used to massively boost your inbound marketing efforts.

Help people out with free advice and offer them a link to your blog post on the topic. And once they are a follower, you will be "speaking" to them whenever you post.

This is absolutely vital in terms of moving them along the buyer's journey.

 

Buyer journey

 

5. Great ROI

Considering the ever increasing amount of users on social media, it's pretty crazy to think that you can put your business in contact with them all for free.

Obviously, the billion people who use Facebook aren't going to Like your page, but the principle is valid; technically they could.

And the minimum expense? Your own time.

 

6. Helps SEO

As you continue to learn about your audience, you can make sure your SEO practice is in line with your growing knowledge.

If you know what audiences are discussing and searching, you can create more content which is satisfying their needs. They will head to your site more often via search engines than before and then you ranking will soar.

 

7. Build Links More Often

Another big SEO-Social win is the ability to build links more often. Engaging with accounts which feed into your niche (or vice versa) means that you can build a trusting relationship with more and more contacts.

You can then outreach to these businesses for a guest post which links back to your site or tap into their audience via social sharing of your content through them.

 

 

8. Can Incorporate Paid Ads

An effective inbound marketing campaign also incorporates an element of PPC and social advertising.

Paying to put your content in the feeds of your targeted personas is a great way to reach more potential conversions and attract highly qualified traffic. Making sure the content waiting for them and the subsequent workflows are up-to-scratch will, once again, move them along the buyer's journey.

Just make sure your ads are inboundy.

 

9. Become Part Of The Conversation

Rather than constantly (and autonomously) shouting about your latest amazing eBook, become part of the conversation within your industry on social media.

Answer questions, offer advice, point people in the right direction of helpful content and, before long, you will have a growing number of active followers and leads.

This also helps you have your finger on the pulse in terms of what the community is thinking out there in social media-land. This helps your research, sharing and persona honing.

 

10. Brand & Authority Building

Because doing all that will build your brand presence and authority on your specialist area.

Offer advice, share appropriate helpful content (both your own and produced by others) will make your accounts well worth following. Your followers will then be more likely to turn to you when it comes to the decision stage of their personal buyer's journey.

 

Social Media Is Just One Aspect Of Inbound Marketing You Can Quickly Improve

SEO, PPC, email marketing... everything to do with digital marketing needs to work together to make sure you get the maximum results from your inbound marketing campaigns.

To get more great advice on how to get more from your inbound marketing efforts, check out this FREE download.