Six Reasons to use Social Media for Marketing
Social media can be tricky for some relocation and global mobility professionals. It seems like people are either all in or all out. While I am one of those ‘all in’ people, I have experienced first-hand how it has helped me build relationships in the industry. People feel like they know me based on my personal and professional posts. It has also allowed me to reach a lot of people with my blog and newsletter.
Even if you are a very private person and don’t want to put anything personal on social media, I encourage you to rethink that. You don’t have to post daily, but a well-timed post about an award you have won or something fabulous your child or grandchild has accomplished can create a bridge to people by humanizing you.
Here are six reasons why you should be utilizing social media to promote your programs and services:
Helps attract and engage with like-minded employees, industry peers, affiliates, and prospects
Strengthens existing client relationships
Humanizes your brand and company
Gains insight into your audience
Builds trust
It’s free!
Exponentially expand your reach
Since not everyone in the industry can attend every conference out there and people aren’t working in big corporate headquarter offices much any longer, it is much harder to have face-to-face encounters. So the key is to become recognizable by having your name and face associated with your company and your market area. You want to create a brand ambassador image.
Based on my business page's Facebook analytics, I know that my audience is 71% female. My content often reflects that stat. That statistic is not surprising based on the fact that our industry is female-dominated. I put a lot of time and energy into Facebook and LinkedIn because those are the two platforms that are more popular with our industry leader’s demographics. If you look at the younger people in our industry, you might find Twitter and Instagram more popular with them, but for my contemporaries, those platforms are more for entertainment and not so much for business connections. I personally find Twitter exhausting. TikTok is certainly coming on strong for those who enjoy and produce a lot of videos. And YouTube is an old staple for video sharing. Go wherever your best prospects are.
Show them you care
If you aren’t comfortable posting regularly, at least go in frequently and ‘like’ and comment on others’ posts. The optimum comment is about five words. It will show your name at the top of the post as someone who ‘likes’ the post or page. Genuine caring gives you a competitive advantage, so express those feelings authentically. And if you are absolutely not ok with social media, then you have to use the old school tactics of handwriting notes or at least sending an email when you hear of something of note happening in their life or business. It takes longer, but can really set you apart.
Dip your toe in the water
My advice for those who are currently not using social media at all, choose a platform and give it a try. Whether you think you are too old to learn or maybe too young to be bothered, just make an effort and see what kind of results you generate. The key is to invite a lot of ‘friends’ to connect. You don’t have to know them, but if you see they are an industry professional and work for a company that you have worked with then reach out. Send a personalized invitation to connect and don’t try and sell them anything. Just make a genuine connection.
Social media doesn’t have to be all-consuming. I usually check it when I am waiting to go on a zoom call, in the evening while watching TV, or when I just need a mindless break. Facebook in particular allows you to mute or silence people or unfollow them if your feed is being dominated by their posts. And you can flag those you want to ensure and never miss a post. The key is not to unfollow them so you allow them to continue to follow you and see your activity. Following industry company pages across multiple platforms can keep you up to date on what is going on with your sources of business and it shows them you are a supporter.
Keep it light
Make sure and keep politics and religion out of it at all costs. And depending on the platform, try and keep a happy blend of personal and professional posts. For the most part, keep LinkedIn posts strictly professional. There is so much great content out there, you don’t have to create your own, just reshare others with an intro message from you. But make sure and read the entire article before you share it. I do encourage you to create your own content if you can, the algorithms like that and writing your own content shows your competency and subject matter expertise. There are also many services out there that will seek out content for you based on topics you provide to them and write the introductions for you. They will even post your preapproved content based on a schedule you provide for them on the platforms of your choice.
It is ok to prewrite posts way in advance if they are not date sensitive. That way you can schedule them to keep your exposure consistent. If you really want to test the waters, boost one of your posts or articles. Because of the way the algorithms work, the platforms control how many eyes will see your posts. You can do as little as a $10 boost to see how many new targets they will expose your posts to. It might be worth it if you are looking to expand your audience or get people to your website. You can be pretty specific in your ad targeting with geographic or job title-related parameters. Offering up something like a free market data report is a great way to get people to give you their contact information.
Consider social media as another marketing tool to help you get broad exposure to a targeted audience. Social media is one of the great cost-effective brand builders…your personal brand. But be authentic and you will build trust. Make your social media maintenance a habit just like brushing your teeth. Once you bake it into your routine, it will become a regular practice!
“Think about what people are doing on Facebook today. They’re keeping up with their friends and family, but they’re also building an image and identity for themselves, which in a sense is their brand. They’re connecting with the audience that they want to connect to. It’s almost a disadvantage if you’re not on it now.” ~Mark Zuckerberg, American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
“Active participation on LinkedIn is the best way to say ‘Look at me!’ without saying ‘Look at me!’” ~Bobby Darnell, Author
