Inbound Marketing with Facebook and LinkedIn
This week I’ll be talking about Hubspot’s Inbound Marketing University webinar on “Successful Business Uses for Facebook and LinkedIn” taught by Elyse Tager. If you missed it, be sure to check out last week’s post, What Have You Done for Your Online Community Lately?
Inbound marketing vs. Outbound Marketing, what’s the deal?
In this webinar, Tager makes a point of differentiating between Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing. She says that traditional marketing (outbound) is primarily “push” marketing, which means that brand concepts are “pushed”, or broadcast, out to audiences via media such as tv, radio, and print ads. But now, consumers have so much information to sort through that it is becoming harder and harder to have your message stand out. Also, consumers now have the capacity to block those outbound marketing techniques. This is why inbound marketing is important. Using inbound marketing techniques, you create ways for the target audience to find you and engage with you, rather than the other way around.
Facebook and LinkedIn as Inbound Marketing Tools
When it was originally started, Facebook was primarily used by college students. It has since moved a bit more into the business side of things, however it still maintains its casual tone. Facebook has about 20 million users and is the 3rd most trafficked site out there.
LinkedIn, on the other hand, has always been a business networking site, and thus is much more structured and formal in tone. It has over 41 million members in over 200 countries and territories. Also, executives from all Fortune 500 companies are members. Makes you start to think about how social media can benefit your business, doesn’t it?
Ready to Get Started?
Hold on. Don’t go rushing in to things. There’s a few things you need to take care of first:
- Choose the right tools for the job. You can visit the About page (Facebook) and the Learning Center (LinkedIn) so you really know what you can do with each.
- Listen to your online community. Find out what your potential customers are talking about, as well as what other brands are saying.
- Define your goals, and identify appropriate benchmarks against which to measure these goals. This is the most important step, and it’s the only way you’ll be able to determine the value of your social media plan.
Executing Your Plan Strategically
You won’t have much success if you go about it willy-nilly. Build your networks strategically, thinking about your objectives and what you’re trying to accomplish with your participation. Keep in mind that quality and relevance trumps quantity. Your strategy should include these primary qualities:
- Connect with the right audience. Do your research to find out who your target audience is and what interests them.
- Create great content. And make sure it’s valuable to them. Do this on a frequent and consistent basis to gain attention and momentum.
- Engage with your community. Post and comment often, just as you would if you wanted to have a successful business blog. Also, pose questions publicly to other members, and answer queries posted by others.
Tips for Creating Your Profile
For both networks, you want to make sure you fill out your profile information as completely as possible. And make sure to keep your contact information updated so that your potential customers can reach you!
On Facebook, create a “Fan Page” for your company. Choose a category that defines your business, join relevant groups, and post and update frequently. Events are a great tool on Facebook as well. For more on creating a Fan Page, and how to advertise your page, check out the post, 4 Steps to Get Your Company Started on Facebook, by one of The JAR Group’s own inbound marketing gurus, Dylan Spencer.
On LinkedIn, do the same thing! Join relevant groups, and be active, asking and answering questions. One great feature of LinkedIn is that if you answer a question, the asker can rate your response, and that rating shows up on your profile. So if you receive an “expert” rating on an answer you gave, you’re establishing your credibility!
Facebook Fan Page tip: make sure you have at least two administrators, that way if there’s a freak accident, you can still access the Fan Page to update and maintain.
JAR tip: if you’re one of those super busy people who really want to have a better web presence, but just don’t have the time, check out SearchEgo from The JAR Group.
So there you go! Now go get started on Facebook and LinkedIn! And as always, don’t forget to look for my post next week on “Viral Marketing and World Wide Raves,” taught by David Meerman Scott.
