Social media marketing is a great way to drive traffic and leads to your technology company's website from social media sites. Nowadays, it's not enough to optimize your website to connect with your target market. You also have to amplify your website content with a presence on social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, among others.To grow your technology company, you need to focus on social media marketing because it connects with your target market on a personal level. This is important for all businesses, but most especially for tech companies, which many buyers still perceive as difficult to understand.
The social media marketing process begins with creating an online identity that buyers and customers can engage with. For example, you should create LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter accounts for your technology company and start posting useful, relevant content through your company accounts. This is the first step in establishing your tech company as a trusted adviser to your target market.
The next step is to develop your online identity by creating an image or persona you want your company to project. Do you want your company's voice to be fun, hip, and cool; or do you want it to be serious and authoritative? It's up to you to decide what suits your technology company best, but make sure to use the voice you choose throughout all of your social media marketing. Part of developing a recognizable online identity is consistency, so even if someone else takes charge of your company's social media accounts, the voice should stay the same.
The next thing you should do in the social media marketing process is to focus on the content to be shared. You can post links to your company's website and content -- it's a good way to promote it and to take advantage of your social media marketing. But you have to go beyond that if you want to pique and sustain interest. You have to offer something that promotes your company as a trusted adviser. Share useful content from other sites that is related to your target market's needs. If you find relevant articles and videos made by others, create posts on your company accounts that link back to them. Sharing content is what makes the social media marketing process thrive - it's a great way to get links to your website. If you share content from influential people in your industry, they just may return the favor and share your content.
Another key step in the social media marketing process is to engage your target market. Social media is about interaction, so be sure to ask questions that would elicit responses from your followers. Don't be afraid to be bold -- make thought-provoking inquiries as a way to spur discussions. Tapping into the emotions of your followers is a great way to engage with them. Be careful to avoid controversial topics; that often doesn't end well.
When your target market takes part in discussions, reply to them, even if only to acknowledge their participation. People want to feel that their opinions are valued, so make your followers feel special by communicating with them. You'll also be surprised at how much you can learn about how your target market perceives your company by monitoring what people are saying about you on social media. The things you might have missed as an insider may be very obvious to outsiders. Seeing your company from a different perspective can help you come up with ideas to improve your business model.
Social media marketing is indeed an effective way to grow your company, but be careful not to abuse it. The last thing you want is to come off as a spammer due to too many self-promoting posts and updates. You want to be engaging, not annoying. You're representing your company's brand -- an online identity for your company -- and not yourself. It's best not to mix your personal opinions with your company's voice. You can be controversial with your personal social media profile - although be careful if what you say can bleed into your company's message.
With those tips in mind, technology companies can use the power of social media marketing to their advantage. It's important to remember that in this digital age, having a great product isn't enough for a business to succeed; you need to educate and engage your target market with social media marketing.
