In the dynamic world of real estate, where competition is fierce and customers are increasingly turning to the internet for their property search, having a strong digital presence is essential. If you own a real estate company in Vadodara and want to stay ahead of the curve, embracing digital marketing strategies can help you reach a wider audience, generate more leads, and ultimately boost your business. In this blog, we will explore the key benefits of digital marketing for real estate in Vadodara and provide insights into effective strategies you can implement to maximize your online visibility and success.
- Establish a Powerful Online Presence: In today’s digital age, potential buyers and sellers are more likely to begin their real estate journey online. By investing in digital marketing, you can establish a strong online presence that enables you to connect with your target audience effectively. A well-designed website, engaging social media profiles, and optimized online listings will enhance your visibility and credibility in Vadodara’s competitive real estate market.
- Targeted Advertising: One of the biggest advantages of digital marketing is the ability to target specific demographics and locations. With platforms like Google Ads and social media advertising, you can reach potential clients in Vadodara who are actively searching for real estate services. By tailoring your ads to their interests, preferences, and location, you can increase the chances of attracting qualified leads, resulting in higher conversion rates.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing your website for search engines is crucial for driving organic traffic to your real estate business. By incorporating relevant keywords, creating quality content, and optimizing your website’s structure, you can improve your search engine rankings. This, in turn, increases the visibility of your website in Vadodara’s search results, making it easier for potential clients to find you when they’re actively looking for real estate services.
- Engage with Your Audience: Digital marketing allows you to engage with your target audience on various platforms and build meaningful relationships. Utilize social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to share informative and visually appealing content about the Vadodara real estate market, property trends, and investment opportunities. Regularly interacting with your followers through comments, messages, and live sessions helps foster trust and positions your company as a reliable source of real estate information and services.
- Content Marketing: Creating valuable content not only helps you establish authority in the real estate industry but also improves your website’s visibility. Consider starting a blog where you can share informative articles, guides, and market insights specific to Vadodara. By addressing the common concerns and questions of your target audience, you can attract organic traffic and position your real estate company as a knowledgeable and trustworthy resource.
- Online Reviews and Testimonials: Positive reviews and testimonials from satisfied clients can greatly influence the decision-making process of potential customers. Encourage your happy clients to leave reviews on platforms like Google My Business and real estate directories. Showcase these reviews on your website and social media profiles to build credibility and trust with your audience.
Conclusion: Digital marketing offers immense opportunities for real estate companies in Vadodara to expand their reach, attract qualified leads, and boost business growth. By investing in strategies such as targeted advertising, SEO, engaging content, and online reputation management, you can establish a strong online presence, connect with your target audience effectively, and differentiate your business from competitors. Embrace the power of digital marketing and position your real estate company for success in Vadodara’s competitive market.
Digital Marketing for Real Estate: Boosting Your Business in the Online World
Introduction
In today’s fast-paced digital age, where almost everything is just a click away, it is crucial for real estate professionals to embrace the power of digital marketing to stay ahead of the competition. Digital marketing for real estate offers a myriad of opportunities to reach a wider audience, generate leads, and ultimately boost your business. This article explores the various aspects of digital marketing strategies tailored specifically for the real estate industry. From search engine optimization (SEO) to social media marketing, we’ll delve into effective techniques that can help you maximize your online presence and drive success in the real estate market.
Digital Marketing for Real Estate: A Winning Strategy
Digital marketing encompasses a wide range of tactics and platforms to promote your real estate business online. Let’s take a closer look at some key areas where digital marketing can make a significant impact.
1. Creating a User-Friendly Website
Your website serves as the foundation of your digital marketing efforts. It is essential to have a well-designed, user-friendly website that showcases your properties and services. Ensure that your website is responsive, loads quickly, and is easy to navigate. Incorporate high-quality images and videos to engage your visitors and provide detailed property information.
2. Implementing Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is the process of optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results. By targeting relevant keywords and optimizing your website structure, meta tags, and content, you can increase organic traffic to your site. Conduct keyword research to identify popular search terms in the real estate industry, such as “buying a home” or “real estate investment.” Create informative and valuable content around these keywords to attract potential buyers and sellers.
3. Harnessing the Power of Social Media
Social media platforms offer a powerful way to connect with your target audience and promote your real estate listings. Establish a strong presence on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Share visually appealing content, such as property photos, virtual tours, and informative videos. Engage with your followers by responding to comments, answering questions, and sharing relevant industry news. Leverage social media advertising options to expand your reach and target specific demographics.
4. Utilizing Email Marketing
Email marketing allows you to nurture leads and maintain regular communication with potential buyers and sellers. Build an email list by offering valuable content, such as newsletters, market reports, or exclusive property updates. Segment your email list based on specific criteria, such as buyer or seller preferences, location, or property type. Personalize your emails to provide tailored information and incentives that resonate with each recipient.
5. Embracing Video Marketing
Video has become a dominant medium in the digital landscape. Create engaging property videos, virtual tours, and neighborhood guides to captivate your audience. Video content can be shared on your website, social media platforms, and YouTube. Use video to showcase unique selling points, highlight property features, and build trust with potential clients.
6. Leveraging Online Advertising
Online advertising offers a targeted approach to reach potential buyers and sellers. Platforms like Google Ads and social media advertising provide options to display your ads to specific locations, demographics, and interests. Develop compelling ad copy and visuals that stand out and drive clicks. Monitor and optimize your campaigns regularly to maximize your return on investment (ROI).
FAQs
1. Q: How can digital marketing benefit my real estate business?
A: Digital marketing allows you to expand your reach, generate leads, and build brand awareness in the online realm. By utilizing various strategies like SEO, social media marketing, and online advertising, you can increase your chances of connecting with potential buyers and sellers.
- Q: How can I improve my website’s search engine rankings?
- A: To improve your website’s search engine rankings, focus on implementing effective SEO techniques. This includes optimizing your website’s structure, meta tags, and content with relevant keywords. Create valuable and informative content that appeals to your target audience and encourages them to engage with your website. Regularly update your website with fresh content and ensure it is mobile-friendly for optimal user experience.
- Q: What social media platforms should I prioritize for real estate marketing?
- A: The choice of social media platforms depends on your target audience and the type of content you wish to share. Facebook is a versatile platform that allows you to reach a wide range of demographics. Instagram is ideal for visually appealing property photos and virtual tours. LinkedIn can be useful for connecting with industry professionals and targeting a business-oriented audience. Consider your target audience’s preferences and behavior to select the most suitable platforms.
- Q: How often should I send emails to my subscribers?
- A: The frequency of your email communications depends on your audience’s preferences and the type of content you are providing. It is essential to strike a balance between staying top-of-mind and not overwhelming your subscribers. Aim to send regular newsletters, market updates, or property alerts, but avoid excessive emailing that may lead to unsubscribes. Monitor email engagement metrics to gauge the optimal frequency for your specific audience.
- Q: Is video marketing necessary for real estate?
- A: Video marketing has become increasingly important in the real estate industry. It allows you to showcase properties effectively, provide virtual tours, and establish a personal connection with potential clients. Video content tends to be more engaging and shareable, helping you attract a wider audience and differentiate yourself from competitors. Incorporating video marketing into your digital strategy can enhance your overall success.
- Q: How can I measure the effectiveness of my digital marketing efforts?
- A: Measuring the effectiveness of your digital marketing efforts is crucial to understand what strategies are working and identify areas for improvement. Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track website traffic, user behavior, and conversions. Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rates, lead generation, and social media engagement. Regularly analyze your data and adjust your strategies accordingly to optimize your results.
Conclusion
Digital marketing has become indispensable for real estate professionals looking to thrive in the digital era. By leveraging strategies such as SEO, social media marketing, video marketing, and online advertising, you can elevate your online presence, attract a broader audience, and generate more leads. Remember to continuously analyze your efforts, adapt to the evolving digital landscape, and prioritize providing value to your potential buyers and sellers. With the right digital marketing tactics, your real estate business can flourish in the competitive online world.
After it was spotted in testing last month, Instagram has now officially launched a live test of 60-second videos in Stories, which will mean that longer video clips will no longer be split into 15-second segments, and played across various Stories frames.
As noted, last month, app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi shared this message, stored in the back-end code of the app, which is now being displayed to some users in the live environment.
We asked Instagram about the update, and it provided this statement:
“The ability to create longer Stories posts comes highly requested by our community. We’re excited to be testing 60-second Stories so that people can create and view Stories with fewer interruptions.”
Instagram says that the option is currently being tested with a small group of users, with a view to providing more creative freedom, and further integrating the app’s various video options to streamline its creative tools and functions.
Which, really, is the key focus. Back in January, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri flagged a coming consolidation of the app’s video products, with a view to better facilitating creation, and scaling back the platform’s various tools. That started with the merging of its video feed posts into a single format early last month, along with the retirement of the IGTV brand.
As Mosseri explained to Decoder:
“We’re looking about how we can – not just with IGTV, but across all of Instagram – simplify and consolidate ideas, because last year we placed a lot of new bets. I think this year we have to go back to our focus on simplicity and craft.”
The re-thinking of its approach has been largely influenced by TikTok, which has become the most popular social app among young users, overtaking Instagram as the cool place to be.
Part of TikTok’s core appeal is simplicity – on TikTok, you open to a full-screen feed of video clips and live-streams, with all of it combined into one, optimized, focused listing, tailored to each individual user.
Instagram is far more segmented, with Reels in a separate feed, and Stories in its own section. That could be restricting optimal take-up, which is why Instagram’s now looking to bring all of these elements together, which will also, eventually, enable it to showcase the best of each aspect in a single, more-engaging stream.
The expansion to 60-second video clips in Stories is another step in this gradual merging, which, at some stage, will likely see the app open to a full-screen feed of Stories, feed posts and Reels, all in one, enabling IG, like TikTok, to use the full breadth of uploaded content to maximize user engagement.
It’s still a way off that next stage, but longer videos will mean that users can now post full Reels to Stories, for example, essentially merging the two functions automatically. Then it’s just determining how it shifts from the traditional feed to a more Stories/Reels aligned one instead.
That’s a bigger step, and a more fundamental change for the app. But as part of Meta’s broader focus on winning back younger users, you can bet that it’s coming, and likely sooner, rather than later.
Which is why this new test is a significant step. It’s limited for now, but you can expect to see longer Stories videos coming to your Instagram app sometime soon.
This could come in handy – YouTube has today added a new option in YouTube Studio which enables users to re-use details from previous uploads for new uploads within the posting process on desktop.
As you can see here, the new option enables you to re-use:
- Video title
- Video description
- Language settings
- Shorts sampling permissions
- Category selections
That could save you a lot of time, particularly for those who regularly post on the same topics, or have to manually input language options with each new post.
Of course, you’re probably not going to upload many videos with the exact same title and description, but by copying the details across, that could make it easier to edit those details quickly, for similar content, without having to re-enter the same info for each video in a series.
You can access the new option in the ‘Details’ section of the upload flow, with a new ‘Reuse Details’ option above the title field.
It’s actually fairly similar to YouTube’s existing upload defaults option, which you can use to apply the same settings to each of your clips, but this new variation enables more control, with the capacity to utilize different settings for each clip, while you can also customize your selections with each upload.
YouTube announced the update among a set of new tweaks, including an updated ‘Memberships’ tab in YouTube Studio and the addition of more analytics previously only available on desktop to the mobile app.
As you can see in these screenshots, users will now be able to access ‘last 28 days’ views performance, weekly view performance and monthly performance stats in the app, providing more ways to stay on top of key measures via the mobile app.
The update’s part of the platform’s ongoing effort to bring the desktop and mobile apps into parity, with all of the functionality eventually set to be accessible on the go.
And while they may not be game-changing updates, as such, for those who are working to maximize their YouTube performance, and are uploading regularly, they could drive significant benefits.
8 Effective Digital Marketing Strategies For Restaurants: Attract Customers and Drive Sales in 2021
They say the restaurant business is one of the most difficult industries to break into, let alone thrive in. Small business owners already face an uphill battle, as nearly 50 percent of them fail within the first five years. If the restaurant business is even more unforgiving, how can you push the odds in your favor?
The key to any successful business is knowing how to market to your audience. You need to answer important questions like “How will my community know I exist?” and “How can I attract people to my restaurant?”
Your answers lie in restaurant digital marketing. While some validity can be found in the traditional means of advertising such as handing out flyers, direct mailing services, and radio commercials, the world has largely gone digital. If you don’t have an online presence, you might as well close up shop.
1. Perfect Your Website
First, even though you own a local restaurant that’s anything but digital, your storefront is no longer the face of your company. When 88 percent of consumers go online to research products or services, they judge a business’s credibility based on their website above all else. If your restaurant’s website leave’s something to be desired, odds are they’re going to bounce off your website to find one they like better.
Your website needs to be professional, functional, and user-friendly. Potential customers need to be able to navigate your site intuitively to find things like menus, hours of operation, and your address. Additionally, remember that most people use their smartphone to research things like this, regardless of if they’re at home, in the car, at work, and so on – your website must be optimized for mobile devices.
Finally, invest some time and money in professional pictures of your restaurant space, foods you offer, and your staff. The food will look more appetizing and your staff will appear more professional. It gives potential customers a sense of intimacy with your restaurant, even before they visit.
2. Focus on Local SEO
One of the most important steps in restaurant digital marketing is perfecting your search engine optimization. SEO is everything in terms of getting organic traffic to your website, and ultimately, customers in your seats. When someone types in “Italian (or whatever) restaurants near me,” your SEO rating will determine how quickly they find you.
Whether people are locals or travelers, you need to make sure your website’s SEO makes you a local hotspot. You can boost your SEO by taking the following actions:
- Create a blog on your website full of engaging and relevant content
- Make sure every page of your website utilizes local keywords and other forms of SEO coding (metadata embedded in pictures, videos, headings, etc.)
- Use both internal links (to other pages of your site) and external links (to affiliate websites, sources of data, etc.)
- Create a Google My Business Account
- Make sure your contact information and address is listed multiple times and is easy to find
As you can see, if you’re new to SEO, it can be a steep learning curve. Look into further educating yourself about SEO or seek professional services if you need help.
3. Gain Followers on Social Media
Having a website that’s teeming with SEO coding is great (and necessary). However, there are some more proactive ways you can drive traffic to your site as well. Did you know that 70 percent of American adults are on Facebook? That means 70 percent of your potential customers can be found in one location.
Restaurant digital marketing without a social media strategy is folly. Not only can you amass a following of people who are attracted to your restaurant and are likely to be repeat customers, but social media also provides effective networking opportunities. The best part is, you have plenty of options for both free and paid advertising campaigns.
For example, you can market cost-free on social media by hosting raffles or competitions offering free meals, gift cards, or even cash prizes to the winners. The key is to use the competition to extend your reach by encouraging users to like, comment, and share your posts. In turn, their followers will see their activity, be exposed to the competition, and likely start following your profile to compete for prizes as well.
Alternatively, you can look to paid social media marketing which allows you to choose how much you spend per day toward your campaign as well as your target audience (based on age, gender, location, and more). This also comes with the perk of analytical data that breaks down the success and performance of your ads. You’ll be able to see how each ad performed in terms of engagement (link clicks, likes, follows, shares, comments) to help you fine-tune your advertisements.
4. Use Influencer Marketing
If you have yet to amass a strong following or are looking for a larger target audience, consider influencer marketing. Social media influencers are those who have established credibility within certain industries or demographics, and as a result, often have thousands, if not millions of followers.
If there are any food-specific influencers in your relative location, it may not be a bad idea to reach out and invite them to eat at your restaurant for free. If they like your food, you can come up with an influencer marketing contract. In exchange for them to create a post about your restaurant, you can pay them a fee or give them a certain number of free meals.
5. Implement Email Marketing
Another effective restaurant digital marketing strategy is called email marketing. First, you need to build an email list of recipients who have subscribed to your email. Gaining subscribers can be done by offering discounts to previous customers who subscribe, through social media, your website, affiliate websites, and landing page ads.
Once a customer subscribes, you need to have an automated set of emails that go out once or twice a week. These emails should be friendly and express gratitude to your subscribers while subtly pushing them toward coming back to your restaurant. However, they also need to contain valuable content (discounts, promotions), or people will stop opening them.
Email marketing has proven to be a top contender because it falls back on marketing to people who’ve already shown interest in or eaten at your restaurant.
6. Take Advantage of Online Reviews
Next, remember that most people need a little reassurance when it comes to investing in products or services, including dining experiences. When people research restaurants online, one of the things they’re looking for is what other customers had to say. You need to take advantage of online reviews and the level of credence consumers put in them.
Start by encouraging every paying customer to post a review on Google, your website, or on your social media profile. Most people need to be incentivized, so offer a respectable discount on their next meal once they’ve completed the review. While offering a chance to win ‘x’ amount of dollars can be helpful, most people won’t take the time to review your restaurant for a mere chance of winning something – give them something definite.
7. Network With Other Local Businesses
Another beneficial restaurant digital marketing strategy utilizes other small business owners in your area. Start building affiliate relationships with complementary businesses (but not other restaurants). You can work with one another by guest-posting on each other’s blogs, recommending their services, and more.
For example, connect with a local hotel and see if they will recommend your restaurant to travelers and other guests. They can do this in person and through their website. On your end, offer discounts to any customers who come to you through the hotel.
Alternatively, you can team up with other small businesses and offer discounts for business-related meals, such as salesmen meeting with current or potential clients, team luncheons, after-work parties, etc. The key is to offer value to other businesses that choose to affiliate with you. In return, you gain more customers and stronger influence within your community.
8. Keep Online Engagement High
Lastly, it’s important to understand that consistency is everything in restaurant digital marketing. If you want your community to remember your name when it comes time to grab a meal, you must make an effort to make it so. Running an advertising campaign once a year isn’t enough.
However, this doesn’t mean you have to break the bank to keep patrons coming back to your restaurant time and time again. It’s the little things like updating your website regularly, posting new content a few times a week on social media, and advertising new items on your menu. But remember, you have to keep the community involved by hyping up new specials online, running contests, and giving back.
Looking for More Help With Restaurant Digital Marketing?
Owning a successful restaurant isn’t like it used to be. At one time, as long as your food and service were good, you could set up shop on the street corner and do business for years. However, it takes a little more intention now in the way you market and engage with the community.
Are you considering your Facebook strategy for the year ahead? Want to learn the key facts before executing your campaign?
The team from Oberlo share the stats you need to know in this infographic.
Here’s a summary of what you’ll learn:
- How Many People Use Facebook?
- Facebook Advertising Revenue
- Businesses Use
- Mobile Over Desktop
- Average Time Spent
Check out the infographic below for more detail.
While well-known marketing strategies may still apply in some cases, changing consumer behavior requires new and effective strategies to gain traction and improve sales. It’s also extremely important to understand that the market is now driven by convenience and experiences, and change is necessary in order to keep up with the competition.
For example, millennials now account for two-thirds of the buying power in the world and recent statistics show that the average millennial spends more than five hours per day on social media. With this in mind, hotels that fail to produce content on Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms are practically invisible and when you consider the buying power above, this can be extremely detrimental to hotel sales and reputation.
In this article, we take a look at some of the intricacies involved with hotel digital marketing and the specific actions you can take to get ahead in the industry.
How hotels market?
Successful hotels will have a digital marketing strategy that takes in all the points in this article. While some experiences may be digital, others are much more personal and the common trend across these initiatives is that the customer is always right.
Either way, it’s not simply a case of doing a little here and there but rather about creating a marketing blueprint that will help the hotel excel.
Now, let’s dive into twelve actionable tips for hotel digital marketing in 2019:
2021 Guide to hotel digital marketing
1. You need an amazing website to support your hotel digital marketing efforts
Many visitors jump on Hotels.com or one of the many other booking engines to find the best value deals. However, you will also know that many online users will then search for the hotel website for either more information or an even better price for the night. With this in mind, you absolutely need an attractive website for the best results. And a great website is crucial whether you work in the hotel business, the healthcare digital business, the financial business, the IT business or any other business out there.
Here are just a few more benefits to having an amazing website:
Location – You can elaborate on the location and outline the features in the area as opposed to just explaining how a tourist can come to your hotel. In most instances, location is the first way in which a hotel can differentiate itself from the competition.
Voice – Booking engines are generic by nature but having your own website is an opportunity for hotels to speak directly to the customer. In other words, you can keep things more personal or conversational and “speak their language” in order to establish a relationship with potential customers.
Features – Why might customers choose your hotel over any other? Having a dedicated website enables you to outline the most attractive features that set you apart from any other hotel. As you know, booking engines rarely take time to highlight these aspects in the way that they probably should.
SEO – Search engine optimization is essential for long term success and hotel digital marketing will increasingly rely on this effort to produce valuable information for the end user. With your own website, you can improve keywords and social media links to booking search rankings and over time, this can reduce a hotel’s dependence on such engines.
Content marketing seems all the rage right now but there is good reason for this focus. In other words, content is the best way to drive sustainable traffic to hotel listings and creating this content is undoubtedly the most effective strategy.
As a rule, there are two forms of content – images and descriptions:
Images
You need a professional photographer for a hotel website and anything less just won’t do. High quality images tell a story and professional photographers know how to capture this story in every shot. When you think about it, these images are the face of your brand and every booking engine will also use these photographs so it makes sense to put time, effort, and money into making the right first impression.
Descriptions
Whether the hotel breakfast is the stuff of legend or each bedroom offers picturesque views from the balcony, you need broadcast these details loud and clear. Luxury bedding, friendly staff, and saunas are all features that you are likely proud of and that needs to be communicated to potential guests.
Simply put, your guests won’t know what you don’t tell them and these features are what most people think about when it comes to choosing the best option for an upcoming stay.
3. Meta-search marketing
Did you know that more than 70% of hotel bookings come from online travel agencies (OTA) like Kayak, Priceline, or Expedia? It’s true, and meta search marketing is the best way to increase the number of direct bookings on your hotel website. In fact, using a meta search strategy for hotel digital marketing can drastically reduce the need for these OTAs and allow the hotel to create a much more powerful sales funnel.
More than 70% of hotel bookings come from online travel agencies (OTA) like Kayak, Priceline, or Expedia.CLICK TO TWEET
Just so you know, meta-search marketing filters the availability and rates from hotels and shows these results in one central place. Example, you go to expedia.com and type in Chicago hotels. You get to see all hotels listed on Expedia for Chicago. For this reason, a hotel can set regular advertising campaigns and use click-based ads to expose their weekly or monthly deals to millions of online users.
At the same time, attaining positive reviews and social signals is just as important for this process, so hotels should frequently remind guests to leave reviews or positive comments about their experience.
4. Manage all online reviews & reputation
As you may know, Tripadvisor has come under scrutiny in recent years due to fake reviews and rather sinister activities – and has also viciously retaliated against offenders which has resulted in indictments and prison time.
However, reputation is everything in the hotel industry and online reviews are still the only way to gain an independent insight into a hotel experience.
While hundreds of five star reviews will inevitably result in further sales, even one bad review can severely damage the reputation of a hotel.
For this reason, it’s important to ask customers for positive reviews and leave reminders of this request at every turn. You should also share these positive reviews on social media and take time to respond with appreciation for these reviews, demonstrating your attention.
Finally, responding to negative reviews is equally important for online reputation management. That is to say, this is your chance to apologize and improve, and alleviate any concerns that these review might pose to future guests.
5. SEO for hotel digital marketing
Hotel digital marketing is largely dependent on SEO and this can be split into two categories – on-site and off-site SEO. While on-site SEO is a lot faster and easier to implement, it should be known that off-site SEO is often the most effective way to gain traction online.
On-site SEO – On-site SEO refers to how you can optimize elements on a hotel website to increase online visibility. You can use this strategy to improve pages, posts, images, and even the structure of the website. However, keyword strategy is arguably the most important aspect of on-site SEO and this can dramatically improve the amount of traction and visitors a hotel website will receive.
Off-site SEO – Off-site SEO is a process that most often involves building external backlinks to a hotel website from other online resources and directories. Social shares signals also count toward this effort but guest posts, sponsored posts, and referrals are some of the most common ways to improve off-site SEO.
6. Focus on local SEO
Any type of SEO is a good thing but local SEO can produce immediate results for a hotel website. While many people assume local SEO merely tends to optimizing images, descriptions, tags, or titles on a website, there is much more to this process.
For example, Yelp, Tripadvisor, and other listing websites hold important information about your website.
You can start your local SEO efforts by optimizing and improving the details on these listings. Also, Google My Business is increasingly effective in terms of ranking for local search queries and you should ensure every aspect of this profile is complete to take advantage of this opportunity.
On the other hand, you can also focus on local content and create posts or videos about activities, events or attractions in the nearby area. With this in mind, local SEO can help give your hotel website a greater sense of relevance for search queries and this authority is essential for hotel digital marketing.
Any type of SEO is a good thing but local SEO can produce immediate results for a hotel website.CLICK TO TWEET
7. How do hotels promote on social media?
Many hotel owners forget that Facebook is still the king of social media and the ultimate machine for driving hotel digital marketing.
Positive reviews – If you think about it, the review sections is placed right at the top of a Facebook page but many hotels seem to ignore this feature entirely. Whether you have a stack of reviews on Tripadvisor or elsewhere, positive reviews on this section will instill confidence and trust in potential guests.
Facebook sales – Facebook now enables business owners to take bookings and even payments through the platform. In fact, Trivago recently awarded a resort in Mexico for their outstanding social media campaigns which resulted in an especially large number of direct bookings via Facebook.
Twitter – Although often overlooked for Instagram or Facebook, Twitter is a fantastic tool for reaching a very specific target market. Trivago also awarded Cedar Manor in the UK for how the hotel manages to drive so much traffic by using hashtags to highlight events, news, and attractions in the local area.
Instagram – Needless to say, Instagram offers hotels the opportunity to reach an incredibly big market and with the right images, this is another obvious way to demonstrate the high quality of the hotel.
People – On the other hand, social media is all about the people and some of the best hotel digital marketing strategies are those which involve the staff and people behind the hotel. After all, stories are incredibly effective in content marketing and telling stories about the staff is a great way to create a meaningful relationship between the hotel and potential guests.
8. Social listening for hotels
In case you might be asking yourself, social listening refers to the hotel digital marketing strategy that uses trackers and tools to alert the business about mentions online.
But why is this important?
Well, this is your chance to interact with guests and show future customers how much you care. At the same time, you cannot respond to what you do not know about and the following platforms can help businesses know when they receive a mention in the online world:
Hootsuite – Although many people use Hootsuite to automate social media posts, you can also use the dashboard to check for mentions on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and most major platforms.
Curalate – Curalate is all about improving the selling process for hotels and this platform enables you to connect social media content to your website, while checking for mentions in the process.
Sprout Social – Forming meaningful connections with guests is highly important for a hotel and Sprout Social offers many solutions which can pinpoint interactions online relating to your brand.
Buzzsumo – BuzzSumo is fantastic monitoring tool which helps you find content on social media relating to your hotel. In fact, you can even enter the domain and links should appear instantaneously.
9. Try out Facebook’s Dynamic Ads for hotels
In case you might be asking yourself, Facebook Ads are far from “dead” and many businesses continue to focus the majority of their marketing budget on this avenue. In fact, Wish is now one of the largest e-commerce stores in the world with five million users and this platform was built almost entirely using Facebook Ads over the past few years.
Travel Ads is a new initiative which allows hotels to show their ads across Facebook and instagram to people who are most likely to travel. For example, if a user is browsing hotels and yet to make a booking, travel ads will place your hotel in front of them for specific dates and prices.
As far as hotel digital marketing goes, Facebook’s Dynamic Ads is certainly one of the most exciting strategies to reach the industry in recent years.
10. Email marketing for hotels
Email marketing is increasingly important in the hotel industry and this is especially true at a time when ads and social media marketing is so common. At the same time, this is also still one of the most affordable ways to reach an audience and one that requires no upfront cost.
However, it’s important to take the right approach for hotel digital marketing and here are just three of several important considerations to keep in mind:
Segmentation – You cannot start an email marketing campaign without a robust plan and defining your audience is extremely important to ensure your emails land in the right place. In other words, you cannot just send everyone the same email and expect success, and your database must be divided into categories of interest.
Grab attention – It should go without saying but generic content has no place in email marketing and you will need to use deals, discounts, or information about local events to grab the attention of your ideal users. Either way, there simply must be genuine and unique value in the email to have any impact.
Nurture respect – You should really treat your customers like royalty and seek to create a meaningful relationship that will make them want to open your emails in the first place. You should also welcome feedback from these emails and try to establish precisely what the customer wants to hear from you.
Needless to say, these are just a few things to keep in mind but the overall message here is that email marketing is effective when you take the right approach.
11. Have remarketing enabled online (Do NOT ignore this strategy!)
Hotel remarketing is a process that helps hotels engage with potential customers that may have visited the hotel website and abandoned their search. That is to say, you can use this strategy to get these users to revisit the website and make a purchase at the second time of asking. If you think about it, this is extremely effective because you already know that the user is ready to make a purchase.
But how can you use remarking as part of your hotel digital marketing strategy?
Remarketing ads will simply target previous users with discounts or deals to re-engage these customers.
In this sense, your ad will pop up in the users newsfeed and tempt them with an improved offer. As a rule, it’s important for this campaign to offer a lot of value and the right keywords need to be used to reach the largest possible audience.
Keep in mind, it’s just as important to be subtle rather than “in your face” and the value on offer should hopefully be enough to entice this customer to book the hotel.
12. Emerging technologies
New technologies are proving extremely powerful for the hotel industry with chatbots in particular making a significant impact. As you may know, chatbots are created by developers and have various functions which enhance the performance and user experience on a website.
There are two types of chat bots that can be used for hotel digital marketing – chatbots for the hotel website and chat bots for the hotel room via Alexa.
For many people, they will know that chat bots can successfully engage with customers via messenger and extract critical data that can be used to follow up later on by the hotel.
On the other hand, voice-enabled devices can use Alexa to improve the hotel experience and provide valuable assistance to guests, just like the Amazon Echo does in the kitchen.
Final thoughts
As you can see, hotel digital marketing is a vast topic but the above tips are some of the most practical strategies and solutions for getting ahead in the industry.
While some methods require financial investment, much of this process is down to knowledge or experience, and having a solid marketing plan is usually enough to ensure your hotel is improving at every turn and moving in the right direction.
‘Read Me’, is intended to enable marketers to effectively achieve their objectives on LinkedIn, through the trio of essential guides.
The series of guides delve into comprehensions of the various facets of the LinkedIn platform and how marketers can use it to the maximum advantage. The guides are available free of cost.
Here is the breakdown of objectives one may pursue with the help of each guide:
Read Me If You Want to Build Your Brand on LinkedIn
- Long-term business growth
- Building a strong business case for branding
- Using mainly organic content
Read Me If You Want to Drive More Leads on LinkedIn
- Short-term sales and marketing results
- Improving lead quality and quantity
- Using mainly paid advertising
Also Read: LinkedIn launches Sales Insights, a hub of people-sourced data
Read Me If You Want to Advertise Better On LinkedIn
- A balance of long- and short-term results
- Maximizing campaign effectiveness
- Using an integrated organic + paid strategy on LinkedIn
Each guide would explain how one gradually progresses towards an objective. For instance, defining objectives, precise targeting, choosing the right format mix, and monitoring the right metrics.
The guides are packed with statistics and data to spell out the significance of a tactic. Analysis of campaigns that have worked in the past, similar to the case study format, that dissect the challenges, solutions, and results, are also an integral part of the guide.
Marketers can also get a gist of optimized use of LinkedIn features, and use case scenarios to pursue the desired objectives such as establishing an organic presence, garnering higher engagement, and more.
As the world grappled with a global pandemic, India took to Twitter to stay informed, connected, and entertained while talking about their passions, re-discovering interests, and having diverse conversations.
Needless to say, #Covid19 dominated this year with people on Twitter, seeking reliable information, connecting with experts, and following what was happening in real-time in India.
The conversations on the service revolved around multiple Coronavirus-related topics, including the critical need to #WearAMask. This year also brought a sense of gratitude for our frontline workers. Tweets expressing being grateful or thankful increased by 20% globally, with particular recognition of doctors (+135%) and teachers (+30%).
Beyond #Covid19, fans paid tribute to #SushantSinghRajput and his career and denounced the alleged rape of a young Dalit woman in #Hathras. People talked about movements taking place across the country, lending their voices to #StudentLivesMatter, #ShaheenBagh, and #FarmersProtest, making those the most Tweeted about people’s movements this year.
In a time where everyone sought to be entertained on the internet, Twitter was the go-to destination for sports chatter with #IPL2020, #WhistlePodu and #TeamIndia becoming the most Tweeted hashtags in sports.
Movies and TV were no less. Globally, there were more than 7,000 Tweets per minute about TV and movies this year. In India, Hindi film #DilBechara, Tamil film #SooraraiPottru, and Telugu film #SarileruNeekevvaru were the most Tweeted about films to release this year, and people took a minute to laugh at the relatability of #Binod, making it the most Tweeted meme.
People connected virtually and yet, more intimately. From re-discovering interests such as #Photography, #Yoga, and #Poetry, to throwing back to a different time and getting nostalgic with conversations about #Ramayan, #Pokiri, and #Mahabaharat, audiences took to the service giving rise to diverse conversations from the tedious to the unexpected.
Talking about how Indians used Twitter this year, Manish Maheshwari, Managing Director, Twitter India said, “Being the year it has been, conversation on Twitter in 2020 was unique. From the fight against this global pandemic, rejoicing in celebratory moments, standing up for those communities impacted by the pandemic, to bonding over rediscovered shows, interests, and memes, India came together beautifully on Twitter this year. In 2021, while the nation bounces back, we hope to continue giving everyone a voice and provide a service to stay virtually engaged with what’s happening in the country and the world.”
Here is a look at the Golden Tweets of 2020, Tweets that became the most Retweeted, Liked, and Quoted Tweets on the service. From Vijay’s connection with his fans, Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s celebratory news, Ratan Tata’s Tweet pledging support to impacted communities, to Amitabh Bachchan’s Tweet about COVID-19, each of the Golden Tweets reflect what Indians loved talking about in 2020.
#ThisHappened: Golden Tweets of 2020
*Methodology: Identified based on the total number of Retweets / Likes / Quote Tweets by Twitter accounts in India between Jan 1 to Nov 15, 2020.
Most Retweeted Tweet
Vijay’s selfie with his fans from February 2020, celebrated the strong connection that Tamil stars have with their community on Twitter.
Vijay’s Tweet of a selfie with his fans in Neyveli in February was widely loved and shared by fans of Tamil cinema across the country. Over the years, film fans from Tamil cinema have actively taken to Twitter to show their love and support for their favorite superstars and Tweet about what’s happening in the world of entertainment. 2020 was no different.
Most Retweeted Tweet in Politics
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tweeted about lighting lamps of hope and good health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During his ‘9 PM-9 Mins’ public address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi requested the people of India to light lamps from the safety of their homes as a symbolic gesture of solidarity towards one other. This Tweet became the most Retweeted Tweet by a politician.
Most Retweeted Tweet in Sports
MS Dhoni expressed appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s letter.
Cricketer MS Dhoni shared his gratitude on Twitter, thanking Prime Minister Modi for sending him a letter that appreciated his achievements and contribution to cricket in India. The Tweet was met with applause from sports fans across the nation making it the most Retweeted Tweet by an athlete.
Most Retweeted Tweet in Business
Ratan Tata pledged support to communities affected by COVID-19.
Business tycoon Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts, announced a commitment of 500 crore rupees on behalf of the company towards protecting and empowering communities affected by the pandemic. The initiative was widely appreciated and served as a reminder to every Indian to stay united in the fight against COVID-19.
Most Liked Tweet
Virat Kohli Tweeted about Anushka Sharma’s pregnancy, giving Indians a reason to celebrate.
Virat Kohli’s Tweet that announced Anushka Sharma’s pregnancy became the ‘Most Liked Tweet of 2020’ as people across India shared their love and wishes with the couple. Anushka Sharma’s Tweet celebrating the same news was also in the top 5 most Liked Tweets of the year.
Most Quoted Tweet
Amitabh Bachchan shared his diagnosis of COVID-19 and spread awareness about the virus.
On testing COVID-19 positive, Amitabh Bachchan took to the service to share his news. He also requested people who had been in close proximity to him to get tested, spreading awareness about the virus and shared measures to be taken in case of exposure. Those that Quote-Tweeted his Tweet wished him a speedy recovery and encouraged people to stay safe, wash their hands, and wear their masks.
#ThisHappened: Top Conversations of 2020
Hashtags take conversations across timelines. These were the most Tweeted Hashtags across different interest areas in 2020.
*Methodology: Ranked by number of total Tweets by unique authors using this hashtag on Twitter in India from Jan 1 to Nov 15, 2020.
Current Affairs and People’s Movements
Also Read: #SSThrowback2020: A year of Fleets, Quote Tweets, K-pop, Safety & Updates on Twitter
Most Tweeted about current affairs topics
- #Covid19: Unsurprisingly the most Tweeted current affairs hashtag this year was #Covid19. People used the hashtag to seek reliable information, connect with healthcare experts and agencies, and follow what was happening in real-time. Globally, Twitter launched a COVID-19 search prompt and a dedicated event page that shared information related to the virus from credible sources such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare of India and the World Health Organisation. Within the larger conversation about COVID-19, hashtags used prominently included #Coronavirus, #JantaCurfew as well as those that encouraged people to #WearAMask, #StayHomeStaySafe, and maintain #SocialDistancing. Other popular topics of conversation included the adverse impact on migrant workers as well as gratitude for healthcare professionals across the country.
- #SushantSinghRajput: The unexpected demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput became one of the biggest topics of conversation in India this year. Public figures and fans took to the service to express grief, pay tribute to his career, share views about the entertainment industry, and discuss developments around the investigation into his passing. In July 2020, fans celebrated the late actor by sharing love for his last film #DilBechara that also became the most talked-about film on Twitter in 2020.
- #Hathras: The alleged rape and death of a young Dalit woman in Hathras became a topic of conversation across the country. People Tweeted their perspectives and demanded justice using the hashtag #DalitLivesMatter.
Most Tweeted about people’s movements
- #StudentLivesMatter: The conversation around the changing schedules of examinations became the most Tweeted about movement on the service, with the hashtag #SpeakUpForSSCRailwayStudents gaining particular momentum.
- #ShaheenBagh: People across India Tweeted to share their support and criticism about the protests when thousands of women camped out at a site in South Delhi. Speeches, lectures, and poetry readings held at the protest ground every day were also talked about on the service.
- #FarmersProtest: Conversations on Twitter ranged from support of the new farm bill to discussions around the impact this would have on farmers’ livelihoods with the hashtag #IStandWithIndianFarmers.
Sports & Movies
Most Tweeted sports hashtags:
- #IPL2020: Twitter was abuzz with Tweets across the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the much-anticipated sports season took place later in the year than usual. Cricket enthusiasts celebrated and connected with each other on Twitter, making #IPL2020 the most Tweeted hashtag in sports.
- #WhistlePodu: The MS Dhoni-led team Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) became the most Tweeted about team in #IPL2020, and subsequently their team hashtag #WhistlePodu became the second-most Tweeted hashtag in sports this year.
- #TeamIndia: Before the pandemic, the stellar performance of the Indian Women’s cricket team at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup created cheerful conversations and strong momentum on, and off the field.
Most Tweeted movies hashtags: These were the most Tweeted Indian movies that released in 2020
- #DilBechara: Fans of the late Sushant Singh Rajput Tweeted to express their love for the actor and appreciate his last on-screen performance in the Hindi film Dil Bechara.
- #SooraraiPottru: Tamil fans declared the movie a masterpiece on Twitter while praising the performances of lead actors Suriya and Aparna Balamurali.
- #SarileruNeekevvaru: Starring Mahesh Babu, Rashmika Mandanna, and Vijayashanti, Sarileru Neekevvaru was the most talked-about Telugu film of the year and the third most talked-about film overall.
Nostalgia and Interests
Most Tweeted hashtags related to nostalgia
- #Ramayan: As Ramayan made a comeback on DD National amid the nationwide lockdown, fans celebrated the show sharing memes and memories related to their childhood experiences of watching the show.
- #Pokiri: Fans celebrated the 14th anniversary of the blockbuster Telugu film ‘Pokiri’ this year, and celebrated the star of the movie, Mahesh Babu.
- #Mahabharat: With the re-run of Mahabharat on DD National, viewers across the country reminisced about their memories of the show and re-lived some of its iconic scenes together.
Most Tweeted about interests
- #Photography: Professional photographers, as well as budding shutterbugs, Tweeted their beautiful images on the service. Enthusiasts turned Twitter timelines into a vibrant, virtual exhibition!
- #Yoga: As the nation coped with staying at home and staying healthy, conversations about yoga spiked on the service. From basic wellness asanas to rigorous physical exercise, people came online to get fit. Popular voices from entertainment, sports, and other fields Tweeted to strengthen the conversation around yoga.
- #Poetry: Inspirational poetry became a finger tap away on Twitter and took off this year thanks in part to the brevity of the medium. Indians rediscovered their love for poetry and shared rhymes on their timelines while attempting to cope with the lockdown.
Most Tweeted meme
Twitter is fun and memes are at the heart of its humor. A mention of “Binod” in a video by Slayy Point set off the meme, which took over the service.
Creators, brands, and even the police jumped in on the conversation, changing their profile names and Tweeting videos and pictures. There was a lot of conversation about “Who is Binod?”, but it was clear #Binod was everywhere, securing its spot as the most Tweeted meme on Twitter in India this year.
Content Credit : Social Samosa
This B2B social media marketing guide is what you need to grow your brand.
Social media has always been seen as the playground for B2C companies. While it’s true that many of the top brands leveraging social media operate in the B2C segment (such as Nike, Starbucks, and Applebee’s), it doesn’t mean that B2B companies don’t have a place in the social media arena.
There are companies of all sizes that have already tasted success with B2B social media marketing, and continue to grow as a result of tapping into the major social networks for more customers.
B2B Social Media Marketing
However, it’s easy to find a travel company making the most of Twitter or Facebook in terms of marketing and customer service, but what about a residential management company? Or a trade staffing agency? Or a PR firm? Take any B2B business that you can think of, the question is, can it successfully tap into the world of social media and grow as much as a B2C company?
The answer is a definite yes. If you look around, you’ll find hardcore B2B companies killing it on social media. Whether it’s IBM on Twitter, Cisco on Instagram or Intel on Facebook.
The problem that many B2B companies often face is: a lack of knowledge and an awareness of social media. Many of them still believe social media is not for them, which is costing them sales. Or they don’t have the right staff/resources to run their social media campaigns. That’s where our social media experts at Barodian Advertising come in. We completely create, schedule, run, and monitor your social media so you never have to lift a finger – all while seeing great results! Contact us today if you’d like to get started.
It’s important to keep in mind that if a B2C company that sells fashion products can use social media to market its products, then a B2B company dealing in office supplies has an equal shot at it. But in order to see real-world results, such companies need to embrace B2B social media marketing with full throttle. And stop relying solely on old-age marketing tactics such as attending networking events, cold calling and direct mail.
Getting great results with B2B social media marketing is not rocket science. In fact, it can be as effective as B2C social media marketing, as long as the fundamental goals are not ignored.
Any B2B company can grow awareness about its products and build a stronger brand by strategically leveraging popular social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
So if you think it won’t work for your B2B company, then think again. By not jumping on the social media bandwagon, you are in fact leaving money on the table.
B2B Social Media Marketing
Omobono, a global B2B creative and technology agency, conducted research that found B2B marketers can see real results with social media. And if done right, B2B social media marketing can prove to be the best marketing technique to promote their products and services.
Omobono basically surveyed 115 marketing experts working in B2B companies and found that a whopping 79% of them felt social media is the most effective channel for marketing. What’s more, 38% of them said if they had access to extra budget for the coming year, they would want to invest it into B2B social media marketing.
B2B Social Media Marketing
Even though data shows that B2B companies are eagerly investing in social media, there is a need to focus on increasing revenue.
While there is no doubt that social media is a powerful marketing method, it has to be done effectively to achieve a high return on investment.
For successful social media marketing, a B2B company needs to take a strategic approach and execute their campaign with precision.
Below we’ve outlined three steps that are crucial to create a profitable B2B social media marketing campaign.
How to Create an Effective Social Media Marketing Campaign
Step #1: Define Your Marketing Objectives
Without defining the right objectives, you’ll find it difficult to make your B2B social media marketing campaign profitable. Why? Because your return on investment depends on setting marketing goals that contribute to your company’s overall growth.
Having measurable goals that are relevant to your big or small business will help you create a winning B2B social media marketing strategy. You need to ensure that each goal you set is smart and measurable in nature so that gauging success becomes simpler, and more scientific. Venngage does an excellent job outlining how to do this in your social media plan.
Every decision that your company makes towards getting more prospects and converting them into customers should reflect these goals. And more importantly, how you plan to achieve them.
B2B Social Media Marketing
Also, companies using B2B social media marketing need to realize the importance of gaining visibility in the competitive social landscape. Social news feeds today are crowded, and your company has to stand out of the crowd without losing focus of its core objectives.
Let’s look into a few objectives that you can consider for your B2B marketing company.
- Generate Targeted Leads:
It’s a fact that B2B companies operate differently than B2C companies in more than one way. The techniques that work well for a B2C firm, may not be that viable for a B2B business.
For instance, B2B clients are known to make bigger investments, which brings down their chances of impulse buying. So if your B2B company wants to leverage social media for marketing, it makes sense to do so for lead generation rather than sales.
If you’re a business that thinks long-term, and if you truly want to get a healthy ROI from social media, then your top priority could be about generating new, quality leads. Above all, each lead that you generate via social media gives you the confidence and direction to gain even more leads in the future.
Studies have shown that any businesses (B2B or B2C) that uses social media to generate leads can be in the position to earn 24% more revenue. Whether you choose to use LinkedIn for generating leads or Twitter, depends on the kind of business you are running and where your audience tends to hang out the most.
B2B Social Media Marketing
Capturing leads and nurturing prospective buyers can be via social media as long as you do the following effectively:
Build a strong, positive network and grow your reputation
Add clear call to actions to your social media pages, profiles and posts
Improve your brand and focus on establishing yourself as a thought leader
Leverage paid ads to consistently generate quality leads
Track and measure your social media performance/progress
With B2B marketing, it’s important to take a unique approach in order to generate high-converting leads and achieve a bigger ROI.
- Build Your Brand
Your social media optimization efforts can make a positive impact on your company’s brand development. Being on a social network such as LinkedIn is not enough to enhance your brand. Your business needs to be active when it comes to protecting its reputation and giving away value. One wrong step on social media can diminish your brand’s value.
According to a 2017 survey, brand building is one of the top digital priorities for B2B marketers.
top b2b priorities
Here are three efficient ways to enhance your brand and get the most out of your B2B social media marketing efforts:
- Create an Online Brand Persona: Similar to a persona of your ideal customer, an online persona of your brand will take you a long way. Creating an online brand persona helps your prospects and customers connect to your core values on social media, which affects the overall results you get. In order to successful an online brand persona, focus on the voice you will be using on social media. Keep your long-term vision in mind when doing so.
- Have a Crisis Management Plan Ready: There may be times when you’ll see the unhappy side of your customers on social media. This is when your brand’s reputation can go for a toss if no steps are taken to resolve the issues. When you have a crisis management plan ready, you’ll be in the position to deal with a problem when it arises.
III. Connect with Media: Connecting with your prospects and customers is an obvious step when you’re using social media. But being a B2B company, you shouldn’t stop there. In other words, you also need to interact with bloggers and journalists who are actively writing or creating content in your niche. By using social media for reaching out the right kind of media and building strong relationships with relevant media contacts, you will be able to get on their radar.
- Offer Better Customer Service
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are great for improving your customer service and give better value to your B2B customers. Social media gives you the opportunity to see how your customers are interacting with your content and what they’re talking about your brand. By taking the right steps, many customer problems can be resolved without having them escalated further.
B2B Social Media Marketing
Here’s how you can do it effectively.
- Go Beyond the Major Social Networks
Where are your hanging out? What websites are they using to talk about your brand and as well as your competitors? You need to do a bit of homework to find out where your customers are spending time on, so that you can connect with them. Just because you’re running a B2B business does not mean your focus should only be on LinkedIn.
Sometimes you need to go beyond the traditional social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. For example, if you’re running a travel business, you may want to keep a tab on your customers by being active on a website like Flyertalk. This is the site where your travel customers would be discussing everything airline related. Join these discussions to learn the concerns of your customers and come up with solutions to make them happy.
Regardless of the industry you are in, you should try and learn what your customers are talking about you, before it’s too late. The more you study and participate in these discussions, the better it is.
- Keep an Eye Preferred Networks
The best part about social media is it allows you manage your reputation. By monitoring the major social networks and forums, you’ll not only be helping out customers in need but also avoid any negative effect on your reputation.
In order to make the most of social media in terms of customer service, you need to use professional tools that let you track your mentions and listen to customer queries aired. You can start by setting up Google Alerts, and later on move to a more premium tool when you’re ready. Remember, a tool is only as useful as you make it out to be.
- Respond the Right Way
An important rule of serving customers via social media is to that you take care of their issues without making the situation ugly. In other words, you need to deal with customers the right way instead of getting into heated arguments. Since your discussion is happening on a public platform, you want to avoid any unnecessary debates.
Most of the time the issue can be resolved without any verbal spats. Sometimes the customer is genuinely wrong, and this is when you deal with the issue privately and resolve it quickly. Try to cooperate with the customer as much as you can, even they are difficult. Responding the right way is the key to building better business relationships.
Your image and brand are critical, and you need to safeguard those by showing everyone that you truly care for your customers. Any prospective customers monitoring your discussions will be in a better position to do business with you. At Barodian Advertising, we are experienced in handling tough situations when it comes to reputation management. Additionally, our specialists monitor client accounts every single day and respond to comments and messages within 24 hours.
Step #2: Identify Your Target Audience
Social media is made up of diverse people, so not everybody is going to be interested in the content you share. Which is why it’s important to reach out to an audience that connects to you and your content. You want businesses who pay attention and listen to your advice. Being in the B2B segment, this not only helps you build a list of followers, but also lets you create real authority and a positive brand in your niche.
Identifying your target audience is the first step to sharing information with businesses who have interest in your area of expertise and possibly have goals that connect to your product or service. If you manage to build a relationship with an audience that shares the same level of passion about your industry, then the updates you share with them will get even more exposure.
The last thing you want is to deliver your content to an audience that is least interested in what you’re sharing. And that can easily happen if you don’t know who exactly you’re targeting.
target audience
You want your business to deliver value to other businesses because it helps you gain influence in your niche and increase your reach. By adding more value to your social media content, you will slowly but steadily differentiate your business from other companies that are not putting the effort in B2B social media marketing.
1) Know Your Priorities
Your goals and your priorities shape up your marketing. Using social media to grow your business is what you’re aiming for, but how do you want to accomplish that? What do you want to get out of your B2B social media marketing? How do you plan to increase your business with the help of social media?
2) Analyze Your Competitors
Every healthy business has competition, and so do you. Which is why you should spend some time analyzing the social behavior of your competitors. Find out what how they are interacting with their customers and utilizing each social networking platform. You also get an opportunity to understand the kind of content they’re creating, and which of it is helping them generate engagement.
competitor analysis
Your aim is to fully analyze and grasp the social media tactics of your competitors so that you can do better in those areas. For instance, if your competitor’s posting frequency is low, you could ramp up yours by sharing high quality content more regularly. Everything that you learn from your competitors will help you improve your own B2B strategy. Which will have an impact on the overall results you achieve from your B2B social media marketing efforts.
3) Decide on What Content to Share
If you already have a content marketing strategy and content development team, you already know what type of content you will be producing for social media. But in order to find your audience and make B2B social media marketing work for you, you need to know what type of platforms will be receptive to your content. The more clear you are about this, the better results you will see.
For instance, if you publish a case study in the form of a long-form blog post, then it would make sense to distribute it through Twitter and LinkedIn. On the other hand, if you have a video version of the same case study, you should share it via YouTube and Facebook. As long as you know your audience is there on a certain platform, there’s no reason to not share your content with them.
4) Create and Assign Personas
Knowing your audience is not enough, you also need to put them in appropriate categories or “personas” according their needs/requirements, their overall buying behavior or based on the different kinds of responses. This sorting out is crucial to serve your customers better and give them an experience like never before. This step allows you to create a specific strategy for each customer persona you create. Which in turn improves the chances of getting more sales.
B2B persona example
Step #3: Choose the Right Social Media Platform
Every social media network is different. And the people that use it have different interests and priorities. When your B2B company experiments with social media marketing, it’s important to understand the importance of selecting the right social media platform.
Your social media efforts need to be directed in the right direction because unlike a B2C company that deals with end customers, you work with companies and businesses. Which makes your choice of social media platform a crucial part of your B2B social media marketing strategy.
B2B Social Media Marketing
Many B2B marketers have tested and analyzed social media platforms to find out what works best for their B2B brand. Why? Because finding out the best social media platform is essential to your business’s success.
We have worked with both, Facebook ads and LinkedIn ads, and have found Facebook to be a more viable B2B advertising solution.
The reason being simple: Facebook ads are likely to be cheaper than LinkedIn ads in terms of cost per click. For example, you could spend $5 per click on LinkedIn that would cost you $1 or less per click on Facebook. And the quality of the lead would be the same. It’s a no-brainer.
Even though LinkedIn is a pure B2B channel (one of the reasons it’s more expensive), Facebook ads can help you get similar results. Why? Because Facebook has two billion monthly active users. And there is every chance that your B2B audience logs into Facebook as much as they do on LinkedIn, if not more.
Your social media efforts should focus on not only forming the right marketing objectives but also on building a strong relationship with your target audience. Which can only happen when you are focused in the right direction.
How do you do that? By working on both, leveraging the right social network and as well as understanding the behaviors of your target audience. And since these keep evolving, it’s crucial to move with changing times.
For example, take the industrial companies and manufacturers that are using social media for their advantage. Many B2B companies in this sector are using videos to reach their marketing goals. In which these are being uploaded to video focused social media networks such as YouTube. These sales and marketing videos are helping add to the bottomline of companies by helping with demonstration of products and the functionality of each equipment.
In fact, 83% of marketers say that video marketing increased their revenue. Although compared to writing blog posts or making infographics, creating videos will require more budget. But here are some tips you may try to create engaging videos without spending too much:
For webinars or Q&A videos, you can record them using Zoom.
Have you ever tried live streaming? Try Facebook or YouTube for that and be sure to choose the one with the more engaged followers.
After creating these videos, you can now promote them on your other social media accounts.
When selecting a platform, it is important to assess how it can be used to reach the organization’s main objectives and build an audience. Instead of starting with the question, “What platform is the best?”, your B2B company should ask, “What platform aligns the best with our marketing objectives?”
Need Help with B2B Social Media Marketing?
When talking about B2B social media marketing success, the focus is usually on how amazing the results have been. Or how the B2B company managed to make the most of social media marketing at a limited budget. But it’s important to understand that these results are possible only due to effective preparation and a flawless execution of the campaign.
B2B social media marketers need to think long-term in order to see real-world results, and continue growing. Focusing on immediate results will only hamper the sustainability of your social media efforts. With efficient planning and preparation, even the biggest challenges can be overcome.
If you need help with your B2B social media marketing, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Barodian Advertising team. Using our vast social media marketing experience, we will help you formulate a B2B social media marketing strategy that aligns with your company objectives.