Top 3 Tips to get your LinkedIn profile ready for 2018

It’s that time of year again when people get picture ready for Christmas family portraits, work holiday celebrations and New Year’s Eve parties. You should also be getting online ready to ring in the new year and start off 2018 by putting your best foot forward on LinkedIn.

Social network family

In order to be social ready for all those new prospects and customers that you will be contacting in 2018, here are my top 3 tips to get your LinkedIn profile in tip top shape.

 

Put your best face forward!

Your profile picture is your first handshake, your first eye contact or smile, indeed your first impression online. LinkedIn reports that profiles with pictures get 21 times more views. Why is a view important? A profile view means someone found you interesting enough to click through to your profile and that is what you want. This next step is the equivalent of someone accepting your business card and taking the time to hear you out. To get this result, you’ll have to work on your headline which is tip #2.

But, back to the picture. If you do not have a picture, easy, get one taken or upload one to your profile. Make sure it is professional looking. After all, LinkedIn is a professional network, so post a picture of what you would look like if you were going to an event or a customer meeting. Avoid blurry or colored backgrounds and be alone in your picture. By this I mean, avoid cropping an existing picture and having someone else’s arm in your profile. If you haven’t updated your picture in a while, take a hard look and determine if you still look like yourself. You want to be authentic and not give a fake or biased impression from the start. If you need an update, then get a new picture taken and upload it to your profile. A profile picture should be updated every 5 years, at the minimum. If you would like to know more about all the small details that make a profile picture great, you can read more here from Pillar Research.

 

What you represent in one line!

Your headline is the one-liner that comes right below your profile picture and is always visible. Every time you post, engage with a post or share a link, your picture, name and headline will be what people see. Usually, you will see the title of a person or the company they work at appear in this one-liner but instead, use this opportunity to tell people what you are about and why they should contact you. I’ve seen a trend over the past few years of people calling themselves a guru or master of something, or stating their intention to help their customers and change their lives for the better. Remember to keep it simple! In one line, tell your future customer why you are the right partner for their business and what makes you so different from the competition. You can add your title, if relevant but simplify it to the important keywords. Finally, use action to explain your value proposition and make it clear why people should contact you. This headline should be captivating and interesting enough that people will want to click on your picture to get to your profile and learn more about your product or services.

 

Your pitch and a little about yourself!

Once you have made that first impression and got people to your LinkedIn profile, this is where you can give them your pitch. The summary is located right below your picture and headline, once people land on your profile. You will notice that only a few lines are visible and people can click to read more. You can edit this part by clicking on the small pencil in the top right corner of your profile, next to your picture and scrolling to the bottom of the editing window.

Very important to start with yourself. It is your LinkedIn profile after all and, even though we are going digital, people still buy from people. Start with 1-2 lines about yourself and what makes you passionate about what you do. Use the following questions to help you build your summary:

  • Why did you chose the industry you are in
  • What got your started
  • Why do you like what you do
  • What are you passionate about

Next, talk about your company, products and services. Make sure you include the right keywords for your industry and segment. Also, decompose your solution, are there other words that people would use to find your product or service? What are the business pains that your solution answers? Think in terms of what a customer would look for and include those keywords in your summary when talking about your offering.

Add a call to action at the end to tell your customers why they should contact you and how. The text in the summary is not hyperlinked, but you can write out your website or email, in order to make it easier for your customer to copy and paste in a new web window or email.

Finally, think of some media that you can add to complement your summary. Either a video, ebook, recent news clipping or your latest campaign can be uploaded to your summary to give some visual information to your prospect or customer.

Remember to take some time during the holidays to rest up and energized for the new year, update your profile and start off strong in 2018! The PROSAR team can help you achieve social success and reach your goals, just contact us here!

Step 1: Personalise…

You have been choosing the right settings to target your ads to your chosen audience, you have been buying the right keywords to reach the right people when doing a search and you have been listening to your customers’ feedback on social media. So how does that all apply to your interactions on LinkedIn?

Cork, Ireland

Well, LinkedIn advertising will get people to your page or website to learn more about your company, but personalization will remain the key to your success with individuals. Indeed, although it might seem old school, LinkedIn is based on the power of one’s network and the relationships that you, as a member, can build and maintain. After all, people still buy from people! In order to understand how to better tailor your approach via a connection request, a message or an InMail, let’s take a look at the meaning behind the word:

 

Personalize

Person – nalize

Person – analyze

 

Priority #1: Person

Your priority should always be the person you wish to address. On LinkedIn, it could be a connection, a prospect, a longtime customer, a potential new provider, etc. Every opportunity is a good one to connect. In order to stand out, you need to personalize your approach based on what you know about the person in front of you (virtually) online. Make it about them! Take an interest in who they are: look at their profile, their social media activity, recent posts or articles that they shared, and see what you have in common, or how you might be able to help each other. Remember that the main focus of any communication should be your customer or potential new customer and what they are interested in or how your product or service can help them improve their business, their lifestyle, their way of working or doing something in particular. Think of questions that are relevant to them.

The idea is that you want to get them talking. You want to give them a reason to answer your message, pick up the phone when you call or engage in conversation when they meet with you, and that reason is that you took an interest in what they do.

To do so, keep this in mind when writing to them on LinkedIn:

  • The first few sentences of a message should be about your prospect: What did you find interesting in their profile? What recent article that they shared made you want to write to them? What makes them so interesting?
  • Next, you should be letting them know who you are and how you could be of value to them. Keep this short!
  • Tell them in a sentence or two, why are you reaching out to them, give your message a purpose.
  • Finally, give them a call to action, ask them a question or give them a possible time to talk and discuss. Most people will answer when asked a question.

 

Priority #2: Analyze

Now, in the word personalize, you see the basis of the word analyze. The idea is that once you get them talking, you need to listen to what they have to say. Ask questions, either in written form, or verbally if you are on the phone with them, and take an interest. The more that someone reveals to you, the better you will be able to personalize your offer to their needs. You may have only one product, or you may have an array of products, but you still need to provide a solution to a problem that your customer is experiencing. And this information does not tend to be offered up easily as it might show a sign of weakness or an opportunity for their competition. Hence, your objective is to build a relationship with your customer and inspire trust.

Be patient. You might need more than one conversation to be in a position to make an offer, you will also need to analyze their behavior to determine their willingness to move forward with you towards a purchase or an investment. This is where the relationship part kicks in. LinkedIn will help you find the right contacts and connect with them, but you will need to build the professional relationship and maintain it until your prospect is ready to buy. Keep in touch online by connecting with them, sharing content and staying top of mind until it is the right time for them to call you back!

 

Finally, make sure that your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date, pleasing and well branded for your prospects. Indeed, a prospect’s first action is typically to look you up online. We will discuss the LinkedIn profile further in upcoming posts, but in the meantime, if you need any help getting started, just reach out to your PROSAR Strategist today!

So what about Twitter for business? Your Social Landscape, Part 2

Hanging Speech Bubbles

Last month we talked about your social landscape and how you could get started on social media, especially on LinkedIn. Moving on this month to another popular platform that has transitioned quite a bit in 2017, what about Twitter?

In 2016, Twitter made some very important decisions to battle user loss and try to revamp the platform’s image. With channels like Instagram and Facebook that are making video more accessible and popularizing the idea of stories, started by Snapchat, Twitter heard their users and decided to work on themselves. This said, a lot of minor but impactful changes arrived in 2017 and could be useful for your business. So how can you start your journey on Twitter?

Hanging Speech Bubbles

Why should you be on Twitter?

Like any other platform, it depends on your audience.

Is your audience active on Twitter?

Are you in a niche market that has a forum on Twitter?

Do you operate a business that can offer quick discounts? Or exclusive deals?

My main advice is to take a look online. Go on Twitter, search a few keywords that are related to your business and see what are the results. When I worked with PROSAR on the social media presence of a soybean company, we never thought that growers would be online, even less on Twitter but yet, to our surprise, they were strong users of the network and many growers were online, sharing their story. This media became an important one in our social media strategy.

Do not push it aside too quickly for the new and shiny networks that are popping up on the social landscape. Depending on your business, Twitter could be a good fit for you!

 

How can you use it for your business?

Twitter can be used in different ways. One main use is support. Twitter is associated to speed and quick accessibility. For many customers, if they are not able to reach the company that is causing them an issue, they will go on Twitter, expecting a quick response. If this is something that makes sense for your business, then it is a great way to offer immediate support and resolve a customer issue, while the rest of the social world bear witness to your great service.

You can also use the platform to have an online presence during events. Most events, tradeshows and conferences will be live tweeting the event. If you are at that same event, you could be participating in the conversation, creating mindshare and thought leadership by sharing captivating quotes from keynote speakers or cool things that you see at the event. With the right tags and hashtags, your tweets could get picked up by the event and distributed to the list of participants following the event, hence giving you a much greater reach and increasing brand visibility. It could also be a way for you to promote your booth during an event or your own conference, if you are hosting one. You can widely expand your reach and number of participants if you live tweet your event and people can attend remotely.

Finally, you can increase traffic to your website but promoting blog posts or other content already available.

 

What new features help you better serve your customers?

Video

Instagram has been a leader in making video cool and accessible after YouTube. Even LinkedIn recently added a video feature to their platform. So Twitter, is also joining the video party and making live streaming a part of their DNA. As a business, you could add video to your virtual event. You could have a talk with your customers about a topic in particular or you could stream the launch of a new product. Video is a strong asset and is more and more a part of our content, so if you haven’t started experimenting with video yet, now is the time.

 

More characters to share your message

This might seem small, but it is not easy to fit all you need to say in a 140 characters’ limit. After many years, Twitter has finally made this policy a little more flexible. Indeed, images and videos no longer count towards your 140 limit, which means that you can still enrich your tweet with dynamic content without losing any space to add your brand and work on your messaging. Same for replies, so coming back to the support idea from the beginning, you no longer have to add the person you are replying to in your tweet, which means you have more characters to actually support your customer and answer their questions. Having worked in social media and managed communities online, I can confirm that these minor changes make a major difference in your online interaction with your customers.

These first few steps will help you get familiar with the platform and decide if this is the right place for you and your business. Get in touch with PROSAR today to have your first Social Media Audit and an overview of your landscape! We can definitely help you get started!

So What About Social Media?

Two businessman connecting puzzle pieces togheter with copy space

Two businessman connecting puzzle pieces togheter with copy space

What a beautiful landscape! And what about your Social Media Landscape?

So what about Social media? Is your company social yet? Or have you tried it, but didn’t have the time to manage it, and now have some ghost page that gets little to no engagement?

Indeed, social media has now been around for a while but not all companies or professionals are online. More and more, companies want to see value in a network before dedicating a resource to social media. They’re anxious to know how many new leads and customers a post, tweet or update will attract. So where does one start? Or start again, if this is your second time around!

What is your landscape?

Well first things first, where are your customers? And your competition? What about market trends? Start by doing some research and answering these questions — ideally with a social media audit. The key is not to try and be everywhere, but to find the right place. An audit will allow you to have a full overview of your social landscape and identify your strengths as well as your possible area of focus. When doing an audit, work with professionals (like the PROSAR team!) to get insight, feedback and a strategic overview, without having to invest in all the tools. For more info on what an audit includes and how to start, take a look at one of my past articles on the topic: 4 Tips when doing your first Social Media Audit.

 

Now that you see the lay of the land, pick a direction

Now that you have an idea of where you are and where you should be, make a choice. Is it LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Google+? Your audit would have given you an overview of what your competition is doing and how engaged your industry is with social media. Sometimes, it is possible that an industry or market is not using social media or might not yet see the need for it. This should not stop you from being engaged, and can even allow you to innovate in your field, but you will need to choose a particular focus. Do you want to improve communication with your customers? Do you want to reach out to new providers, partners or resellers? Perhaps you are in an industrial or manufacturing industry and want to be recognized as a reference in your field. Depending on your goal, you will be able to determine the best network for you. To start off, let’s take a look at LinkedIn. To learn more about the channels to consider and how to build your, check out our Online Marketing Plan blog.

 

The LinkedIn Landscape

Linkedin is a B2B focused platform. Beyond job searching, it is being used more and more as a way to connect with likeminded professionals and establish new business relationships. It is a place to create mindshare, position yourself as an expert or reference for your customers, and share knowledge through short articles that are then associated to your profile. If you have a strong team that is comfortable in becoming an ambassador for your company, and that you operate in the B2B space, LinkedIn could be a good opportunity for you to extend your reach quickly and start talking to CEOs, executives and other senior managers that are looking for information. If this sounds like your type of environment, here are the main things you need to consider:

  1. Create a company page

If you don’t already have one this is the place to start. Create one so your employees can tag the company in each of their profile. This will also be a good place for prospects to find information about your company and access the website from one central place on Linkedin.

 

  1. Create strong profiles

Profiles are an essential step when starting on LinkedIn. Prospects will click on profiles to learn more about the people and the company. Make sure your team has professional pictures, a good headline and an informative summary with engaging content.

 

  1. Craft your company message

Give your team a 1-2 liner to describe what you sell and your corporate mission. By using the same keywords, the team will reinforce this message and your brand positioning, as well as arm them with the terms they can use to find more info online and better understand your solution.

 

These first few steps will help you build your professional presence online and help you develop ambassadors within your company walls. ‘’Start from the heart’’ to improve your branding and help it reach its potential. Get in touch with PROSAR today to have your first Social Media Audit and an overview of your landscape!

Social Selling: More than just a buzz word

businesspeople on smartphones

Ever since I started my career, I have been an advocate of social. Either social media, social selling, social gatherings or social news. I truly believe in the power of social. But what does it mean exactly and how does it make a difference in the way you sell or communicate?

businesspeople on smartphones

When I first started as a social media consultant, SOCIAL was still a mystery term, a wave of change, the next buzz word on our lips. I remember that most of my customers were asking to setup a Facebook page and start building a following, but that was the extent of their social efforts. Customers were not yet requesting engagement or paid advertising. Pretty quickly (and nobody could predict how quickly) that evolved and online platforms became an even more important part of a marketing strategy and advertising budget. We now rely heavily on social for our networking needs.

I learned, like every other successful consultant how to adapt, change my offer and continue to add value to my customer portfolios. Social somehow remained in the hands of the marketer, while on the other side, more and more sales professional started going online, building themselves a profile and using social media to prospect. But at the end of the day, we all want the same thing:

Drive more business and make our customers happy!

I believe the social in sales is what will make us all work together. As a consultant, I didn’t realise that I was using social to sell my services and find my next contracts as it seemed like a natural thing to do. And it was, as I was simply selling my services online through social connections and my network instead of just broadcasting and pitching, while hoping for the best.

So if you are new to social selling, here are my top 3 reasons why you should consider this strategy:

 

  1. Always stay top of mind

The social in selling represents a whole new network of potential prospects. Of course, you will continue to meet them offline, but you can now connect with them instantly and maintain the relationship online. Social media platforms and social selling helps you combat the ”Out of sight, out of mind” phenomenon. You can always be in sight with the latest piece of content that you shared with your network or a smart comment in your group where your next potential prospect may be to seeking information.

 

  1. Direct touch to decision makers

Another reason for social selling is the difficulty to reach a business owner through coldcalling. A LinkedIn report stated that 90% of decision makers will not answer a cold call. This same difficulty was stated in my colleague, Dave Auten’s blog post. The business world is changing and it might be easier to reach a C-suite execs through an InMail on LinkedIn that he will receive directly on his smartphone.

 

  1. The more people you know, the better

More and more companies are delegating major investments and big purchase decisions to a committee. Expanding your social network and building a strong profile will help you interact and connect with as many people as possible — who knows what committees your new contacts are on. As well, a referral can come from anyone in a company, so the more people you know, the better for you.

Social media selling may pose some risk, but sitting on the sidelines and not getting involved is the greatest risk of all.

 

So, if you are a sales professional, be social! If you are a marketer, be social! Regardless what industry you work in, remember that you are always selling yourself and being social can help you make the right connections to reach your goals faster.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Your Online Properties – Is There Anybody Home?

We all know the trick when you are off on vacation. Leave lights on, stop the mail delivery, have someone drop by often. The idea is to dissuade break-ins by giving an impression that there is someone at home – all the time.

I’m sure it’s true that most of the baddies would prefer to target homes with no one there or homes with reduced chance that people will return home in the middle of a burglary.

Vacant, crumbling house
Witthaya/Thinkstock

So, neglect of this trick leaves us vulnerable. That same vulnerability occurs when you neglect your online properties – websites, blogs, social media accounts. The worst is you get hacked and you don’t notice it immediately. Even without an online “break-in” subtle damage can occur. It can be equally costly.

The world may think that your business is on vacation.

 

Are There Signs of Life to New Visitors?

New visitors often look for some sign that your online information is current. They may look for something on your website that has a date. Many websites have a year in the footer, which is intended to show the last time the site was updated. Social media and blog posts (sometimes) have dates attached to them. All of this is proof that you care about your online properties and are maintaining them regularly. Proof that there is somebody at home.

I recently went to a website of an industrial manufacturer to find the last update of their site was 2012. What impression did that leave with me? I wondered if they were still in business (they are). Not good for attracting new business.

Corporate websites are built to support business. Many businesses are online because they have to be. Modern buying takes place at least partially online as shoppers gather information before buying. If a website is neglected it’s a message that online is not important to that business. Buyers can’t have access to the most current information to support an eventual purchase.

 

Are There Signs of Life to Return Visitors?

Let’s say someone has been to a website before and they return. In the online world, return visitors are gold. Most shoppers do not make a purchasing decision on their first visit. If they return, they have made the most important step possible to becoming a future customer or client. These golden return visitors must be treated with the highest regard.

They may return to a website to check on something that caught their attention first visit, but they will notice if things look the same. No problem if it’s a day later, but if they return in a month they may also be looking for something new – corporate news, product news – some sign of life in that business. If there are no changes it may not jeopardize their reason for returning. If they are returning to more than one site, sites that show signs of life have a huge advantage in impressing return visitors.

The days of a website as an online brochure are over. If you think of your website as static then you will get about the same reaction to it as what most brochures produce these days – a disinterested “meh”.

So, get in the game and show your online visitors that there is somebody home.

Effective Simplicity – 3 Steps to Building an Online Marketing Plan

Effective marketing can help a business soar. Business people know this. Just watch a few episodes of the CBC’s “Dragons Den” to hear the most common response to the question, “What do you need the money for?” Pretty much everyone’s reply includes “marketing”. From launching a new business to growing an existing enterprise, the business world knows the difference marketing makes.

Online businesses rely on marketing to spread the word of not only their stellar products and services, but also word of their very existence on a very crowded Internet.

A marketing plan is the cornerstone of marketing a business, regardless the size or type of business. Online businesses must have a plan in place as an anchor and a guide. Plans can be as complex or as simple as businesses themselves, but for our purposes today we will talk about the components in a simple, basic plan.

 

effective marketing plan

 Avosb/Thinkstock

1) Pick your channels.

The Internet offers many marketing channel choices:

  • social media marketing
    • Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter ads and sponsored posts
  • online marketing
    • content creation, search engine optimization, blogging
  • online advertising
    • online display ads, search engine marketing (Adwords)
  • offline advertising
    • print ads, TV, radio
  • events marketing
    • trade shows

You must pick those that make sense to your particular business. The shotgun approach of trying everything and throwing as much as you can to see what sticks makes no sense. This leads us to the next important point:

2) Do a few things extremely well.

Having picked your channels, now is the time to define what you are looking for from these channels and to execute them effectively.

The quick answer to what you are looking for is “more sales”. This is in no way specific enough. You wouldn’t tell your sales staff to just go forth and make “more sales” without being more specific on what’s expected of them. The same holds true for your selected marketing channels.

Examples of further goal definitions include:

  • increased visits to the website
  • requests for demos of products and/or services
  • click-throughs to online offers
  • increased engagement with potential clients/customers
  • downloads of unique content specific to your business

Obviously your end goal is to sell, but these specifics help to define which channels would be the most effective with these mini-goals. In online, rarely does a visitor go directly to a sale without involvement of the above.

Execution of these channels and tactics must be done effectively. Every detail possible. It’s far better to do something thoroughly and properly that doing lots of things half-assed. The key approach is take your time and learn this stuff really well.

3) Measure, tweak, and measure again.

Measure the results of your efforts. Is there room for improvement? What needs to be tweaked or changed?

The eventual results (or lack thereof) will either lead to your happy place or to the realization that this or that channel is simply not working.

The greater the expertise you have in these areas the easier it will be to get the results and the more efficient you will be with your time and resources. There are some really great tools for measuring how things are going at any time in the process. A common complaint is there are too many tools and no one has the time to learn them.

A simple, basic online marketing plan, in concept, is not that difficult to conceive or execute. There are many online resources to assist in learning all the details. The channels, themselves, such as Google Adwords and Facebook advertising, are deceptively simple to use by just about anyone.

Why, then, are there agencies and specialists that offer help in these areas? The answer lays in the details. Specialists know this stuff, inside and out, and can deliver these services effectively and efficiently. You can do it yourself, but it’s like those TV ads of the guy holding a scalpel to his chest while on the phone with a surgeon – should you really be doing this?

Regardless if your online marketing plan is DIY, or supported by the pros, simple and basic is a good starting point. Often, a simple approach is the most effective approach.

Video: Now a Must and no longer a Maybe

YouTube_crazy.jpgAs a marketer, of course, I believe in video and integrating it into my overall marketing strategy. But as a project manager with a budget to manage, whenever something had to go, it would also be the video topic that would be postponed or assigned to later ”when we have more money”.

Although video is a must in any content strategy, it is also difficult to startup and even more, to maintain. Yes, you will read many blogs, especially these days, that state: Video is a MUST! 2015 was even proclamed as the year of video with 50% of online videos accounting for 50% of all mobile traffic.

Here are my top 3 tips on how to do video the right way and for the right reasons…Not only because you read a blog about it or because you want your company to be YouTube famous!

 

Tip 1: Be Authentic

No matter what you do, remain true to your brand. Yes, video can be your way to do something different, test the waters or think outside the box but whatever the strategy, remember your brand. No need to be boring if you are the head of marketing at a stuffy and conservative company but also no need to be making a dance video and having your staff make a lipdub to look cool. Take the time to think about your message and the goal of your video project:

– What is your message?
– Who is your audience?
– What emotions or values do you want to express in your videos? And how can you do that?
– What do you want to put forth? Your Customers? Your Product? Your Service? Your Staff?

 

Tip 2: Be Proud

Invest the money and produce good quality. It is that simple. I have recently gone through the experience of searching for an agency and realized that depending on the quality you want, prices can vary. But remember to keep it simple and be proud of what you produce.

If you don’t yet have a Hollywood budget than don’t look for a Hollywood storyboard!

Sometimes, we get overly excited by what is being proposed and forget what is the purpose of the video project or, other times, we are so focused on costs that we start producing shaky and cheap  videos with no intro or exit animations although we want to communicate our company’s professionalism. Can you see the confusion or possible misinterpretation?

– Take the time to go through the thought process in tip #1 and look carefully at the proposals you receive.
– Call and talk to agencies to invite the right ones to your bid and avoid being disappointed or
– Start with a good freelancer and test him out to see what he is capable of…you might be surprised and it might be enough for year 1.

To learn more about content marketing and how to keep up with the ever increasing speed of content generation, read up on the Marketing Process with my colleague Scott Vetter.

Tip 3: Be a Game-Changer

What I mean here is not to want to go viral over night or make an impact in the YouTube world but more to make a difference for your customers. Are you adding value to their overall experience? And remember to centre their needs in the goals of your project.

– Your customers are asking how to use your product? Create clear and concise tutorials that look professional, are helpful and clear.
– You want to become a reference in your market? Get your customers in front of a camera and share their best experiences with your new potential audience. It will also reinforce your business relations and add credibility amongst your partners.
– Your want to put show your great service? Share the spotlight with your staff and talk about all the great work they do in a day for your customers.
– You want to become a thought leader in your market? Interview your CEO and discuss important topics in your industry. Create content that will be shared and that can be used for years to come, by anyone.

 

The only way you will make a difference is by being transparent, honest and real. Produce content that you would also be proud to share and promote and remember to stay true to your brand.

Twitter’s Changing. Are You?

Stethoscope on laptop keyboard

Twitter recently announced changes to its icon and banner sizing. On top of changing the dimensions of the images themselves, they have made their visible area 1260 x 330 pixels, not counting what your profile picture covers.

As a result, you will likely have to resize your images and maybe even redesign them. While you’re at it, what better time to do a brand audit and evaluate your visual presence across social media?

PROSAR has created an infographic to help ensure your new and improved designs meet specifications. Do keep in mind the visible area could be smaller than actual dimensions and keep important branding to the centre of the images. Here are some tips for conducting your brand audit:

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1- Look at All Your Properties

This will help you determine what the best visual language for your brand is. While most social properties follow the general principle of “square profile image, wide but short banner”, some properties have much smaller profile images (such as Instagram, not to mention the size of icons within the feed itself) while others are rectangular. You want to create a design that can seamlessly integrate across channels you’re actively using.

This is also a good time to evaluate the usefulness of each social channel and either revitalize or cut any that have lapsed.

2- Ask Where You Want to Go

Your brand should reflect your audience, current position, and future aspirations. It could be you’ve had to grow your company slowly as you start out, or your direction has changed. As you evolve, your brand should evolve with you.

Ill-fitting imagery to your current situation will make your social media properties hard to recognize and inspire less confidence. Refreshing your brand regularly to reflect your current market position helps you stay current and relatable.

3- Look at Trends

While it’s never advised to follow every trend to the letter, looking at what other brands are doing can give you an idea of what to take advantage of and what’s here to stay. It can also give you a point to stand out by going against the grain.

You don’t want to be formulaic, but you do want to be current. Even the most timeless brands need updates every once in awhile.

Overall

Social media changes are a perfect opportunity to refresh your brand. Take the little extra time to create an engaging, fresh approach to continue engaging with your target audience.

Sharing Across Demographics

There’s a lot of talk about how to gain traction in social sharing spheres. “Engagement” has an almost buzzword quality to it, something important but you’re never quite sure what it means. It’s a very broad term that encompasses a large number of best practices, from including photography to what time you send out your posts.

But have you considered that you should engage differently based on age?

Group of business people holding a target

The Numbers

Adweek published an infographic outlining how sharing changes by demographic and social channel. While there are trends in the data — those over 70 were the least likely to engage period— there are some nuances that can influence your social strategy.

Facebook is the overall most trusted media source, outranking newspapers and TV for branded information. But if you’re looking to reach the 18-22 market, you might want to consider YouTube or even Snapchat.

Surprisingly, the 18-22 market and 23-30 market engage with branded content much differently than each other, and even more differently than their non-millennial counterparts. 18-22 year-olds were tied for second in answering “I am unlikely to share any of the above with my network,” meanwhile 23-30 year-olds ranked last in agreeing with that statement.

For marketers, this simply emphasizes researching your audience before you dive in with the strategy you think will work. While some principles of engagement can apply across the board, the nuance of working with millennials and digital natives can be difficult to grasp.

What to Do About It

Your online marketing strategy should reflect your audience, but this data reveals just how nuanced “your audience” is. Even within millennials there’s a divide around mid twenties.

Some of the trust statistics might also come as a surprise, especially with branded blogs ranking so low. While this doesn’t devalue the importance of a blog, it does point to needing diversity in your content generation strategy.

The younger your audience, the more you must base your online content strategy around them. Social media has always been about relationships, but this is doubly true for those who have grown up on the Internet. Sales tactics tend to make them mistrustful, and they want content that serves them instead of feeling manipulated.

This makes inbound principles even more critical. You have to delight your audience for them to keep engaging and trust your brand. Obvious sales tactics are out for the younger audience skews; and since they are slowly but surely taking over the market, you can’t afford to be left behind.