Social media can be exciting to start but difficult to sustain. At NWI Business Solutions, we know firsthand how daunting social media can be for busy business owners.
Most companies understand that they should maintain an active presence, but even diligent leaders and marketing teams struggle to consistently post/publish content, reach out to potential contacts, or comment on others’ work. We sometimes hear, ‘We posted every week for a few months, then a few large orders came in, or a few key people were out.’
We get it that priorities shift, calendars are packed, and posting on Facebook or LinkedIn becomes one more thing to do. Usually what we see is that companies lack a clear social media strategy, a manageable process, or a partner to help implement.
An effective social media strategy includes choosing the right channels, developing relevant messages, creating quality content, and building relationships with the people who matter to your business. In many ways, it’s hard to imagine a better route to market.
Connect Social Media to Your Business Strategy
The most successful companies don’t treat social media as a separate activity or a collection of occasional posts. They directly connect their social strategy to the company’s broader sales, marketing, and business development goals.
At NWI, we help companies tie in social media to their company strategy through the NWI Attract–Cultivate–Retain ProcessTM. This helps businesses build brand awareness, strengthen relationships, and maintain valuable customer connections to stay top of mind.
Social media often begins in the Attract stage. It gives prospective customers, referral partners, and other important contacts an opportunity to discover your company and learn more about you. The content you share can reinforce your expertise, direct people to your website, and provide useful material for sales conversations.
In the Cultivate stage, social media can help your company stay visible during a longer buying process. A prospect may not be ready to act when they first come across your business, but consistent, valuable communications can deepen familiarity and trust over time.
One of the most overlooked opportunities for social media is with current customers. In the Retain phase, social media keeps current customers informed, highlights additional capabilities, and reinforces the value of their relationship with your company. There is an opportunity here to share case studies or testimonials from satisfied customers to tell their story.
The strongest programs begin with clear business questions. Who are you trying to reach? What do you want them to understand? What action should they take next? Which services, products, or areas of expertise should receive greater visibility?
Social Media Tip: Before deciding what to publish, identify the business goal the content should support and the specific audience it needs to reach.
Think Beyond Posting
A social media strategy includes content, but it should not end there.
On LinkedIn, your company page is often one of the first places a prospect visits after hearing your name, meeting someone from your team, or receiving a referral. It should clearly communicate who you serve, what you provide, and why someone should continue learning about your business.
Building the right network is equally important. Depending on your goals, this may include prospective customers, existing clients, industry partners, employees, referral sources and community contacts. A relevant audience is more important than a large number of followers who are not necessarily in your ideal market.
Social media also creates opportunities for direct engagement. Commenting thoughtfully on a contact’s post, making a relevant introduction or sending a personalized “direct message” can open conversations that can lead to a call or new relationship.
This combination of a strong company presence, relevant content, intentional networking and appropriate direct outreach turns social media into a more complete business development tool.
Social Media Tip: Set aside time each week not only to publish content, but also to make connections, respond to others, and engage with key contacts. There is no need to ‘go it alone.’ We help companies with these strategies, posting, and presence.
Avoid Common Social Media Pitfalls
We’ve seen what works, and also what doesn’t.
- One common mistake is trying to be active on every available platform. Managing several channels well takes time, planning, and content development. Spreading resources too thin can result in inconsistent posting and abandoned profiles. Choose the channel(s) most relevant, such as LinkedIn for B2B (business-to-business) or YouTube for video-centric messages and presence. We help companies make these choices based on the data.
- Another pitfall is focusing heavily on publishing and overlooking real interaction. The real goal is often in comments on other posts, direct messaging to others, connection-building, and managing your company profile.
- Then, avoid making social media dependent on one busy executive remembering to post. Without clear ownership, defined themes, a calendar and an approval process, consistency quickly breaks down. NWI can help you avoid this completely with a done-for-you approach.
- Finally, companies should avoid measuring performance only through likes and followers. Those numbers can provide useful context, but they do not always translate into business. Social media is only one element to your marketing and sales strategy.
Partner for the Social Media Win
A strong social media presence requires ongoing attention. Many companies struggle to find the time to manage the strategy, content, engagement, and follow-through consistently.
NWI helps companies with the complete program, from determining which platforms apply best, strengthening their company presence, building relevant connections, and developing content around the brand and business strategy. We preserve your company’s voice and authenticity while easing the workload on leadership and internal teams.
We’d love to connect with you. Email me at norine@nwibusinesssolutions.com to start a conversation. My team and I would be happy to offer you a free assessment of your social media presence today.
This article is authored by Norine Wiebmer, president and CEO of NWI Business Solutions, where she helps companies grow by fostering strong relationships and leveraging strategic sales and marketing strategies.