Cross-network social marketing #Demand14

HootSuite’s Sandy Pell led an informative discussion about social media and its ties to branding at #Demand14 recently. During her presentation, Pell provided several great tips based on HootSuite’s own social networking strategies.

hootsuiteShe began by explaining that the company is focused on figuring out on how social media fits into the sales funnel.

“On social media, it’s so much about connecting with customers,” Pell said.

Her first tip for this was an easy one: Invest in company owned social pages. Every business should have their own profiles on various networks, especially Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Without this presence, it can be difficult for consumers to engage with brands.

Think about how you go about marketing your business. Are you doing so on a branded Facebook profile? Or is through unofficial pages or via employee’s profiles? You need to create a center for your social media marketing, otherwise it’ll be hard to get any type of results.

Empowering your staff on social

Pell then noted that the average Fortune 500 company has a social media team of eight people with a potential reach of 1.7 consumers. However, if you expand that to your entire team, your marketing potential will increase exponentially.

She recommended that making it easy for everyone to buy in. One strategy HootSuite uses is writing tweets for workers. This may seem small, but can help motivate everyone to get involved.

Would you be more onboard if you some of the work was already done or if you had to do it by yourself? Streamlining the process for employees can enhance participation.

Responding to trends

Pell also spoke out about the importance of capitalizing on trends on social media. HootSuite did this by participating in the “Harlem Shake” meme and making its own video. One member of its marketing team suggested it to everyone and the wheels were put in motion.

“We threw out a company email and within a two-hour time period with had 60 people show up,” Pell said.

The final video earned more than 116,000 YouTube views. Beyond the numbers, it also showed that Hootsuite’s finger is on the pulse of pop culture.

You should try to create that reputation for your organization. Consumers want brands that feel like people, not faceless marketers. Using memes as well as referencing popular songs, shows and movies is a great way to gain a following and enhance your brand.

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