by Francois Muscat | May 16, 2016 | Social Networking, Social Selling, Twitter
If you’re pursuing a social media strategy, then Twitter is probably one of your chosen channels. Not only is it easy to connect with your ideal customer on Twitter, but you can also use a variety of features on this platform to engage with them.
Brands who already have a following on Twitter should consider using direct messages to connect with people. Not all Twitter users are keen on engaging with brands via direct message, so you need to be smart about how you go about sending this type of communication. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Remember that it’s probably your first time talking to the person. Your initial direct message shouldn’t be overly familiar. Your tone and level of intimacy should be on par with how you would act when meeting someone for the first time.
- Keep it simple. You could start the conversation by simply thanking the person for the follow or by asking them what kind of content they would like to see on your Twitter profile.
- Be personal. Twitter users dislike being spammed. As far as possible, try to personalise each message. This can become administratively intensive if you start getting lots of new followers each day, in which case you should consider appointing someone for the role of social media manager or hiring a community management service to help you with this task.
Need help with your social selling or social media marketing strategy? WSI OMS offers social strategy consulting as well as community management services. Contact us for more information today.
by Francois Muscat | Dec 28, 2015 | Social Media Marketing, Social Networking
Social engagement is something that gets perfectly executed…until the silly season kicks in. It’s common for normal day-to-day marketing activities to get postponed “until everyone is back in January,” but this type of mentality could mean you’re missing out on a lot of business.
One way to ensure your social media activities are kept in full swing during December is to schedule posts in advance. You can use social media scheduling tools, such as Hootsuite, to do this. If all your staff is on leave during the holidays, consider hiring a freelance or contract worker to respond to queries and engagements on social media for you.
Another way to ensure you don’t slack off on social media is to plan a number of marketing campaigns in advance. These campaigns don’t have to be very time-consuming or labour intensive. Consider online coupons and flash sales which can be scheduled to appear on your ecommerce site, for example.
Keeping up with your social obligations is especially important if you’re selling products online. December is one of the busiest times for holiday shopping, so even if you’re ready to start winding down for the festive period, make sure you aren’t losing out on a lot of sales.
Need someone to make sure your social media accounts are active and engaging in December? Then contact WSI today.
by Francois Muscat | May 13, 2015 | Social Media Marketing, Social Networking
Although social media originally started as a way for users to simply connect with each other, it now offers excellent opportunities for brands to get involved with communities. What many brands don’t realise, however, is that social media can be used to build a brand’s perceived authority on a topic or industry, translating to more trust from consumers and, essentially, more sales.
Brands who Express Opinions offer more Authenticity
Brands who get involved in online communities and share thoughts and opinions are considered more trustworthy. This is because consumers notice when brands are taking a genuine interest in topics that they themselves are interested in, and when brands offer real insight into the topic, they are recognised as authority figures. This makes consumers take an interest in your brand, seeking more insight and expertise from what they perceive to be an authority in the industry.
Social Media is all about Sharing
One of the greatest aspects about social media is that users can also link other users to your site, content or commentary. This further builds your authority in the subject, as users are more trusted by their connections. Therefore, by ‘borrowing’ authority from users who share your content while you build your own online reputation, you can greatly enhance your overall authority on the subject matter.
To find out more about the comprehensive social media service we offer or if you’d like more information on our organisational expertise, contact us at WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 16, 2015 | LinkedIn, Social Networking
Businesses often have their own LinkedIn marketing strategies, but many people use LinkedIn for one thing only – job hunting. LinkedIn has become the go-to place for recruitment agencies to find and head hunt new talent. In December 2014, LinkedIn published an article which analysed the skills and experience data of their users to find out who’s getting hired and what type of skills they bring to the table.
The top 25 hottest skills on LinkedIn for 2014 were as follows:
- Statistical analysis and data mining
- Middleware and integration software
- Network and information security
- SEO/SEM marketing
- Business intelligence
- Mobile development
- Web architecture and development framework
- Algorithm design
- Perl/Python/Ruby
- Data engineering and data warehousing
- Marketing campaign management
- Mac, Linux and Unix systems
- User interface design
- Recruiting
- Digital and online marketing
- Computer graphics and animation
- Economics
- Java development
- Channel marketing
- SAP ERP systems
- Integrated Circuit (IC) design
- Shell scripting languages
- Game development
- Virtualisation
If you’ve got a LinkedIn profile which you hope will get you noticed by recruiters and you have experience in any of the skills on this list, it would be wise to optimise your LinkedIn profile with these keywords (simply write a paragraph about your experience or add the keyword phrase to your LinkedIn job title to boost your chances of getting picked up by a recruiter who is looking for someone with these skills).
Need someone to help you optimise your LinkedIn profile and help you network on LinkedIn? Contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 4, 2015 | Social Media Marketing, Social Networking
The location-based geotagging social network Foursquare announced earlier this year that it was eliminating the popular “check-in” feature and moving that feature to a new app called Swarm. The check-in feature allowed users to clock their locations at various places around the world, such as restaurants, music concerts, universities, airports and many more. It also allowed users to accumulate badges for frequent activities, so if you checked in at three airports within three months, you might receive a Jetsetter badge due to your love of travelling.
Foursquare no longer uses the check-in feature – this feature has been moved to the new app called Swarm, however this doesn’t allow users to earn new badges and many former Foursquare users are not satisfied with the changes. So now that the check-in feature has migrated to Swarm, what purpose does Foursquare serve? Foursquare is now used for reading tips about various locations around the world and you can leave tips about places you have visited. If you’re travelling to New York City for the first time, you can use Foursquare to read reviews from travellers who have been there and research potential hot spots to visit.
Geotagging programmes such as Swarm and Yelp are very popular amongst many audiences, from people who are searching for hotels in a foreign country to people who are looking for a new restaurant to try in their city. Giving your customers the opportunity to “check-in” or to leave a review about your business gives you valuable feedback and helps put you on the map. If you own a French restaurant and people are searching for cuisine similar to what you serve, seeing 35 people have checked in to your location during the past week may have a positive influence on their decision to patronise your business.
For more information about how to incorporate a geotagging app into your digital marketing strategy, or if you have any general inquiries about the digital marketing services we provide, please do not hesitate to contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you.
by Francois Muscat | Nov 6, 2014 | Social Networking
Social selling is a term used to describe a company leveraging its social media presence to engage with its customers and sell to the right people online. Traditionally, sales teams rely on cold calling and e-mails, but with the growing popularity of social media it makes perfect sense to take advantage of the many opportunities it provides.
At WSI we have a team of digital marketing experts who will work with you to establish a social media presence for your company. A substantial social media presence paves the way for social selling and the sooner your sales team is online, the better it will be for your business.
Why turn your team to social selling?
- You can file prospects into specific categories. Some social media websites like Twitter and LinkedIn allow you to monitor the competition and monitor your customers at the same time, giving you valuable insights into how your competitors attract customers.
- The sale cycle is shortened with social selling. Social media allows your sales team to monitor what people are saying about your company and gives them the chance to address comments, questions and complaints. Research shows that when customers are ready to speak to a sales rep, they are already 60 to 70% through the buying process.
- Social selling allows you to build valuable relationships with customers. Best of all, the majority of social and online networks are free to join.
For more information about social selling, or if you want to know more about the broad range of services that WSI provides, please do not hesitate to contact us today. Our digital marketing experts can advise you on the best social selling strategies for your business, so give us a call and discover why so many companies partner with us for success.
