I became active in social media for both personal and marketing purposes around 2008, promoting blogs and other web content. I have helped companies create discussion, elicit questions from potential clients, and pass their enthusiasm on to their clients. I have also occasionally generated server-crashing visitor traffic through channels such as Reddit, StumbleUpon, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others, as well as forums and Q&A sites.
Here are some examples:
Zynx Health
When I started at this company they did not have a social media presence outside of LinkedIn, which was used mostly by HR.
The challenge: Put the company on the map in regards to social media, and create an engaged following.
Approach: I based the company’s social media strategy around thought leadership, since they are known for their forward-thinking solutions. Most of the social media audience in this space consists of journalists and healthcare IT bloggers, while the target customers are not as active in major social spaces. I created social media pages on Facebook and Twitter, developed the LinkedIn page to work for sales as well as HR, and joined forum groups where conversations about the brand were taking place. By responding to conversations and posting mostly on relevant healthcare market news and legal developments, as well as company news, I was able to generate engagement by bloggers, partner organizations, and clients.
Results: Within a few weeks Twitter and Facebook began quickly gathering followers, while LinkedIn’s following escalated. Audiences began asking questions and including the company in conversations, and partner organizations freely assisted in promoting brand activities.
EngineerJobs.com
EngineerJobs.com caters to a niche market of engineers who can be very responsive to certain types of content. I began managing their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts as part of a larger content management role.
The Challenge: Grow followers and engagement among a niche online audience.
Approach: On Twitter I included news material on science breakthroughs and new tech innovations, to entice retweets from followers and engineering organizations. On Facebook, the site’s content was mixed with shared content and original, image-based viral posts designed to attract new followers. The team also engaged Facebook followers with real-time conversation, generating streams of comments. I additionally created a Google+ page to enter that arena, generating +1s and creating additional authority with Google. On all social media pages I regularly posted interesting job listings and categories, to keep the company’s following well targeted.
Results: The company’s Twitter following grew about 20% within four months. More successful Facebook posts reached over 1,000 followers per post, while followers on Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn grew steadily.
Know someone who needs this? Introduce me.
