When social media first arrived in the form of MySpace, and then Facebook and Twitter, social media was primarily just that. Social.
Then celebrities jumped on the bandwagon, and more and more people began to follow. Companies soon realized it was a great way to promote their brand to the millions of people already using social media and more joining every day.
As of 2016, nearly 88% of all businesses used social media to market their business, and that number continues to increase every year.
Nearly 90% of small businesses engage or plan to engage in some form of social media, with over 70% using social media in some form to promote their products or brand.
What Does that Mean for the B2B Copywriter?
You know the importance of having a website presence so your clients can find you. But is that enough? Not today.
Now, it’s important for a B2B copywriter to have a strong social media presence. If your prospective clients can’t find you, they’ll find your competitors.
And presence will not only help you reach your clients, but will show you as an expert social media marketer, so when a potential client needs help with their social media campaigns, you’re the copywriter they’ll find and hire.
Here are six steps for you to take on B2B social media:
- Create a Professional Profile
Just like your website’s homepage, your profile is the first impression of you. It tells potential clients who you are and that they are in the right place.
LinkedIn has a great platform for your professional profile, starting with an attention-grabbing headline, followed by a more-detailed description. Nearly all businesses use LinkedIn. When they’re looking for new employees, freelancers, or a new partner, LinkedIn is where companies and hiring managers go. And, every time you comment on someone else’s timeline, your headline will appear under your name and profile picture; something unique to LinkedIn.
Other social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram give you space for a profile description. Make it stand out above your competition. And, your profile picture should show you the way you want to present yourself to clients. If you’re targeting the outdoor sporting goods market, show yourself outdoors, or if your prospects are service professionals, look the part.
- Write and Share Relevant Content
Write articles and post them to your social media accounts. If you already have a blog, this will be easy to do.
Share your articles and blog posts on Twitter and Facebook. LinkedIn allows you to write articles and is one of the best places for business to see them and share with their clients. LinkedIn makes it easy to write or share articles, images, and video right in your profile.
Write articles that are of value to your clients; marketing tips, industry news, even shared content from other sources.
- Target Your Followers
Don’t follow everyone. Decide who your potential clients are, what industry they are in, who they follow, your competitors in that market, and influencers. It’s better to follow 60 targeted accounts in your industry than hundreds of random accounts, hoping they will follow you back. You are who you follow.
When people look at your account, they will see who you follow, and if it looks like more of a social account than a business, you are less likely to get followed back. Also, following too many accounts will junk-up your feed and make it more difficult to find relevant posts to comment on or share.
Influencers are important to follow because they are seen as experts already. If you engage with them and they take notice, their followers will notice you too.
- Engage Your Readers
Read your feed. See what your prospects are writing and asking questions about and talk to them. Start conversations, retweet or share a good article, either one you’ve written that’s relevant to the conversation, or someone else’s. Ask questions, or retweet their content to your followers.
Businesses like followers too, and they will take notice of someone engaging with them, especially when you are writing smart, informative posts. And remember, on LinkedIn when you comment, your headline appears next to your name, so your prospect or client will see that you are a business professional who knows their business.
- Use Promotion Wisely
Should you promote your business on social media like Twitter? YES! But, your tweets or other posts should not consist completely of promoting yourself or your business.
If you write one tweet every day and it’s just to say, “I’m a copywriter in the B2B market, hire me for all your copywriting needs,” when a client pulls up your profile to see your posts, that is all they will see, and most likely dismiss you as a pushy salesman, or desperate for business. You don’t want to be seen like that. Your clients want to see someone who engages and communicates. Someone who gets it.
Look at the Facebook Page for Coca-Cola. You won’t just see ads for Coke. They profile real people, in all walks of life, enjoying life, and a Coke.
Mix it up. Yes, have some promotion and ask for business, but those posts should only be sprinkled in between your conversations and engaging posts, retweets, and helpful information where you are not promoting yourself.
- Use Keywords Effectively
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn’t only for your website. Use keywords in your profile descriptions and headlines. Your profile should contain keywords like copywriter, B2B market, content writer, etc., sprinkled organically through your content.
If you write a LinkedIn article on marketing tips for the small business, make sure you have relevant keywords that small businesses will use to find your article. Facebook and other social media outlets use algorithms similar to Google to find meaningful content and will reward you. And, Google search results present more social media sights in between websites and blogs posts.
Having a social media presence for a B2B copywriter has become more important than ever. It’s how your prospects will find you. And, engaging in conversations and sharing interesting information will keep you in front of your clients and remain there until they’re ready for your services.
Businesses know they need to engage in social media to reach new and existing clients. But most still don’t exactly know how to accomplish that. If you effectively use social media to promote your business, offer value, and engage with potential and existing clients, another thing may happen.
When you have a prospect looking for a copywriter to help them with B2B social media marketing who found you on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, and they ask you, “What experience do you have in social media marketing?” Ask them how they found you.
If you use social media correctly, you will demonstrate to clients that you can do the same for them. Be the expert they’re looking for.
The post How to Position Yourself as a B2B Social Media Expert appeared first on B2B Writing Success.