Social media is crucial for any managed IT service provider (MSP) that wants to stay competitive. It offers a great opportunity to engage with clients, build relationships, and increase brand awareness regarding your IT solutions.
However, it can also be an overwhelming task to handle. To make sure that their social media marketing strategy is as effective as possible, there are six essential components that all MSPs should include.
What is a social media strategy?
A social media (SM) strategy provides an overarching view of your company’s social media ecosystem. It specifies the type of content your MSP ought to (and will) post, your target audience, the social channels that are the most relevant to your audience, and more. Your SM strategy is a point of reference for your organisation’s social media initiatives and must be factored into your MSP’s overall marketing plan.
6 SM strategy essentials
In a time where global IT spending is expected to reach $4.5 trillion, marketing your information technology solutions may become trickier as you and your competitors will be vying for people’s attention with products and services that are incredibly similar.
But, with the following six essentials, you will be able to engage with your customers on a deeper level, securing their loyalty and reliable revenue
1. A set of goals
Whether you want to increase your social media following or shape your brand voice into something more personable for better customer retention, establishing goals will ground your SM efforts. Not only will this give you and your team a roadmap to follow, but it will also keep everything in focus, ensuring that your message, images, and brand are always representative of your values.
2. Your target audience
Posting content to social media without having an idea of who it is for is akin to shouting into the wind. “There are 4.76 billion social media users in the world today”, and it is vital that managed IT service providers narrow down their audience to find the people who will be most receptive to their IT solutions and services.
To identify your target audience, you will need to know their:
- Location
- Age
- Industry
- Spending habits
- Socioeconomic status
- Interests
- Common issues they face in relation to IT
Your target audience offers you the best chance of acquiring and retaining new business. By knowing who they are before you develop your social media strategy, you will be able to create and post content that speaks directly to their needs.
3. Competitor research
Social media allows IT solutions providers to peek into their competitor’s worlds to see their services and, most importantly, stay updated on their marketing wins and losses. By doing competitor research, you can learn from your competitors’ mistakes and incorporate what they are doing right into your business’s social media marketing plan.
Pay attention to:
- The type of content being posted and their topics.
- The tone of the content.
- Audience engagement.
- The times the posts are released.
- The SM platforms being used.
4. Relevant social media channels
SM platforms come equipped with their own mores, expectations, and functions. As such, different spaces support different audiences. You should be selective about what social media accounts you use, as they ought to be in the spaces where your target audience is located. For example, LinkedIn is a solid platform for connecting with customers, as the professionals using it are more likely to fit your target demographic.
By carefully selecting your social media platforms with your customers in mind, you will be able to speak directly to them and spur interest in your business.
5. A social media content calendar
A social media content calendar outlines your company’s posting schedule and the nature of its social media presence. Oftentimes, a content calendar is informed by a content plan – a strategy that explains how your organisation’s content aligns with your business goals and helps you reach them. Your content needs to be entertaining yet informative for your audience, providing them with a taste of your expertise.
A content calendar will allow you to keep track of your posts, schedule them at times that result in high levels of engagement, and show your audience that you are ready and willing to interact with them. IT solutions may seem overwhelming to business owners that do not have much experience with technology. Creating social media posts can allow you to translate your skills and knowledge into assets that your audience needed yesterday, ultimately making your business more approachable.
6. Analytics programs
Social media metrics (when examined with analytics programs) can help you monitor your social media performance. The data your analytics solutions gather will provide you with unbias insights into the efficacy of your SM strategy.
Some of the social media metrics you ought to track include:
- Engagement
- Response times and rates
- Conversions
- Impressions
- Follower count
Social media is a fickle beast, so you must know how your business is performing on it. If you can keep track of how your content is being received, you will have an easier time engaging with your customers and developing more valuable content.
Smash your social media marketing goals with experienced IT marketers
In today’s marketing landscape, social media is a requirement. When managed IT service providers market their IT solutions via SM, they need to have a clear, step-by-step strategy to ensure that their services and products stand out from the pack.
The social media marketing experts at LeftLeads can leverage their expertise to help you develop a foolproof social media strategy. Operating exclusively within the IT industry, LeftLeads’ marketers can revolutionise your business’s social media strategy to grow your followers, keep them engaged, and expand your network for more opportunities.
