{"id":36791,"date":"2019-10-31T13:06:32","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T20:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=36791"},"modified":"2019-10-31T13:25:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-31T20:25:00","slug":"social-media-inbound-marketings-sherpa-for-the-online-frontier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2019\/10\/social-media-inbound-marketings-sherpa-for-the-online-frontier\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media: Inbound Marketing\u2019s Sherpa for the Online Frontier"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Marketing in the 21st<\/sup> century has become a\nhigh-stakes game for the office technology dealership community. Traffic on the\ninformation superhighway (now there\u2019s a 20th<\/sup> century term) is\ncluttered at best, and bumper-to-bumper action can make it difficult for a\nbusiness\u2019 message to be heard. This is why a \u201cme, too\u201d approach to social media\ninteraction is only a starting point for success. After all, if you attend a\nChamber of Commerce meeting and sit quietly in the back row, you\u2019ve\naccomplished nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This month\u2019s state of the industry look at digital marketing\nstrategies will explore several fronts in our newsletter, beginning with the\nimpact and opportunities offered by social media. By internet standards, social\nmedia marketing is a relatively new phenomenon; just as it took at least 10\nyears for many businesses to escape the clutches of brochure websites, it has\ntaken some time for dealers to develop an online strategy with business and\npersonal social media accounts. But like our lurker example at the COC\ngathering, what you do once you\u2019re there will go a long way toward dictating\nyour effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Amy Mersch, Prosource<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For Prosource of Cincinnati, social media is a key element\nin its inbound marketing strategy that plays a role in building brand\nawareness, increasing discoverability, distributing content and\u2014perhaps most\nimportantly\u2014establishing thought leadership and driving engagement. The value\nin social media is its ability to be tracked via visitors, views, followers,\nlikes, shares and website traffic. But according to Amy Mersch, marketing\nmanager, social media provides a golden opportunity to showcase Prosource and\nhow it does business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs\na company, Prosource radiates a warmth and a personal approach to business,\u201d\nMersch said. \u201cOn social media, we pair that warmth with our industry expertise\nand thought leadership content to give followers and prospects a more holistic\nview into who we are as a company and as a trusted advisor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving Engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosource\nalso relies on social media as a tool to drive engagement among customers,\nprospects, its communities and the dealer\u2019s employees. \u201cWe love sharing stories\nabout our communities, strengthening our relationship with the organizations we\nsupport,\u201d she said. \u201cInternally, our employees are our best brand ambassadors,\nand they enjoy seeing and sharing the Prosource story on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nvarious platforms, particularly LinkedIn, are key social selling tools for\nProsource account managers. It\u2019s a fertile ground, particularly for touching\nbase with prospects and establishing the company as a subject-matter expert,\nwhich aids in cultivating relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Cyndi Konold, Blue Technologies<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Social\nmedia is also an integral element in the marketing playbook of Blue\nTechnologies. The Cleveland-based dealer uses relevant trend posts to entice\ncustomers within a given vertical market. LinkedIn is used to develop\nconversations around business-related issues as well as recruiting employees.\nFacebook, Twitter and Instagram also serve as a resource for recruiting, as\nwell as documenting the company\u2019s philanthropic endeavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCreating\nsocial posts that link back to our blogs page has driven activity to our\nwebsite,\u201d noted Cyndi Konold, Blue Technologies\u2019 marketing director. \u201cIn turn,\nwe are seeing an increase in activity and engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buying Journey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mary Steffl, Loffler Companies<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mary\nSteffl, marketing manager for Loffler Companies of Bloomington, Minnesota,\nnotes that social media has become a source of information for customers and\nprospects along their buying journey. The dealer\u2019s social media specialist has\ncrafted a strategy to create a robust presence across LinkedIn, Facebook,\nInstagram and Twitter. Loffler Companies also budgeted and created a strategy\nfor sponsored ads on many of the platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\nsee social media as an excellent way to offer educational content to people,\nmost often in their leisure\/downtime,\u201d Steffl said. \u201cThat\u2019s a time when they\u2019re\nnot so harried by the pressures of the workday and are more open to exploring\nwhat we have to offer them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognizing\nthe importance social media can potentially play in the company\u2019s marketing\nstrategy, Impact Networking of Lake Forest, Illinois, hired a dedicated social\nmedia coordinator in June of 2018 to quarterback the company\u2019s social media\nchannels. The coordinator spent her first year aligning the dealer\u2019s organic\nstrategy and brand voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Karlee Ricks, Impact Networking<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thus\nfar, Impact Networking has witnessed a significant spike across every platform\n(LinkedIn, Facebook, Instragram and Twitter), which averaged a 50% boost in\naudience growth year over year. Impressions rose 99% over the previous year to\n2.4 million. The 77,200 engagements produced represented a 220% increase,\nillustrating the success that accompanies a dedicated point person in charge of\nthe initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\nis important that all our digital marketing efforts are aligned, and social\nmedia plays a huge part in this,\u201d said Karlee Ricks, Impact Networking\u2019s\nmarketing manager. \u201cThe content that we are creating in promoted through social\nmedia and by looking specifically at engagement and audience retention metrics,\nwe can constantly be revising our strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Constance Barbian, Benchmark<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Constance\nBarbian, director of marketing and communications for Benchmark Business\nSolutions of Lubbock, Texas, sees social selling as playing an integral role as\npart of the overall marketing blueprint that includes multiple digital\nchannels. \u201cToday, our campaigns often involve a combined strategy of email,\nsocial, video and retargeting,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile we remain active on a number\nof platforms, we have seen the best results from LinkedIn for our industry.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marketing in the 21st century has become a high-stakes game for the office technology dealership community. Traffic on the information superhighway (now there\u2019s a 20th century term) is cluttered at best, and bumper-to-bumper action can make it difficult for a business\u2019 message to be heard. This is why a \u201cme, too\u201d approach to social media interaction is only a starting point for success. After all, if you attend a Chamber of Commerce meeting and sit quietly in the back row, you\u2019ve accomplished nothing. This month\u2019s state of the industry look at digital marketing strategies will explore several fronts in our newsletter, beginning with the impact and opportunities offered by social media. By internet standards, social media marketing is a relatively new phenomenon; just as it took at least 10 years for many businesses to escape the clutches of brochure websites, it has taken some time for dealers to develop an online strategy with business and personal social media accounts. But like our lurker example at the COC gathering, what you do once you\u2019re there will go a long way toward dictating your effectiveness. For Prosource of Cincinnati, social media is a key element in its inbound marketing strategy that plays a role in building brand awareness, increasing discoverability, distributing content and\u2014perhaps most importantly\u2014establishing thought leadership and driving engagement. The value in social media is its ability to be tracked via visitors, views, followers, likes, shares and website traffic. But according to Amy Mersch, marketing manager, social media provides a golden opportunity to showcase Prosource and how it does business. \u201cAs a company, Prosource radiates a warmth and a personal approach to business,\u201d Mersch said. \u201cOn social media, we pair that warmth with our industry expertise and thought leadership content to give followers and prospects a more holistic view into who we are as a company and as a trusted advisor.\u201d Driving Engagement Prosource also relies on social media as a tool to drive engagement among customers, prospects, its communities and the dealer\u2019s employees. \u201cWe love sharing stories about our communities, strengthening our relationship with the organizations we support,\u201d she said. \u201cInternally, our employees are our best brand ambassadors, and they enjoy seeing and sharing the Prosource story on social media.\u201d The various platforms, particularly LinkedIn, are key social selling tools for Prosource account managers. It\u2019s a fertile ground, particularly for touching base with prospects and establishing the company as a subject-matter expert, which aids in cultivating relationships. Social media is also an integral element in the marketing playbook of Blue Technologies. The Cleveland-based dealer uses relevant trend posts to entice customers within a given vertical market. LinkedIn is used to develop conversations around business-related issues as well as recruiting employees. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram also serve as a resource for recruiting, as well as documenting the company\u2019s philanthropic endeavors. \u201cCreating social posts that link back to our blogs page has driven activity to our website,\u201d noted Cyndi Konold, Blue Technologies\u2019 marketing director. \u201cIn turn, we are seeing an increase in activity and engagement.\u201d Buying Journey Mary Steffl, marketing manager for Loffler Companies of Bloomington, Minnesota, notes that social media has become a source of information for customers and prospects along their buying journey. The dealer\u2019s social media specialist has crafted a strategy to create a robust presence across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Loffler Companies also budgeted and created a strategy for sponsored ads on many of the platforms. \u201cWe see social media as an excellent way to offer educational content to people, most often in their leisure\/downtime,\u201d Steffl said. \u201cThat\u2019s a time when they\u2019re not so harried by the pressures of the workday and are more open to exploring what we have to offer them.\u201d Recognizing the importance social media can potentially play in the company\u2019s marketing strategy, Impact Networking of Lake Forest, Illinois, hired a dedicated social media coordinator in June of 2018 to quarterback the company\u2019s social media channels. The coordinator spent her first year aligning the dealer\u2019s organic strategy and brand voice. Thus far, Impact Networking has witnessed a significant spike across every platform (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instragram and Twitter), which averaged a 50% boost in audience growth year over year. Impressions rose 99% over the previous year to 2.4 million. The 77,200 engagements produced represented a 220% increase, illustrating the success that accompanies a dedicated point person in charge of the initiative. \u201cIt is important that all our digital marketing efforts are aligned, and social media plays a huge part in this,\u201d said Karlee Ricks, Impact Networking\u2019s marketing manager. \u201cThe content that we are creating in promoted through social media and by looking specifically at engagement and audience retention metrics, we can constantly be revising our strategy.\u201d Constance Barbian, director of marketing and communications for Benchmark Business Solutions of Lubbock, Texas, sees social selling as playing an integral role as part of the overall marketing blueprint that includes multiple digital channels. \u201cToday, our campaigns often involve a combined strategy of email, social, video and retargeting,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile we remain active on a number of platforms, we have seen the best results from LinkedIn for our industry.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":36793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1650,82,87,1638],"tags":[3303,798,764,560,2265],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36791"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36794,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36791\/revisions\/36794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}