In this podcast, we had the opportunity to speak with Darren Saul from Suspended Animation. He does many things, all of which are based around social media strategy, consulting, and podcasting. He has helped many organisations get results in social media and podcasting.
When we think of social media marketing and online marketplace, a lot of businesses don’t realize what a real social media campaign looks like and how much work goes into it. When it’s paired with an online marketplace strategy, it allows businesses to connect with people and potential clients.
Social Media from an Expert’s Perspective
Social media marketing is a 360-dimensional process where immense preparation, practice, and execution happens. Like any marketing campaign, you need to know your audience, what they need, where they are, and why they will choose your products or services. Knowing these basics will help you execute your strategy to the right audience and the right platform. In recent times, social media is one of the strongest marketing, advertising, and branding platforms for businesses. With social media, sales methodology and processes have changed. People don’t sell and buy the same way. When it comes to your business profile you need to be consistent with your strategy to get the right attention from your target audience.
Social Media in the Corporate World
The corporate world is also looking through social media, specifically on LinkedIn. This platform is tailored-fit for B2B marketing. LinkedIn is incredible in helping you reach the right audience in the corporate world. Audience segmentation can be done on LinkedIn, you can reach the decision-makers in a company and join groups that are relevant to your industry. The platform has moved from a job-seeking resume to a more serious content platform—it’s what Facebook was many years ago.
When it comes to demographics and personal approach, we can’t forget about Facebook. With its 2.60 billion monthly active users, there is a substantial amount of small to medium-sized businesses doing numerous work on Facebook. Many people are using Facebook to work on their business page and target corporate business as well.
Podcasting for Lead Generation
Podcasting is an incredible lead generation magnet. Podcasting helps you build a relationship through one on one conversation. It also helps you learn more about a person’s business, expertise, and even business opportunities. Podcasting helps you build your network and connection with people through receptive talking. Podcasting is also another great way to provide content to your audience—passive, indirect, and valued as opposed to a sales pitch. People love podcasts because they’re learning as they listen. With podcasting, you need to release fresh content consistently, proper scheduling works best in a podcast.
3 Strategies You Can Start With
- Videos are huge as they do so much better than any other form of content. Businesses need to get comfortable with video and start using it in your marketing efforts as videos are proven effective in helping brands build a relationship with their customers.
- Podcasting is an absolute must to reach corporate clients. Start doing podcasts weekly, biweekly, or monthly as long as it is consistent and there’s a pattern. The traction you get out of podcasting is incredible.
- LinkedIn groups as mentioned, you need to join groups that are relevant to your industry to reach 20 to 200 thousand people. LinkedIn groups help you access the right audience that is receptive to your products or services. LinkedIn groups also provide you additional channels to syndicate your content.
With these strategies, start small and work your way through it. You can even start with a $200 microphone and a $50 webcam—pair it with strategy and consistency to see the big difference.