It’s hard to believe that Social Media has played a daily part in our lives for over a decade. But, is social media marketing really an effective form of tech PR for businesses and worthy of further investment?
A recent article in Silicon Republic stated that a quarter of online time in the United States is spent on Social Media platforms. It’s no wonder that a recent survey conducted by CMO anticipates that social media marketing budgets for businesses will increase from 10% to almost 25% in the next five years.
Of course, it seems almost alien these days that a tech business would not have a social media presence of some kind already. However, as a tech company, are you using your social media channels effectively enough? Here are five tips which tech businesses can incorporate into their tech PR campaigns and reach potential new clients:
1. Choose the right channel
Regular updates with quality content will engage clients and help you build your brand, reputation and increase your sales. LinkedIn offers the most B2B friendly setting for Tech PR campaigns. Twitter offers the challenge of relaying your news in a brief, succinct manner but it can also allow your organisation to come across with a more personable, engaging and friendly tone.
Platforms such as Facebook might not seem to be an important for a large organisation that engages in primarily B2B clients. However, if your organisation is on a recruitment drive and wants to show what a great place it is to work in, or if you engage in CSR campaigns, Facebook can be a great way for communicating the benefits of these and marketing your company as a caring organisation.
2. Tailor for the channel, audience and keep it up to date
Once you’ve decided on the right channels for your business, it’s important to get the tone right so your message appeals to other users. LinkedIn is a professional network, with Facebook occupying the other end of the spectrum as a much more informal network. We recommend you do not post the same message across all social media platforms as you have to appeal to different target audiences. They must also be kept up to date with regular posting once you open them, as a LinkedIn page with the last update dating from a couple of months previously is a poor reflection on your business, looking dormant and neglected. Keep it in mind when you set up your business page and ask yourself; ‘Will we have enough regular content to keep this page alive and relevant?’
3. Fine-tune your targeting to achieve more engagement and ROI
Once you’ve established your channels, you need to make sure you get the most bang for your buck. Social media gives you the perfect chance to build your profile by following tech industry thought leaders and getting them to notice your content. A retweet or sharing of your content by high profile people in the industry is quite the social media coup, which can help you reach thousands of new potential clients worldwide and act as a ringing endorsement for your business. Also, if you want to build a strong media profile for your business you can use social media channels like twitter to identify leading tech industry journalists and make direct contact with them to pitch them your newsworthy announcements and content.
If you do a paid campaign aimed at potential customers then it’s possible to target one age demographic, in one town or in one specific country. In turn you’ll achieve a greater ROI in this aspect of your Tech PR campaign as it’s tailored to suit your specific audience. It is also worth mentioning that social media tools – especially LinkedIn for B2Bs – offer great reach in terms of researching, identifying and building relationships with potential business clients.
4. Monitor your post performance
Once you’ve begun to post on social media, you’ll want to know if it’s effective. All social media platforms offer extensive analytical software so you can see how your content is performing. If your content becomes repetitive then you’ll see its performance beginning to suffer. If you want to continue one product or service multiple times during a campaign, come up with new social media posts each time to keep things fresh.
5. Over-saturation is the key to failure
Ever scrolled through a social media home page and seen multiple posts in quick succession from the same person or company? Remember how annoying that is? Don’t make the same mistake in your tech PR social media strategy and lose followers as a result. One post a day on LinkedIn and Facebook and a couple of tweets a day with a further couple of retweets is sufficient. Quality content, not quantity is what counts!