Editor’s note: This post was originally published in June 2019 and has been fully updated for supply chain marketers in 2026.
Quick answer: Social media analytics for supply chain companies should focus on four things: who your followers are (by job function and industry), engagement rate, website traffic from LinkedIn, and the contacts and deals that interact with your posts. LinkedIn page analytics, Google Analytics 4, and HubSpot’s social reports cover most of what you need.
Most supply chain companies don’t have a social media problem. They have a measurement problem.
They post on LinkedIn every week, watch the likes come in, and still can’t answer the question leadership keeps asking: is any of this turning into business? The answer is usually sitting in data they already have. They’re just looking at the wrong numbers.
Here’s what we track for our logistics, manufacturing, and supply chain technology clients, and the tools we use to track it.
Which social media metrics matter for supply chain companies?
A 3PL doesn’t need a million followers. It needs the right 2,000 people at the shippers it wants to win. That changes what “good” looks like.
Follower quality, not follower count. Look at who follows you by job function, seniority, and industry. If your followers are mostly other logistics providers and job seekers, your content isn’t reaching buyers.
Engagement rate. Engagement divided by impressions tells you whether a post landed, regardless of how many people saw it. Track it by post type: video, document posts, photos of your team, and links.
Website sessions from LinkedIn. If social is doing its job, it sends people to your site. Watch which pages they land on and how long they stay.
Contacts and deals that touch social. This is the number leadership cares about. When your CRM shows that a new contact or deal interacted with a LinkedIn post or ad, social has earned its seat in the budget.
Each tool below helps you answer one of those four questions.
The 6 social media analytics tools we use
1) LinkedIn page analytics
Start with the free tool you already have. LinkedIn’s built-in analytics show your followers and page visitors by job function, seniority, industry, and company size. That makes it the quickest way to check whether you’re reaching operations, procurement, and supply chain leaders or just your own industry.
The content tab shows impressions and engagement rate for every post. Sort by engagement rate, not impressions, to see which topics your audience actually responds to.
2) Personal profile analytics
For most supply chain companies, the biggest reach on LinkedIn comes from people, not the company page. A post from your VP of sales or your warehouse operations lead will often outperform anything the brand posts.
LinkedIn shows basic analytics on personal posts. Tools like Shield fill the gaps with history, trends, and post-by-post comparisons, so you can see which team members and topics drive the most engagement. Then have the company page repost their best content.
3) Google Analytics 4
GA4 shows what happens after someone clicks. Use the traffic acquisition report filtered to social to see which platforms send visitors, which pages they land on, and whether they convert.
Tag every link you share with UTM parameters. Without them, LinkedIn traffic often gets lumped into “direct,” and you’ll undercount what social is doing.
4) HubSpot social reports
If you use HubSpot, its social tool connects posts to contacts. You can see which posts drove sessions and new contacts, and follow those contacts through to deals. That’s the closest you’ll get to a straight line from a LinkedIn post to revenue.
It also lets you publish and schedule from the same place you manage email and lead nurturing, so your social content and your campaigns stay in sync.
5) Sprout Social or Hootsuite
If you’re managing several pages or several brands, a management platform saves hours. Both Sprout Social and Hootsuite schedule posts, pull analytics into one dashboard, and build reports you can hand to leadership. Sprout’s reports are especially clean for monthly reviews.
6) Social listening
Listening tools like Awario track mentions of your company, your competitors, and the topics your buyers talk about. For a supply chain company, that might be a carrier capacity crunch, a new tariff, or a competitor’s service failure. Those are all chances to show up with a useful point of view.
How to turn social media data into decisions
Analytics only help if they change what you do next. Once a month, look at three things:
Which topics and formats earned the highest engagement rate
Which posts sent the most traffic to key service pages
Which contacts or deals touched social content
Do more of what works, cut what doesn’t, and report the results in terms leadership cares about: pipeline, not likes. The same data will also tell you how often to post on LinkedIn.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free social media analytics tool for B2B companies?
LinkedIn page analytics and Google Analytics 4 are both free and cover most B2B needs. LinkedIn shows who you’re reaching and how posts perform. GA4 shows what those visitors do on your website.
How do supply chain companies prove social media ROI?
Connect social activity to your CRM. Tag links with UTM parameters, then use a tool like HubSpot to see which contacts and deals interacted with your posts. Report pipeline influenced by social, not likes or follower counts.
How often should you review social media analytics?
Check post performance weekly and do a full review monthly. A monthly look at engagement rate, website sessions, and influenced contacts is enough to spot trends and adjust.
Quick answer: Most supply chain companies should post on their LinkedIn company page three to four times a week, with key team members posting one to two times a week each. Consistency matters more than volume. Start there, track the results for four to six weeks, and adjust.
Every supply chain marketer eventually asks the same question: how often should we be posting on LinkedIn?
There’s no universal number. The right frequency depends on your audience, your team, and how much you have worth saying. But there is a smart place to start, and a simple way to find what works for you.
For logistics, manufacturing, and supply chain technology companies, LinkedIn is where buyers, partners, and future hires spend their time. Here’s how we approach it with our clients.
How often should a supply chain company post on LinkedIn?
If you’re building or resetting a LinkedIn program, start here and adjust from there:
Company page: three to four posts a week. Enough to stay visible without running out of things worth saying.
Key team members: one to two posts a week each. Think sales leaders, operations leads, and your CEO.
Company page reposts: share your team’s best posts from the company page, ideally the same day they go live.
Consistency matters more than volume. Three solid posts every week will do more for you than ten posts one week and none the next.
Why your people matter more than your page
We see it across our clients: original posts from real people get more reach and engagement than anything a company page publishes. A short, informal video from your warehouse floor or a quick take from your head of sales on a capacity crunch will often outperform a polished brand graphic.
So frequency isn’t just a company page question. A program where four team members each post once a week puts your company in front of far more people than a page posting daily.
Habits that hurt LinkedIn reach
Posting more won’t help if the posts are working against you. The two habits we see hurt reach the most:
Too many hashtags. Two or three relevant ones are plenty. A wall of hashtags makes a post look like spam.
Links in the caption. LinkedIn favors posts that keep people on LinkedIn. Put your link in the first comment and tell readers it’s there.
How to find the right posting frequency for your company
Treat frequency as something you test, not something you copy:
Pick a starting frequency and hold it for four to six weeks.
Change one thing, either posting more or posting less, and hold that for another four to six weeks.
Compare the results and keep what works.
You might find that posting less, with better content, gets the same results with half the effort. Or you might find that cutting back costs you pipeline.
Frequently asked questions
Is it bad to post on LinkedIn every day?
Not if every post is worth reading. Daily posting works for companies with enough news, expertise, and team voices to keep quality high. If daily posts start feeling like filler, three or four strong posts a week will perform better.
What is the best day to post on LinkedIn for B2B?
Weekdays during business hours are a reliable starting point for B2B audiences. Your own analytics are the better guide, so check which days and times your posts earn the highest engagement rate and schedule around them.
Should employees post on LinkedIn for their company?
Yes. Posts from real people usually reach more people than company page posts. Encourage a few team members to share original posts once or twice a week, and have the company page repost the best ones.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2016 and has been updated for 2026 with new research on how B2B buyers use social media, peer reviews, and AI to research vendors.
When we first wrote this post, the big news was that B2B buyers had started using social media to research vendors. That’s no longer news. Today’s buyers move between LinkedIn, YouTube, peer reviews, industry communities, and AI tools like ChatGPT before they ever talk to a salesperson. And by the time they do reach out, most have already decided who they like.
Here, we walk you through what the latest research says about how B2B buyers research vendors, which channels matter most, and what supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing companies should do about it.
Quick answer: do B2B buyers use social media to research vendors?
Yes. Social media is one of several channels B2B buyers use to research vendors, alongside peer reviews, word of mouth, and increasingly AI tools. LinkedIn’s research found that nearly two-thirds of B2B buyers say social video helps shape their buying decisions. Buyers also do most of their research on their own, so your social presence is often how they first judge whether you’re credible.
Buyers do most of their research before they talk to you
Buyers made first contact with sellers about 61% of the way through their buying journey.
Buyers, not sellers, initiated 79% of engagements.
94% of buyers had already ranked their shortlist by preference before engaging sellers.
The vendor that won the selection phase went on to win the deal 77% of the time.
In other words, buyers are forming opinions about your company long before your sales team gets a chance to make its case. Social media, your website, reviews, and AI answers are doing that selling for you, whether you’re managing them or not.
How B2B buyers use social media today
LinkedIn is still the center of B2B social
For supply chain companies, LinkedIn is where buyers, partners, and future employees are most likely to see you. Buyers use it to check out your company page, see what your leaders are posting, find out who they know at your company, and get a feel for your expertise. A quiet or outdated LinkedIn presence sends a signal, and it’s not a good one.
Video is shaping buying decisions
Video has become one of the most influential formats in B2B. According to the LinkedIn B2B Institute, nearly two-thirds of B2B buyers say social video helps shape their buying decisions. The same research found that vendors known across the whole buying group from the start are 20 times more likely to be bought than those known only through an expert recommendation.
For supply chain companies, video is a natural fit: facility tours, equipment demos, customer stories, and short explainers from your own experts all help buyers see what working with you would actually be like.
Peers and reviews still carry weight
B2B buyers trust other buyers. TrustRadius’s 2026 B2B Buying Disconnect report found that most buyers consult customer reviews during their purchase journey and more than half speak with a peer along the way. Industry groups, LinkedIn conversations, and word of mouth from people buyers already trust remain some of the strongest influences on a shortlist.
AI is now part of the research process, too
The newest research channel is AI. Forrester reports that 94% of business buyers now use AI in their buying process. And in G2’s 2026 research, 51% of B2B software buyers said they start their research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google, up from 29% a year earlier.
That matters for social media, too. AI tools pull from what’s published about you across the web, including your LinkedIn presence, reviews, and mentions in industry publications. A consistent, active presence makes it easier for AI tools to understand and recommend your company. Here’s more on how logistics companies get recommended by ChatGPT and AI search.
What buyers expect when they find you
Whether a buyer finds you on LinkedIn, through a peer, or in an AI answer, they’re looking for the same things:
Proof you understand their world. Content that speaks to their specific industry, challenges, and terminology.
Real expertise. Insight from people at your company, not just promotional posts.
Evidence. Case studies, customer stories, and specifics that back up your claims.
Consistency. The same story on your website, LinkedIn, review sites, and sales conversations.
A fast response. When they finally reach out, they expect to hear back quickly. Here’s why lead response time matters so much.
How supply chain companies can show up where buyers research
Keep your LinkedIn company page current. Update your description, services, locations, and featured content so it matches your website. For logistics-specific guidance, see how to use social media in transportation and logistics.
Get your experts posting. Posts from real people at your company often reach more buyers than company page posts. Your team members can be some of your best brand ambassadors.
Invest in short video. Facility walkthroughs, project highlights, and quick tips from your team give buyers a reason to stop scrolling.
Ask happy customers for reviews and referrals. Make it easy for satisfied customers to vouch for you on Google, LinkedIn, and industry directories.
Show up in industry conversations. Comment on trade publication posts, participate in association groups, and share takeaways from trade shows.
Connect social to your pipeline. Track how social and AI referrals turn into website visits, leads, and opportunities in your CRM.
Questions we’ve gotten about B2B buyers and social media
Q: Which social media platform is best for B2B supply chain companies? A: For most supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing companies, LinkedIn is the top priority because that’s where buyers, partners, and candidates spend time professionally. YouTube is a strong second for video content like facility tours and demos.
Q: Do B2B buyers really make decisions based on social media? A: Social media rarely closes a deal on its own, but it shapes which vendors make the shortlist. Since buyers do most of their research before contacting sellers, your social presence often forms their first impression of your company.
Q: Should our employees post on LinkedIn or just the company page? A: Both. The company page is your official presence, but posts from real people, especially leaders and subject matter experts, tend to earn more engagement and trust.
Q: How does social media affect AI search? A: AI tools draw on information published across the web, including professional profiles, reviews, and industry mentions. A consistent, active presence helps AI tools understand what your company does and makes it more likely you’ll be recommended.
Want to reach more buyers where they research?
Fronetics works exclusively with supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing companies, and we help clients build a presence on LinkedIn, in search, and in AI answers that turns researchers into buyers. Get in touch to talk about where your buyers are finding you.
Most supply chain companies treat social media as a place to post press releases. The ones that stand out use it to show expertise, reach buyers, and prove what their people and equipment can do. These supply chain social media examples, from a freight tech company, a global 3PL, an equipment manufacturer, and a port and logistics operator, show what that looks like in practice and what you can borrow for your own program.
What makes a supply chain company good at social media?
The supply chain companies that excel at social media share three traits. Their content and outreach come from real people, such as executives and sales reps, not just a brand account. They post about things their audience cares about, like port congestion, sustainability, or how equipment performs. And they tie social activity to a business goal, whether that’s brand awareness, product proof, or a shorter sales cycle.
Company
Platform
What they did
Result
Flexport Freight tech
XLinkedIn
CEO posted a firsthand thread on the 2021 port backlog
Got the attention of city and state leaders
Crane Worldwide Logistics Global 3PL
LinkedIn
Reps prospected and built relationships on LinkedIn
Sales cycle 3 to 6 months shorter
Caterpillar Equipment manufacturer
YouTube
Turned machine demos into entertaining challenges
18 million+ views across 8 videos
DP World Ports and logistics
LinkedIn
Sponsored video built around a sustainability story
7.8-point lift in ad recall
4 supply chain companies that excel at social media
1. Flexport turned an executive’s expertise into a national conversation
In October 2021, with dozens of container ships waiting off the coast of Southern California, Flexport founder Ryan Petersen rented a boat, toured the Port of Long Beach, and posted a thread about what he saw. As NPR reported, the thread went viral, reached the mayor of Long Beach, who temporarily allowed containers to be stacked higher, and led California’s governor to reach out about his ideas.
Yesterday I rented a boat and took the leader of one of Flexport's partners in Long Beach on a 3 hour of the port complex. Here's a thread about what I learned.
Ryan Petersen’s October 2021 thread on the Port of Long Beach backlog.
What to learn: Your leaders’ firsthand knowledge is your most valuable content. A specific, timely post from someone who knows the subject will outperform a polished brand post every time.
2. Crane Worldwide Logistics turned its sales team into social sellers
Houston-based Crane Worldwide Logistics sells large, complex projects that often take months or years to close, and each deal involves five to seven decision-makers. Cold calls kept running into gatekeepers, so the company equipped its reps to prospect, research accounts, and build relationships on LinkedIn using Sales Navigator. According to a LinkedIn case study, Crane shortened its average sales cycle by three to six months and now includes reps’ LinkedIn Social Selling Index scores in performance reviews.
Crane Worldwide Logistics results from a LinkedIn Sales Solutions case study.
What to learn: Social media isn’t only a marketing channel. When sales reps use LinkedIn to reach every member of a buying committee, it can shorten long supply chain sales cycles.
3. Caterpillar made heavy equipment entertaining
Caterpillar’s “Cat Trials” video series shows its machines taking on unusual challenges, such as stacking 600-pound blocks in a giant game of Jenga. The first eight videos logged more than 18 million views, according to Construction Equipment Guide, and the company revived the series in 2020 with a life-size Pac-Man game played with Cat equipment.
“Stack,” the Cat Trials video where five Cat machines play a giant game of Jenga.
What to learn: Showing beats telling. A creative demonstration of what your equipment, facility, or team can do is more memorable than a spec sheet.
4. DP World told a story senior buyers wanted to watch
Global logistics and port operator DP World wanted to build awareness with C-suite executives and cargo owners. Instead of a standard brand ad, it ran a LinkedIn video campaign built around its Second Life Golf Ball sustainability initiative, tied to its DP World Tour sponsorship. The LinkedIn case study reports a 7.8-point lift in ad recall, engagement 2.3 times higher than benchmark, and more than 7 million video views.
DP World explains how it uses its logistics network to give lost golf balls a second life.
What to learn: Even paid social works better with a story. A specific, human initiative gives executives a reason to stop scrolling and remember your name.
4 lessons supply chain marketers can take from these examples
Let leaders share what they know (Flexport). Firsthand expertise on a timely issue earns more attention than any brand announcement.
Make sales reps social sellers (Crane Worldwide Logistics). Reaching every member of a buying committee on LinkedIn can take months off a long sales cycle.
Show, don’t tell (Caterpillar). A creative demonstration of what your equipment, facility, or team can do sticks with people longer than a spec sheet.
Lead with a story (DP World). A specific initiative gives busy executives a reason to stop scrolling and remember your name.
How to apply these lessons to your company
You don’t need a viral moment to get results. Start with a few people who know your business, give them a clear goal, and post consistently on the platform your buyers use. For most supply chain companies trying to reach buyers, that means LinkedIn.
Pick one goal. Winning shippers, shortening sales cycles, and building awareness each call for a different approach.
Choose two or three voices. Your CEO, a sales leader, and an operations expert are a strong start.
Which social media platform is best for supply chain companies?
LinkedIn is the best platform for reaching B2B buyers such as shippers, manufacturers, and supply chain leaders. YouTube works well for equipment and facility videos, and Instagram or TikTok can help with recruiting.
Can social media shorten the sales cycle for supply chain companies?
It can. Crane Worldwide Logistics shortened its average sales cycle by three to six months after its reps started using LinkedIn to research accounts and connect with the five to seven decision-makers involved in each deal.
Do B2B supply chain companies need to go viral on social media?
No. Viral moments like Flexport’s port thread are rare. Most results come from consistent, specific posts by people who know the business, aimed at a clear audience and goal.
Back in 2014, we called social media a “strategic weapon” for the supply chain industry. That’s still true, but the battlefield has changed. Today, a social media strategy for supply chain companies isn’t about having a Facebook page or posting company news. It’s about putting your people and your expertise in front of the shippers, manufacturers, and buying committees you want to win, on the platform where they already research vendors.
Key takeaways
Lead with LinkedIn. It’s where B2B supply chain buyers spend their professional time.
Your people reach more buyers than your company page does, so build the strategy around them.
Plan content around buyer questions, not company announcements.
Measure engagement from target accounts and sales conversations, not likes.
What is a social media strategy for a supply chain company?
A social media strategy for a supply chain company is a documented plan for who you want to reach, which platforms you’ll use, who will post, what you’ll say, how often, and how you’ll measure results. For 3PLs, carriers, warehousing providers, manufacturers, and supply chain software companies, the goal is usually the same: build trust with a small number of high-value buyers before they ever talk to sales.
Why social media is still a strategic weapon in supply chain
Supply chain purchases are made by groups, and most of the group never meets your sales team. Forrester’s State of Business Buying, 2026 found that 13 internal stakeholders and nine external participants influence the average B2B purchase. The 2025 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report found that 71% of these “hidden buyers” have little or no interaction with sales teams, and 95% say strong thought leadership makes them more receptive to sales and marketing outreach.
That’s the opening. Social media is one of the few channels that reaches the operations director, the finance lead, and the procurement manager who are shaping a decision from the background. We’ve seen how B2B buyers use social media, peers, and AI to research vendors, and supply chain buyers are no exception.
6 steps to build a social media strategy for supply chain companies
The six steps below, from defining your buyers to measuring results.
1. Define your buyers and target accounts
Start with the people, not the platform. List the roles that influence your deals, such as VP of supply chain, transportation manager, procurement lead, or CFO, and the companies you most want to win. If you run account-based marketing, use the same target account list for social.
2. Pick your platforms, starting with LinkedIn
For most supply chain companies, LinkedIn deserves the majority of your effort. Other platforms can play a supporting role:
Platform
Best for
Priority for most supply chain companies
LinkedIn
Reaching buyers, thought leadership, recruiting, account targeting
High
YouTube
Facility tours, product demos, explainer videos that also rank in search
Medium
Facebook and Instagram
Driver and warehouse recruiting, local community, company culture
Low to medium
X (Twitter)
Real-time industry news and trade show conversations
Low
3. Activate your people, not just your company page
LinkedIn typically shows people’s posts to more of their network than company page posts, and buyers trust a named expert more than a logo. Identify three to five people who can post regularly, such as your CEO, a sales leader, and an operations expert. Your company page then shares and amplifies their posts. This is the biggest shift since 2014, and it’s the core of how we approach social media marketing for supply chain companies.
4. Build content pillars around buyer questions
Content pillars keep your posts focused and give your team a steady source of ideas:
Pillar
Example post
Who it reaches
Expertise
How peak season surcharges are likely to change next quarter
Shippers and transportation managers
Proof
A customer result, such as improved on-time delivery after a network change
Decision-makers comparing vendors
Industry insight
Your take on a new regulation, tariff, or technology
Executives and hidden buyers
Culture
A day in the life of your warehouse team or drivers
Candidates, customers, and partners
Strong posts often start as blog posts, case studies, or webinar clips, which is why social works best alongside content marketing.
Likes and follower counts are easy to track but rarely tell you whether social is working. Focus on engagement from people at target accounts, website visits from social, inbound messages, and how often prospects mention your posts in sales conversations. Our guide to social media analytics for supply chain companies covers what to track and which tools help.
What mistakes do supply chain companies make on social media?
Posting only company news. Awards and new hires matter to you. Buyers want insight they can use.
Relying on the company page alone. Without people posting, reach stays small.
Spreading too thin. Five half-managed platforms perform worse than one done well.
No link to sales. If sales doesn’t know who engaged, social activity never becomes pipeline.
Running ads with no organic base.LinkedIn ads work better when buyers already recognize your people and brand.
Where to start
If you do one thing this quarter, pick two or three people at your company and help them post consistently on LinkedIn about what they know. Then connect their activity to your target accounts and your sales team. That’s how social media becomes a strategic weapon instead of a box to check.
Is social media worth it for B2B supply chain companies?
Yes, when it’s focused. Most supply chain buying decisions involve people who never meet your sales team, and social media is one of the few ways to reach them with your expertise before a deal starts. The return comes from trust and recognition with target accounts, not from viral posts.
What is the best social media platform for supply chain companies?
LinkedIn is the best platform for most 3PLs, carriers, manufacturers, and supply chain software companies because it’s where B2B buyers research vendors and follow industry experts. YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram can support recruiting and video content.
Should our employees post on LinkedIn, or just the company page?
Both, but employees should lead. Posts from people typically reach more of their network than company page posts, and buyers trust named experts. The company page works best as an amplifier for your team’s posts.
How do you measure social media ROI in supply chain?
Track engagement from people at target accounts, website visits and conversions from social, inbound messages and meeting requests, and deals where prospects mention your content. Follower counts and likes are secondary.
Digital marketing over social media is a trend that continues to grow, but it’s only effective if you’re doing it right. Here are social media mistakes supply chain brands are still making.
Highlights:
When it’s done right, there’s no greater tool for your company to increase brand awareness and generate leads than an engaged presence on social media platforms.
Knowing what content hits home with your followers and potential followers is crucial.
The most successful companies on social media are the ones that find innovative and creative ways to engage with users.
It’s no mystery why approximately 81 percent of small and medium businesses maintain a social media presence. With 3.5 billion users worldwide, social media is a dream come true for businesses looking to reach a ton of potential customers.
Digital marketing over social media is a trend that continues to grow, as more businesses jump on the social media bandwagon. When it’s done right, there’s no greater tool for your company to increase brand awareness and generate leads than an engaged presence on social media platforms. But it can be virtually useless if your company isn’t doing it right.
Traditional marketing strategies may be misleading for companies hoping to connect with customers over social media. And familiar ways of using social media for personal use can also lead marketers astray. The most effective use of social media for your business centers on knowing your audience and positioning your brand within the right conversations, rather than promoting your product or service.
Are you making social media mistakes? Check out our list of the most common blunders we see companies making to find out.
Mistake #1: Not knowing the audience
Everyone understands how a billboard works. It advertises something for sale where it can be seen by as many people as possible. But for companies looking to increase their effectiveness, that’s a big social media mistake. The most important thing a brand can do on social media is to engage dynamically with other users. And to do that, companies first have to figure out who their audience really is.
It’s surprising how often brands don’t have a clear idea of who they’re trying to connect with on social media. Knowing what content hits home with your followers and potential followers is crucial. And collecting followers and promoting your brand visibility with the right audience means figuring out what other interests your target demographics might have.
So, how do you develop a profile of who your audience is? The first step is to put together a detailed description of your target buyer persona. It’s important to consider details such as the location, education level, and role in the industry of the buyers you’re hoping to reach. Based on this profile, marketers can more precisely pinpoint the needs and concerns of their target audience. This is vital for being able to anticipate the groups to join where potential buyers are most likely to be found.
Bottom line: engage with your audience! Once you have figured out who that audience is, join groups, encourage and leave comments, and pay attention to what your followers care about.
Mistake #2: Using objectives instead of strategy
The best way to use social media for digital marketing involves developing a clear strategy for attracting followers, delivering content, and achieving an ROI. Unlike personal use of social media, effective digital marketing depends on maintaining a regular schedule of generating content. Knowing how often to post content or update profiles can make a huge difference for staying on the top of newsfeeds at key times of day.
Generating new content is crucial for keeping followers engaged and attracting the attention of potential new followers. A variety of different kinds of content prevents followers from tuning out or skimming past your company’s posts. Partnering with brand ambassadors and market influencers boosts the organic visibility of your brand: by working with prominent social media users, your company can benefit from dynamic interactions with brand ambassadors who your target audience follows and views as authentic.
Following a strategy can also help achieve and measure your ROI. It can be particularly difficult to prove the ROI of a company’s participation in social media, so it’s especially important to use analytics tools for tracking how your social media presence is doing. Social Media Examiner’s 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report found that only 44 percent of marketers agree that they know how to measure social media ROI, leaving two-thirds of marketers aren’t sure whether their efforts online are paying off. Measuring defined goals against analytics data can help your company identify and react to effective techniques, and improve your social media standing.
Mistake #3: Using the most popular social media platforms
Although the social media platforms with the most users may seem like the most effective platforms for digital marketing, platforms that allow you to engage with your audience can carry more weight than more popular platforms.
All social media channels have a differentiating quality that makes them appealing to specific audiences. So, start by identifying where your target audience is spending their time. For instance, if you are interested in reaching millennial buyers, then your social media efforts should definitely include platforms such as Twitter that millennials tend to use on at least a daily basis.
Once you’ve determined the most effective platforms for your company to concentrate on, be sure to tailor your content to those platforms. Although it’s easy to post the same content across all your accounts simultaneously, the foundation of social engagement is authenticity. Especially with automation tools, many companies post copied-and-pasted content on multiple platforms all at once. But this strategy risks undermining the authenticity of your brand. Work to create content—including video and images—that caters to specific platforms to build brand awareness and loyalty.
Mistake #4: Promoting instead of connecting
This is the big one! Social media platforms are all about fostering engagement among users. Users don’t want to engage with brands that push their products and services through standard marketing techniques. Instead, users will be drawn to companies that appear engaged with the same interests and objectives that they are. Users want informative, interesting, and, yes, even fun content.
The most successful companies on social media are the ones that find innovative and creative ways to engage with users. Brand loyalty arises from emotional bonds and trust that can form through social media interactions.
Greg Hadden, executive director of Motive Made Studios, sums up the power of connecting with users: “What often gets lost is the fact that good storytelling is potent stuff. It has the power to make people want to believe and to belong, which is the goal of all storytellers. We’re all selling something, be it an idea, an exploration of the human condition, or say, a vacuum cleaner. It’s no mistake perhaps that good stories often create products.”
