This article is part of a series put together by the Total Mortgage marketing team that provides loan officers and other sales professionals with a crash course in marketing and self-promotion. To read other articles in this series, click here.
Mastering social media isn’t all about sharing articles and favoriting posts. It becomes a whole different game once you factor in ads.
In this article you’ll learn how to decipher your target audience by analyzing your demographics. I’ll also show you some real life examples of case studies put into action. If this doesn’t satisfy your social craving, keep an eye out for our social media advanced training course!
Understanding Your Audience
Generally, your LinkedIn audience is made up of your business interactions, former alumni, recruiters, and other professional contacts. Staying aware of the message you send is going to be important, and that means having a clearer picture of who it is uses LinkedIn. Here’s a hint: keep it professional.
Demographics
Social Media Network Use Cases
Let’s take a look at how different companies advertised on LinkedIn and reaped good results.
Example 1: CommVault had a powerful ad because it appealed to consumers’ emotions. They chose to stick to a single line of text, keeping in mind that people have short attention spans these days. The picture chosen fits this ad theme because it gives off the idea that CommVault understands that technology can be stressful sometimes.
Take away: A simple line of text and a great image can go a really long way when capturing the attention of your audience.
Example 2: Salesforce Marketing Cloud did a great job of targeting a specific audience to get results. In the below ad they targeted not just any marketers, but senior level marketers. The headline asks a question and tells you how you can solve it.
Take away: This ad works because it’s highly targeted and captures the audience’s attention by asking a question that needs an answer.
Example 3: Prudential comes out on top because they embedded a video into this LinkedIn ad. Video is, to put it simply, the next big thing. Just look at Periscope, Vine, Boomerang, and Snapchat—all social media platforms built for sharing videos. Videos hold attention spans more than typical text ads and have been proven to have better click-through and conversion rates.
Take away: Video is proven to work. You need to have the right targeting and message set in place.
Understanding Your Audience
It’s safe to say that most people these days have a Facebook account. And that’s good news for you. Be aware that audience is still a key factor here, though, and will be on any platform.
There are two different types of profiles you can have as a single Facebook user—the personal Facebook account and the business related account. If you only choose to have one personal account, be wary of what you post. If your main focus for having a Facebook is using it for business related endeavors, then keep it professional. You don’t want to end up reminiscing with your college buddies at the expense of your potential clients.
Demographics
Social Media Network Use Cases
Example 1: This is a great Facebook ad because it’s very clear what the advertiser wants you to do. “Get 3 Bottles For $19!” It appeals to wine lovers and it’s simple. The discount entices you while the sub-text of the ad provides a strong call-to-action.
Take away: Doing the basics well goes far in a Facebook ad.
Example 2: NatureBox made great use out of the photo ad. The image shows exactly what you’re getting: a free trial and various health orientated snacks. The image is very colorful, and enticing enough to appeal to a large range of people. The hook is very clear in this ad, “Free Trial,” while the sub-head makes connects with the viewer?
Take away: Ads with good imagery and a strong hook really stand out with target audiences.
Example 3: In the above ad, Shutterfly used a multi-product ad perfectly. This works because it has all the components that make up a great ad. It’s visual, relevant, enticing with great pictures, and has a good call-to-action. The gentle hues of blue and grey backgrounds mix well with the eye-catching orange logo and background. The hook is consistent throughout all the content as well:40% off. Plus, it has a cat.
Take away: If you want to incorporate a multi-product ad into your social media strategy, than make sure you keep the components above in mind.
Understanding Your Audience
Twitter has 310 million monthly active users. This means your chances of connecting with people in your industry are pretty good. Having a large following is always a step in the right direction, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s all you need.
Timing your tweets to reach the most people–and making your chances of retweets and likes more likely—is another important part of a good Twitter strategy. If you’re not sure how to even build a Twitter following you should check out my previous blogs (Social Media Basics and Maintaining your Social Presence) for tips on how to expand your following and reach the right kinds of people.
To really get the best results from your follower base, keep an eye on your Twitter Analytics. Thankfully there are tools to help with that. You can use Tweriod, Twitter Analytics, or Audience to analyze your tweets, figure out which are performing the best, find out when your followers are online, and plan out your next moves. The best thing about these resources is that they have free plans available.
Demographics
Social Media Network Use Cases
Example 1: Papa John’s promoted tweet worked because it incorporated all the elements of a great Twitter strategy. It was timely, relevant, and could be shared easily. It incorporated a holiday all about love with a food most people love–pizza. The hashtag #HeartShapedPizza, meanwhile, gave fans and customers a way to interact with the brand and share.
Take away: A good tweet is often part of a larger social strategy. However, if your sole purpose is just to promote your brand, Twitter could be a great place to start. Coming up with a creative way to stay relevant during a holiday is what makes brands stay on top.
Example 2: This Old Spice Twitter ad worked because it brought a past character, the Old Spice man, out of retirement. This ad was connected to another social campaign (Commercials/YouTube Commercials.) It also works because it incorporates a clever hashtag and a callback to ads on TV or the internet.
Take away: Being memorable is important. If done right, you’ll be able to trade on that recognition for a long time to come. Old Spice’s commercials, for instance, focus on bizarre and funny shenanigans to make a lasting impression.
Example 3: Just like the above examples, Volkswagen USA did a great job of incorporating a relevant tweet with a live social campaign. The above ad was tied into a commercial that unveiled the New Beetle, during the 2011 Super Bowl. This ad performed so well because Volkswagen is a known brand and everyone earns more, “social klout” airing commercials on Super Bowl Sunday.
Take away: Twitter ads perform the best when they are a part of a bigger social strategy. However, if you’re just trying to stay relevant, try sharing tweets on holidays and including a catchy hashtag or clever wording.
Google+
Understanding Your Audience:
Though originally intended as a Facebook alternative, most users consider Google Plus a business-related platform where you can connect with other professionals in your industry and add them to groups, collections, or communities. This means you should expect your audience to be more professional, like with LinkedIn.
Demographics
Social Media Network Use Cases
Winning at Google Plus means having a killer page, content, and promotions. Below are a few pages that excel at all three.
Example 1: Android’s page is the most popular business page on Google Plus with over 140,000 fans. They keep their audience engaged by posting frequently and using “flash” promotions such as their 10 cent app promotion and Google music promotions. Every post they share gets around 2,000 shares and more than 3,000 +1’s.
Take away: Engagement, engagement, engagement is the key to any successful Google+ social campaign. As long as you constantly update your page and share relevant information about your brand you will be able to build a following and use social to your advantage.
Example 2: The NASA page is another example of Google+ greatness. It is updated between 5 and 15 times a day with recent news, photos and videos which helps them stay on top.
Take away: Just like Android, NASA does a great job staying relevant to its fans by constantly posting content, videos, and pictures of NASA’s latest missions and experiments. They know their audience and always stay true to their brand which helps them get their content shared and +1.
The Next Steps
Learning what and when to post on social media is a skill you need to master before sharing content blindly. Of course, that’s easier said than done.
If this series of blogs didn’t answer all your questions, keep an eye out for our Social Media Advanced Course. During this course you will learn the nitty-gritty of social media and what it takes to truly crush it on social media as a loan officer or realtor. We’ll update this post with more info when it goes live.
You can also learn more about what the Total Mortgage marketing team does for our loan officers by checking out other articles in this series, or by visiting our career portal.
from Total Mortgage Underwritings Blog http://ift.tt/2a3Eowr
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