Published on: 22 February 2017
Last Updated on: 04 September 2024
Nearly everyone aspires to have a meaningful and successful career. But unfortunately, many of us fail to make a satisfying job decision, either due to lack of resources or awareness. But, have you ever tried to discover the power of social media in career development?
Social Media tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are becoming increasingly popular tools. It is playing an imperative role in career building. It offers numerous opportunities as compared to traditional employment methods. These platforms provide you with the amenity to enhance your visibility.
Here are some more vital roles of social media in career building:
Organizations utilize these platforms to know about candidates:
As per annual social media recruitment survey conducted by CareerBuilder, 60% of the employers use social media networking sites to screen the job candidates. The social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter gives a better glimpse of the candidate’s personality and behavior. It provides an insight of the candidates which is more comprehensive than a cover letter or resume. Moreover, LinkedIn not only provides the complete details of a candidate’s job history but also their activeness in community and involvement in organizations. The recommendations on LinkedIn give the idea of people’s perspectives about you.
Nowadays, many firms embrace social media as an imperative part of the talent attraction strategy. Therefore, they advertise the internship and graduate opportunities on the social media networks. As mentioned above, Assignment Writing Service companies also use these platforms to get proper insight about the candidates.
It assists in interaction with the professionals:
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are called social networks, aren’t they? These are great ways to interact and develop relations with the people of your chosen field. LinkedIn is a social media channel which is specially developed for professional networking. It has an approximate of 200 million members all over the world. It allows you to follow and engage with particular brands which create a direct impact on the follower’s perceptions about you. It offers job seekers an opportunity to learn from the social media profiles of the companies. It’s a perfect way to know about their activities, values, and feedback of customers and clients.
It allows engagement with the targeted clients and customers:
Social Media not only allows interaction with professionals but with targeted clients and audience too. You can make use of these platforms to brand yourself to the potential customers and clients. The two-way communication line permits you to get customer reviews about your products or services. You can show the targeted audience that you appreciate and respect their views by giving prompt replies to them.
It keeps you updated:
Are you acquainted with words such as “Newsfeed” or “Twitter trends”? Yes right! The Newsfeed is the place which is constantly updated with the latest stories, news, statuses and much more. Twitter trends show you the latest news and world events through hashtags. Due to worldwide followers, almost every social media platform gives you insight regarding all the events happening. Furthermore, social media also increase your knowledge regarding marketing and career prospects.
Some special social media tips for you:
Your profile photo should be relevant and worth sharing with your networking.
The Profile should abide by the social media etiquettes and have a level of professionalism in it.
You must try to engage with people to your best because engagement leads to network building.
Share your valuable opinions in conversations related to your career and professional interest.
You should refrain from presenting anything negative about yourself as it lowers your chances of being selected for the job.
Are you ready to utilize these key platforms for job searching and career development? Great! All you require is a good internet connection to remain active and an enriched online profile with recommendations from clients and colleagues.
Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.
Whether you're an experienced business owner or a newbie interested in raising brand awareness, it's time to learn how to use Google Ads to your Advantage.
First Of All, Let's Define What Google Ads Is
Google Ads is an online advertising platform. It allows companies to pay for ads that will appear on Google's Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). By using the service, businesses ensure their ads will get in front of the desired audience. Now, do you know what a PPC is? It means pay-per-click. Every time a user clicks on your ad, you pay a fee.
The difference between PPC and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is in the speed of delivering results. Experience has shown that if you only rely on SEO, it may take months before your content appears in SERPs' prime positions. On the other hand, PPC usually gives more immediate results. Of course, optimization is the key. Well-optimized ads can quickly appear above the organic search results.
Is It Hard To Use Google Ads?
Learning the basics of Google Ads is pretty straightforward. It only requires patience and consistency. Perfection takes time. People spend years creating the right concepts and incorporating them into their marketing strategies. Of course, Google Ads offers advanced features, but don't put pressure on yourself; you'll have the time to use them.
Keywords Are The Foundation Of Google Ads
Keywords are the words people type when searching for a particular product/service, seeking a solution to some problem, or having questions regarding, well, pretty much anything. Therefore, once you start creating a Google Ads campaign, make sure to create a list of keywords relevant to your business.
Two factors determine whether your ad will win the prime position on SERPs :
Bidding —The great thing about Google Ads is that you can limit how much you want to pay when a user clicks on your ad. This way, you'll prevent unnecessary costs. But, there's a catch — competitors. Remember, your competition will bid on the same keywords, and the higher you bid, the more likely your ad will appear instead of your competitor's.
"Ad Rank" — Another vital component is Google's "Ad Rank" metric, based on ad quality and search context.
Advantages Of Using Google Ads
Paid ads on Google are a great way to get to the desired audience. However, that same audience shows animosity towards them. Still, one of the burning questions is, can the audience recognize when an ad is paid? A survey done by Deyan Darketing shows most respondents never recognize paid ads in search, a testament to the years of experience Google has in this domain.
Google Ads is quite a beneficial platform from a business point of view. Here's why:
PPC delivers fast results: and those who use it may expect almost an immediate increase in traffic to their websites.
Google Ads can help you outperform the competition: Revising Google Ads reports give you insights if another business is outranking you on Google. To avoid unpleasant scenarios, you can set up target outranking automated bidding, giving Google Ads permission to lower or raise your bids, putting your ad in front of competitors'.
Remarketing: allows businesses to show ads to users who have already been on your website's key pages. Serving ads to an interested audience increases the CTR (click-through-rate) and drives more traffic to your website.
Google Ads offers valuable data: businesses use to adapt and improve marketing strategies. Information such as high-quality keywords and who clicked on your ad help advertisers make the right decisions regarding campaigns.
Google Ads helps you increase brand awareness: Over two million websites, apps, and videos are on the Google Display Network, bringing more than 90% of internet users worldwide.
It's Time To Establish How To Use Google Ads: Five Key Steps To Success
It may sound daunting, but using Google's advertising platform is not rocket science. Give yourself time to learn, and before you know it, you will reap the fruits of success.
Step 1: Create A Google Ads Account
Creating a Google Ads account is relatively straightforward. Simply go to the Google Ads homepage and follow the steps for registration.
Step 2: Define A Budget Plan
Google Ads allows you to limit the amount of money you'll spend for bids on target keywords. All you should do is make a list of valuable yet affordable keywords and set a daily limit for each one.
Step 3: Establish Your Goals
It's revision time. Why do you want to use Google Ads? Do you want to drive traffic or raise brand awareness? Maybe both? Whatever the reason is, remember, the absence of a goal is a serious obstacle on your road to success.
Step 4: Choose Your Fighter- A Winning Type Of Campaign
To all the beginners out there: the 'Search Network Only' option is the most useful to start a PPC campaign. Also, don't forget to name your campaign. This step will help you track your results and keep everything in order.
Step 5: Determine Your Target Audience
Once you determine your target audience, it will be much easier to create relevant content. The goal is to attract people who have interests similar to your products or services. Once a user types your target keywords, your ad will appear, driving more traffic to your website.
It's time to make ads. Create an ad that's relevant yet persuasive. It should have a unique headline and also be catchy. The final tip: Think about the URL. Remember, the display URL is the one you want users to remember so make sure it’s not overly long or complicated.
Is Google Ads Suitable for My Business?
It's safe to say Google Ads is a platform for almost every type of business. It is created to meet different budgets and goals and provide a variety of marketing solutions. Word of mouth is probably the best way to promote someone's business, but Google Ads is undoubtedly the second-best.
The Power of Local Service Ads?
While traditional Google Ads are a fantastic tool for most businesses, there’s an emerging trend specifically designed for local service providers.
Google Local Service Ads (LSAs). LSAs are a game-changer for businesses that rely on local customers, such as plumbers, electricians, or HVAC technicians.
What sets LSAs apart?
Unlike regular Google Ads, you don’t pay per click. Rather, you only pay when a potential customer contacts you directly through the ad.
This means you’re not wasting money on people simply browsing; you’re getting leads from those ready to make a purchase or book your service. Plus, these ads show up at the very top of search results, even above PPC ads, increasing your visibility.
Why LSAs Matter?
In today’s competitive world, local businesses need every advantage they can get to stand out.
This is where LSAs come in!
LSAs provide trust signals like Google Guaranteed badges, which can help increase credibility. If your business serves a specific geographic area, not utilizing LSAs might mean missing out on potential customers who are actively looking for your services.
How to Get Started with LSAs
Signing up for Local Service Ads is simple. Head to the Local Services platform, enter your business information and choose the services you offer.
From there, set your weekly budget, and you’re ready to go. The best part? You don’t pay for clicks; you only pay qualified leads.
More Resources:
The Basics on Google Local Algorithm
The Beginner's Guide to Small Business SEO
3 Major SEO Predictions for 2020
Social media has been the cornerstone of B2C marketing for a long time. However, when it comes to B2B marketing and sales, it is only fairly recently that social media channels have started to dominate.
And while most B2B marketers now realize the enormous potential of this type of marketing, only true experts have figured out that simple presence on social media is far from enough. To raise awareness of your business, you need to be social on social media, which is, after all, very logical.
In other words, you need to initiate relationships, interact with people in a personal way and absorb your customer’s feedback. But apart from this, you also have to showcase your expertise in a humble way, listen to the voices and trends in your industry and keep an eye on competitors.
Marketing your business on social media can help you generate leads, improve website traffic, increase sales and create a brand identity with your target audience.
That being said, the sooner you realize that investing time and money in social media is necessary, the better results you will get. However, this type of marketing, just like crafting a Sales Enablement Strategy, takes time and skills.
Let this article be the first step on your journey to improving your B2B social media marketing. In it, you will find out the reasons why social media is essential for B2B sales and the tips on how to improve your sales through social media channels.
Why is social media so important?
Have you heard of social validation? Social validation is a basic human necessity and its presence has but skyrocketed thanks to social media.
According to the Content Marketing Institute’s report from 2017, as much as 83% of B2B marketers use social media as their preferred marketing channel. And even though increased brand awareness is one of the main goals of social media campaigns, it is far from being the only impact of this type of marketing.
As the matter of fact, social media is right at the top when it comes to the factors making the biggest impact on purchasing decisions, closely following industry analysts and web search. Therefore, it is obvious that social media is essential for B2B sales.
If you want to increase your B2B sales, you need to use the following social media platforms:
Facebook
Without a shadow of a doubt, Facebook is the number one platform. It is important for creating a community, marketing, and advertising, as well as influencing decision makers.
LinkedIn
As a platform originally intended for business purposes, LinkedIn is as influential as Facebook in some segments.
Twitter
Twitter is the final element of the social media triad, but slightly less important than Facebook and LinkedIn.
You may be wondering why Instagram and Snapchat are not on this list. And indeed, these two platforms, especially Instagram, are great for marketing. However, they are more effective for B2C marketers.
Benefits of social media marketing for B2B sales
To give you a clear picture of how social media can increase B2B sales, we will list some of the main benefits of social media marketing.
- Firstly, it builds brand awareness and visibility.
- It serves as an effective distribution channel for your business’ ideas, content and offers.
- You can create PR opportunities, brand loyalty, SEO, as well as positive web mentions by building brand advocates.
- Social media marketing drives new leads into the funnel when combined with whitepapers, fact sheets, eBooks and other content offers.
- Have you tried to use social media to increase the number of email subscribers? If you want to add more people to your mailing list, this will do wonders for your business.
- Moreover, this type of marketing is great for B2B customer feedback program and understanding the needs of your leads, customers, prospects, and advocates.
- Social media marketing can greatly improve your SEO results through third-party links, mentions, and interest in your content.
- You can build trust with your buyers by educating them and helping them understand the major factors that influence their purchasing decisions.
- Social media is perfect for B2B loyalty rewards programs and customer care.
Challenges of B2B social media marketing
There are always two sides of a coin. In spite of the numerous benefits of B2B social marketing, there are also certain challenges that B2B marketers face on a daily basis when it comes to social media.
When in Rome…
If consumers use social media for connection and entertainment, your message needs to address these requirements.
In other words, you shouldn’t slip into business jargon on Facebook or post silly memes on LinkedIn. Apart from that, you should try to establish a deeper connection with your customers by finding out what they read, what they comment on and who they follow.
This will help you better understand your prospects and existing customers, and tell them what they want to hear and how they want to hear it.
Being present 24/7
When your audience needs guidance or asks a question, you should be there for them. It is all about responding when they reach out for help.
The challenge here is to anticipate such moments and be ready to shine. Create a list of tips, reviews, product demonstrations, and video tutorials, and promote them through paid search and social advertising.
For this and similar reasons, you should constantly use social media for real-time marketing, an increasingly popular method which allows you to engage with your customers instantly.
Cherishing your influencers
Finding your perfect influencer and starting a conversation with them is one of the keys to a successful social media campaign.
To choose the right influencer for your brand, you need to study their audience, understand why they engage, what is their reach, style, and many additional aspects.
Getting serious about selling on social media
Once you have put in a lot of effort toward entertainment and connection, you need to sell. After all, that is the main goal of each business.
To grow your website traffic and nurture leads, you need to match your marketing efforts and sales goals. When you engage with the knowledgeable, empowered and well-connected customers, you practically close the gap between the social world and the business world.
The elusive ROI
Oh, the infamous ROI… This is definitely among the top challenges for all marketers, not only in the B2B field.
To get a satisfactory return on investment, you always need to give your customers new and fresh content on social media, as well as attend to their needs and join conversations with influencers. Then, when everybody starts listening to what you have to say, seize the moment and make the final move.
It is all about timing. With the right timing, you can sell everything, even ice to Eskimos.
The future of B2B sales
Everybody is wondering what the future of B2B sales will look like. So far, we can identify three main trends.
The buying process will become easier
In essence, a more open approach to purchasing is obviously emerging, as well as a multi-channel unified experience closely resembling the B2C experience.
Moreover, along with those two, the need for highly personalized interactions will result in increasing buyer trust and lead to more data becoming available.
The focus will shift to long-term customer value
Businesses will have to focus on customer needs and customize their selling approaches, Also, adding value to products and services will be an indispensable part of every sales process.
In addition, selling will become more intelligent. In other words, sales teams will need to educate customers about their needs and engage with stakeholders and decision makers to discover and highlight those needs.
Data and analytics will play a major role in creating customer value
The days of guessing in sales have long gone. To create value for customers and interact with them effectively, social media marketers will have to use data and analytics through:
- science and sales
- AI and the virtual experience
- sales and the social business
In many of these strategies, social media will play an important role. From the multi-channel approach and market intelligence to education and connection, B2B sales will be impossible without social media platforms.
Finally, from a technical point of view, it is evident that outsourcing social media is becoming increasingly popular. This is a strategy that can be very effective, especially for small businesses. However, if you decide to do this, we advise you to be careful and avoid the most common social media outsourcing mistakes.
How to Sell More on Social Media
Now that you have learned why social media is so important for the B2B sales process, you probably want to know how to use social media to increase sales.
Here are the five useful tips on how to sell more and better on social media.
Choose the right social network(s)
Not all the platforms will work for all businesses. When choosing the best social media channels for your business, you need to consider several factors:
- your niche
- your audience
- your goals
For example, according to a study by Google and Millward Brown Digital published in 2015, the number of decision makers aged between 18 and 34 years increased by 19% in only two years (from 27% in 2012 to 46% in 2014).
This is why you need to find out the favorite platform of your customers and tailor your message to them, the network and your brand.
Remember – no business jargon on Facebook or crazy memes on LinkedIn.
Be active on LinkedIn
Whatever other networks you choose, keep in mind that LinkedIn is a must. When it comes to B2B marketing, this platform is essential and you can’t risk not using it.
To shine on LinkedIn, you will have to be very active. This means that you should:
- use LinkedIn’s Saved Search feature in order to create a search based on your ideal customer profile and be notified each time such a person signs up
- join and participate in LinkedIn groups to build your network and referrals
- connect with potential customers to start conversations
Contribute to existing conversations
This goes for all the social media networks you are active on. When you contribute to conversations about your brand and interesting topics in your industry, customers see this as adding value.
The best way to do this is Twitter and its search function, but you can use other networks too.
Share relevant content
More and more B2B buyers search for information on services and products on social media. Your answer to this should be simple ‒ sharing relevant content.
This is another way to add value, and you can do it by providing white papers, product sheets, case studies, webinars, comparison worksheets and so on.
In addition, you can share useful blog posts, infographics, tutorials and other types of content. In a nutshell, you can share anything that you think could help your customers.
Use the right tools
Finally, using social media for marketing purposes without different kinds of tools is practically impossible. There are so many aspects software tools can improve and so many ways they can help you rock your campaigns that not using them is a real waste of time.
Using effective social media marketing tools will help you find more relevant content, schedule your posts, measure and analyze the effectiveness of your campaigns, as well as use that data to improve your future campaigns.
Wrapping up :
Social media networks are becoming an essential part of every B2B sales process. However, in order to sell more on social media, you need to understand all the benefits and challenges of this process.
This is definitely not a one-time activity. Rather, think of it as of a long journey that includes a lot of small steps. It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock your B2B social media campaigns.
But if you take all the steps that we listed, you will find that the results will follow. This is one of those journeys that you have to enjoy if you want to reach your destination.
Read Also :
Social Media Marketing: Six Trends To Keep Your Eyes On
Social Media Marketing Role In Technology
The impact of social media usage on all our lives is immense these days! There is hardly anyone who doesn't use social media today and thus, the number of users keeps increasing every day on these social platforms. Sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc. have seen a massive surge in the number of users in the past few years and with the ongoing digital revolution, it is surely going to see more such upfront.
But is this good for the common people? Are people benefitting or losing more in this social media revolution? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using such social platforms? Well, we shall discuss this in detail below as to what are the pros and cons of social media usage. Read on
Pros
The major benefits of these social media sites lie in the vast reach it has around the world. It is a mode of communication and connection that is formed between people sitting in any corner of the world. You can use social sites to get in touch with them anytime you want.
Apart from that, these days the social platforms are used for marketing and advertising purposes which target the concerned audiences and reach out to them without having to invest much in the promotions of products and services.
These sites are easy to handle and thus needs no help from anyone to be handled. The social sites have saved people a lot of time and money in such promotional events which otherwise needed a lot of it to be invested. These are some of the advantages of social media that must be taken into consideration.
Cons
Though there are not many disadvantages of using social media, there are some which you need to know. Like there are many fraud people who fake their identities to con you personally and professionally in these social sites. Apart from that, the need for an active internet connection all the time to get social media services is also an issue at times when you don't have a connection.
Also, the idea of over-indulgence and exposure in these social sites also call for a “no personal space” issue for many of us. There are some of the advantages of using social sites that people must have knowledge about!
The closure
If we go by the online facts collection site, the number of active users on social media sites have already crossed a billion and more. There are various usages of social media in terms of knowledge, entertainment, skills, tech and many more and thus we cannot say that social media is useless.
Unlike before, when these social sites are only used for chatting and communication, today these platforms are used for various purposes which is one good sign. But we can also not ignore the dark side of these social sites wherein cases of fraud, bullying, using identities, etc. have been reported. Thus, it can be concluded that there is both the good and bad side of social media usage which needs to be taken care of by the ones who use it for any purpose.
Read Also:
Using Social Media To Promote Start-Up Businesses
5 Steps On How To Market Your Business Using Social Media
How To Start Social Media Agency In India
