How to Improve your Sales Prospecting on LinkedIn in 3 Simple Steps

How to Improve your Sales Prospecting on LinkedIn in 3 Simple Steps

There are so many social media platforms that you can use to find leads for your business. Data shows that as of July 2021, there are about 4.8 billion social media users worldwide. That’s about 57% of the world’s population which suggests that more than 9 in 10 internet users are actively using social media each month. The use of social media has tremendously grown over the past twelve months with about 520 million new users as of July 2021. 

For many decision-makers, digital marketers, or B2B business owners, social media is a great tool to build brand awareness, increase community engagement, and generate leads for higher conversions.

While Facebook is the most popular social media platform, we should not take for granted the many benefits LinkedIn can offer. Whether you are looking for employees to work for your company, or simply trying to expand your professional network, LinkedIn is your social media place to be. But, how many people really use LinkedIn? As a business owner, how would you benefit from it?

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LinkedIn User Statistics in 2021

Since LinkedIn was founded in 2002, its members have already passed the half-billion mark with over 722+ million and counting. LinkedIn is the social media platform where Fortune 500 executives and decision-makers like to spend their spare time. This is definitely the kind of market you want to infiltrate if you want to generate leads for your business. These high-ranking professionals are not there to simply browse through wedding photos, answer some Buzzfeed quizzes, or laugh at some memes — they are there actively looking for valuable content that can impact their business, which is very much what B2B marketers love to hear. 

Study shows that 97% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing, as well as for prospecting. Most B2B leads — about 80% come from LinkedIn — compared to only 13% from Twitter and 7% from Facebook. 80% may be considered quite low for some, but if you think about it, the majority of B2B marketers can confidently say that LinkedIn is a great source to generate quality leads.

Source of B2B leads (Social Media)
Data Source: https://neilpatel.com/

When it comes to connecting B2B sellers and buyers, LinkedIn is at the forefront, and one of the most critical sales techniques is to understand how your prospects behave. With 50% of B2B buyers using LinkedIn as the main source for their purchasing decision, sales prospecting on LinkedIn becomes a lot easier and more successful.

So, how are you going to leverage LinkedIn as part of your marketing and sales strategy? How are you going to profile your LinkedIn account to attract prospects that will convert to leads, ultimately generating a higher return on investment?

Related: Lead Generation on LinkedIn: 11 Proven Ways to Secure Qualified Leads

What is Sales Prospecting

Considered as one of the most important parts of the whole sales process, sales prospecting for some B2B marketers is still considered a big challenge for a lot of salespeople. Sales prospecting is what it sounds like: going through hundreds or even thousands of businesses and individuals to look for quality prospects or leads who are most likely to convert into paying customers. Often likened to mining, sales prospecting like mining for gold takes a lot of time, as well as knowing where to find these prospects. 

Gone are the days when sales prospecting only includes cold calling, daily meetings, or networking over a cup of coffee or lunch. In today’s digital world, roughly two-thirds of B2B buyers use online content for their decision-making.

Related: 7 LinkedIn Lead Generation and Sales Prospecting Rules To Follow

3 Simple Ways for Better Sales Prospecting on LinkedIn

We now know that LinkedIn is a huge market for lead generation and sales prospecting. Here are some ways how you can make your LinkedIn profile stand for prospects to easily find you:

Infographic - 3 Simple Ways for Better Sales Prospecting on LinkedIn

1. Show your prospects what you got and what you can offer

The first step for better sales prospecting is to clearly define the purpose of your business. 

  • What is your unique selling point?
  • What can you offer?
  • What can you deliver?
  • What are your skills?
  • What sets you apart from your competition?

Think about all those things – what makes you stand out? We are all living in this very lucrative market where competition is fierce. Look back on your previous projects and think about how you were able to help your clients with their respective businesses. Don’t get too overwhelmed, however, and be everything to everybody. Just focus on those prospects to whom you can provide the best solutions — those high-quality prospects who are a perfect fit for your business.

Related: How to Become a LinkedIn Thought Leader

2. Consistency in engagement 

Always be connected with your prospects. We all know how crucial networking is when it comes to the success of your sales efforts. More than ever, networking is now absolutely essential if you want to find high-quality prospects and gain access to their buying process. 

Quote from video

Most consumers buy from brands they like and trust, which can only be achieved through mutual connections between sellers and buyers. Expanding your network and staying engaged with your LinkedIn connections can help create warm paths to reach prospective buyers and earn referrals for better business opportunities.

3. Reach decision-makers

Go through LinkedIn company pages and identify which of the company’s employees are connected to you on a first-degree level. Finding that person who can help you in that target company, will help create a positive conversation.

You may get the contact information directly from the person you spoke with or from online database platforms, such as Data.com. From there, you can use their LinkedIn to get to know them better before giving them a sales call. Start with giving a formal LinkedIn introduction through InMail, and then call them the following day. 

You can also find employees through LinkedIn Groups. Engage and connect with them — strike up a conversation if they have posted.

Ready for Better Sales Prospecting on LinkedIn?

They say, prospect smarter, not harder. Shift your mindset and focus on the right people and companies — it is what separates you from those who prospect smarter. Here are some key points you need to keep in mind:

  • Keep track of existing relationships and leads
  • Find the right people and companies efficiently
  • Always prioritize the right prospects, companies, and sales activities

There is also a useful LinkedIn sales prospecting tools that allow you to prospect smarter:

  • Real-time Sales Update
  • Lead Recommendations
  • TeamLink
  • InMail
  • CRM Widget
LinkedIn Teamlink

LinkedIn is every salesperson’s most valuable sales prospecting resource. With these tips and core factors in place, you can naturally ensure long-term success.

A Hands-On Guide to Gaining B2B Leads from Social Media in 2020

[FREE EBOOK] A Hands-On Guide to Gaining B2B Leads from Social Media in 2020

Marketing and social media have become inseparable elements over the past decade. We have experienced great advancements in technology and social media in especially recent years and how these have impacted the advancement of modern B2B marketing.

It’s undeniable that the use of Social Media is helping many businesses grow their brand presence and that this will definitely transfer over into this new decade. Counting as some of the most significant benefits of integrating social media into our marketing strategies are the following:

  • Finding and researching prospects
  • Reaching out and engaging prospects
  • Helping potential leads to find relevant resources and content
  • Complementing and enhancing other marketing channels
  • Keeping your company top-of-mind (gaining mindshare/visibility)

The three major social media platforms that are deemed the pioneers of this online marketing and are utilized the most are LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

This handbook will discuss the latest business features added to the platform and how you can optimize them to suit your lead generation needs. In it, we will also provide you with information on what to expect for each platform in the years to come and what we can expect to change and further improve. 

Here’s a little preview of what you can expect:

Preview of eBook content

How each Social Media Platform drives lead generation results

Door-to-door marketing has become obsolete over the years and so marketers had to look for new ways to market their products and services without having to disturb their prospects in the privacy of their homes. When social media exploded on the internet, companies did not waste a minute and immediately hopped on to develop ways to use online marketing to their advantage. 

With over millions of active everyday users worldwide, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook have been deemed the biggest platforms used for online marketing. Each platform has drastically changed in the past years and we want to focus on discussing the following:

  • Latest Features
  • Strengths (What makes each platform stand out from the other)
  • How each platform will help B2B marketing in the future

More in-depth discussions on how to maximize your marketing experience include:

  • Optimizing your profile
  • Prospecting and Researching
  • Selling on each platform

Dissecting each feature and learning how to utilize them well is the key to setting up your online business account. Not only is it important to know how to utilize the platform effectively, but it is also necessary in order to know how to sell effectively on each platform. This counts for all the content you choose to put out as well as even wording your bio in a way that will send in leads for you.

Improving Social Media Content Distribution

Content distribution is another crucial factor that determines the success rate of your online business presence. Here is where we discuss the three most effective ways to ensure that you get your content distribution right. 

  • Posting Hours – emphasizing on the perfect timing of when your posts should go up and how it affects your site traffic.
  • Interaction – This is the very lifeline between you and your audience.
  • Audience-centered – Modern marketing calls for shifting from Me-centered marketing strategies to a predominantly audience-centered one.

The Takeaway

Social media is part of our daily lives now and there is no denying that. They have proven time and time again that they are the future of modern marketing. Every business is integrating the use of various social media platforms to boost their brands and obtaining lead generation. And because it is so convenient, you will also find yourself in competition with thousands of other brands.

By using our hands-on guide handbook, you will be able to equip yourself with the right tools, information, and guidelines on how to gain more B2B leads using your social media platforms.

How Marketing To Millennials Can Take Your Business To Next Level

How Marketing To Millennials Can Take Your Business To Next Level [GUEST POST]

These days, many business owners are realizing that effectively marketing their products or services to millennials is an excellent way to optimize the company’s profitability. However, many corporate leaders and entrepreneurs draw a blank when it’s time to begin cultivating a customized marketing campaign that will get millennials interested in their brand. If this is your dilemma, it’s important to know that social media marketing may be the advertising strategy that helps you effectively connect and convert millennials. Review the short outline provided below to learn about the strategies you can implement to optimize and expedite the social media marketing process:

What Is Social Media Marketing?

Although defined broadly, social media marketing is a process that involves advertising a brand’s products and services through social media channels such as

  • Google+
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Social media marketing is an incredibly effective advertising strategy for many reasons. One of them is that this mode of marketing enables business owners to connect with members of their target audience in a much more personal, interactive manner than some traditional modes of advertising permit. For example, business owners can use a social media channel such as Instagram to share personal photos such as pictures of them with their dog. This highly personal mode of marketing can accelerate the relationship-building process and enhance the client’s trust in your brand.

Related: Social Media Metrics to Track in 2018

Social Media Marketing: Steps, Suggestions, And Strategies

Once you realize how effective social media marketing can be in building your brand, you may be ready to develop and implement a customized advertising plan that will help you connect and convert millennials. Below you’ll find several steps that you should take to make the most of this marketing modality:

#1 Learn as Much as Possible About Your Audience.

To really connect with and convert millennials through your social media marketing process, you must first know who they are. This is why learning as much as possible about millennials through the target market research process is imperative. This process will help you determine key things like which social media channels your unique audience uses most frequently. It will also help you determine what types of images and concepts to include in your campaign based on your understanding of your audience’s preferences. There are typically four types of information you’ll attain from the research process. They include geographic, demographic, behavioristic, and psychographic data.

Related: Content Marketing: Targeting 5 Types of B2B Buyers

#2 Put Content Marketing First.

Once you’ve done your target market research, you’ll be ready to move to the next step of the social media marketing process: content marketing. The ongoing implementation of sound content marketing strategies is imperative because social media marketing involves regularly publishing your videos, web articles, and blog posts through social media channels. Luckily, there are several ways to ensure that the content you produce and publish is exceptional. One of them is making sure that your content is scannable. Scannability is an important part of the content marketing process because various research studies have found that 79% of test users scan the new pages they come across. A mere 16% read this content word-for-word. In light of these realities, it’s important to ensure that the content you’re sharing on various social media channels is scannable. Textual elements such as subheaders, headers, bullet points, and numbered lists can help you realize this objective.

Related: The Difference with Australia-Specific Content to Generic Ones

#3 Make The Social Media Marketing Process Interactive.

Another strategy you can implement to make your social media marketing process as effective as possible is ensuring that the entire endeavor is unequivocally interactive. This process is important because the more actively involved your audience becomes with your brand, the more likely they are to make purchases and share your product or service line with other individuals in their social networks. There are several strategies you can implement to make the social media marketing process interactive. One is the use of Twitter polls. These polls enable you to put together brand-related questions and have your audience answer them. An example would be asking them which of your coffee flavors they find to be the most delicious.

Note that the marketing power of Twitter polls is three-fold. First, it keeps your audience engaged with your brand by encouraging them to answer questions about your product line. Second, it functions as a form of word-of-mouth advertising because the results of the poll are published and available for viewing by the general Twitter audience. Third, the Twitter poll enables you to conduct meaningful research through which you’ll be able to more effectively develop and market products. For example, if the poll reveals that the majority of your target audience finds a specific product to be outdated, discontinuing that product may be a practical, prudent business decision.

Related: 6 Basic Tricks to Boost Organic Reach on Twitter

Conclusion

Once you realize that social media marketing can be an incredibly effective way to advertise your brand to millennials, your next course of action should be the development of a high-quality advertising campaign. To ensure that you can effectively market your product or service line to millennials, be sure to incorporate some or all of the aforementioned strategies into your company’s marketing plan.

Social Media Metrics to Track in 2018

Social Media Metrics to Track in 2018

Cakes look palatably delicious but do the chiffon and the filling inside taste heavenly as the almost perfect, flawless garnish on the outside? Sorry but, there’s no guarantee to that.

Like some prettyish cakes, the Facebook Like reaction button on Facebook is probably the most monitored by users, whether managing a personal account or running a business page. While other reaction buttons such as sad, haha, wow, love and angry get second attention along with the trailing comments. Twitter users, on the other hand, watch the number of retweets and followers they get. But do the number on social media platforms justify the success of your business? Let’s take some insights from experts.

Socialmediaexaminer lists some Social Media metrics to track for 2018:


Track your FOLLOWER growth


Here’s how to track a detailed analysis of your number of page likes:

Facebook

  1. Go to your page
  2. Click the Insights tab
  3. Click Like in the left navigation

Twitter

  1. Visit Twitter Analytics
  2. Click on your profile picture
  3. Choose Analytics from the drop-down menu

These will show total likes, gains, and losses in a certain period; also enable you to monitor audience reactions or determine which time periods best draw new followers.

Related: The Secret Ingredient in Turning Your Social Followers Into Qualified Leads


Identify Optimal Time Of Engagement


Here’s how to track the time when your audience is most likely to engage with your content.

Facebook

  1. Insights page, click Posts in the left navigation
  2. Select When Your Fans Are Online
  3. Hover on the different days of the week

Twitter

  1. Click Tweets tab at the top of the page

These will help you customize your strategy that will help you post content at the right time.

Related: Re-engage with Warm Prospects Who Have Gone Cold


Track Likes and Reactions to your Posts


Here’s how to track how your audience reacts to your posts and shares

Facebook

  1. Go to the Insights page
  2. Click posts option in the left navigation
  3. Scroll down to All Posts Published
  4. Click on the right drop-down arrow to view Reactions, Comments, and Shares

Twitter

  1. Click Tweets tab
  2. Scroll down to view your tweets
  3. Or Click Top Tweets to view most popular ones

These will determine whether your audience is interested in your published contents and what type of content should you share in the future

Related: Twitter Marketing Lessons for IT and Software Marketers


Delve Into Audience Demographics


Facebook

  1. Access audience information in your Insights under People
  2. Click the You Fans section to see demographic data of your fan base

Twitter

  1. Click Audiences to see a broad overview and specific demographic factors

Related: Eliminate Unwanted Business Data with Data Profiling Tools


Determine Reach


Facebook

  1. Go to Insights tab
  2. Click the Reach option
  3. If you Scroll to the bottom of the page to find your total reach
  4. In the Top Post Reach graphic, click on any given day to view posts that contributed to that day’s post reach count.

Twitter

  1. Click the Tweets tab to display Impressions column

Related: 6 Basic Tricks to Boost Organic Reach on Twitter


Review Replies and Comments


Here’s how to gauge how interesting or engaging your topics/ contents are

Facebook

  1. Go to Insights tab
  2. Click the Posts option
  3. Scroll down to All Posts Published
  4. Click the right drop-down arrow to view Reactions, Comments, and Shares

Twitter

  1. Click Tweets tab
  2. Choose either Tweets or Top Tweets
  3. Click on individual tweets to view engagement levels

These will also give you the data on which content is being shared


Track Referral Traffic


  1. Find referral traffic data in Google Analytics
  2. Click on the social top-level menu
  3. Click Overview or Network Referrals

Examine click rates


Facebook & Twitter

  1. Go to Posts in the Insights tab to find number of post clicks for each individual posts
  2. Go to Actions on Page
  3. See click counts for various elements

Likes, tweets and shares and all the other reactions are just like icing on a cake but what’s crucial is the demographic data of who are interested in your posts, how often your audience engage with your contents and the substantial feedback and information they share about your content. Despite its aesthetic look, the flavor, the filling, the texture and the taste of the whole cake itself is what matters.

Organic Reach in Twitter

6 Basic Tricks to Boost Organic Reach on Twitter

When I first started using Twitter, I had a tough time growing my list of followers. Twitter offers huge networking opportunities to those who know how to use it. However, for me, generating leads from Twitter can be very challenging. But that doesn’t mean I can’t improve my organic reach and get more interaction from my audience.

In order to reach a larger audience, you must have genuine followers and engage with them. The best way to do this is to do it organically. By doing so, you gain potential new followers and customers. Let me show you how I managed to increase my organic reach on Twitter.

#1. An impressive profile.

Rebecca Matias

 

Whenever you follow someone, they will be notified and was given an option to follow you. But before they decide, they will check your profile first. So how do you make your Twitter profile stand out?

  • Use your real name. Fake persona makes it difficult for you to link your Twitter profile to your other social media accounts.
  • Use a real picture. Don’t use animated objects or a picture of your dog. A simple headshot will do. TIP: Don’t change your profile picture too often.

#2. Follow industry leaders and influencers.  

Industry Leaders and Influencers

Twitter is about targeting the right audience. Popular people within your niche may or may not follow you on twitter. However, you still have to follow them. Why?

  • They have many followers. If they choose to follow you back can help increase your target audience reach.
  • Their tweets get attention. Retweeting their tweets can increase your chances of getting retweeted and reach more of your target audience.
  • They share and tweet useful information that you can use and apply for your business.

Related: Twitter Marketing Lessons for IT and Software Marketers

#3. Share informative and relevant contents.

High-quality content attracts leads. At the same time increases your number of re-tweets. However, whenever you post or share something, make sure to post slides, videos, and infographics as well and not just focus on sharing articles alone. TIP: If you are sharing a curated content, don’t forget to tag the author. This will make them share your tweet, therefore, increasing your audience reach.

Related: The Secret Ingredient in Turning Your Social Followers Into Qualified Leads

#4. Schedule tweets regularly.

It is important to maintain a consistent online presence to reach your audience. I’ve listed down 3 reasons why it’s best to schedule your tweets regularly.

  • Drive more traffic to your blog and site.
  • Reach a wider audience (considering some of your audiences are from different time zones).
  • Attract new followers.

Find out when is the best time to tweet for clicks, retweet and get engagement, here.

Related: Follow Up your Inbound Leads with 5 to 5 Calling Rule (and Generate Over 40% Increase in Sales)

#5. Use hashtags.

How does hashtag works? If Twitter users talk about a certain topic and use the same hashtag but are not connected with each other, their tweets will appear in the same stream. How to use hashtags effectively?

  • Keep it short
  • Make it relevant to your tweet.
  • Use industry or brand keywords.
  • Avoid using too many hashtags in one tweet.
  • Incorporate your hashtag into your other marketing channels

#6. Measure.

Always keep track of your account to see where you stand. Twitter has a feature where you can keep track of your progress.

Twitter Metrics

Make sure to manually check and analyze your metrics to know if your strategies are working or not. To maximize the use of Twitter, you must build a network of engaged users. However, there are a lot of spammers and low activity accounts.

According to forbes.com, an average of 42.44% users are fake, while another 30.12% are inactive. Which means there are only 27.44% of users are active.

twitter fake accounts

Let’s face it. We only want many followers in order to reach our audience. Here’s why you shouldn’t follow these not genuine users.

  • You are blocking the space of genuine users who might want to do business with you.
  • They will not re-tweet your posts
  • They don’t have any value on your feed
  • They will not help generate leads for your business

Follow these tips by tweaking your strategy and start seeing an increase in your organic reach as much as it did to our business.

The Secret Ingredients in Turning Your Social Followers Into Qualified Leads

The Secret Ingredient in Turning Your Social Followers Into Qualified Leads

Would a plain cupcake, with no extra flavour nor garnishing, appeal palatable to you? (I don’t think so..)

Each cupcake recipe has a required oven baking temperature in order to achieve the desired taste and shape and the same purpose applies to flavouring, frosting, and garnishing to make your cupcakes look so adorable and of course, qualified saleable desserts!

In the B2B world, social media followers, like plain cupcakes, will remain in the same level and label unless nurtured, where needs are uncovered and their topmost level of interest is achieved, before you can turn them into qualified leads. Aside from standard social media goals such as Likes and Shares, there are some extra tactics that would help turn your social followers into leads.

Below are some tips that you can integrate with your social media marketing to achieve extra special lead generation results:

The Email Marketing Flavour

The Email Marketing Flavour

Social media, when done right, can boost brand awareness and help you build a good relationship with your followers via constant web activity and communication. However, one thing that social media is not fully equipped to do is to generate quality leads. At this point, use some extras like email marketing tactic which will induce the lead generation process to enhance the effectiveness of your social media marketing. Here’s more, learn how to make decision makers and prospects call back or reply to your email.

Strongsocial.ca points some reasons why email marketing should be an essential ingredient to your social marketing lead generation mixture:

  • Your audience already knows you
  • Social media is noisy, email is quieter
  • People will see more in your emails
  • You can say a lot on email

Tip: Follow up your social followers through emails and be more targeted in delivering your message. So how can you get email addresses without being labeled as spam or worse ruining your social reputation? The next step will answer this question. 


The Lead Generation Frosting Ingredients

The Lead Generation Frosting Ingredients

Smallbiztrends.com suggests to use OptinMonster, a lead generation tool that will help you design nice forms that can be posted on different parts of your site that can deliver the highest conversion rates; and get people to sign up faster. The following pop-ups may be created:

  • Page Takeover. Once a social media follower clicks a link, the page is blocked, and another form comes up where they can give an email in exchange for your lead magnet
  • Exit Pop-up. An exit pop-up is used to get website visitors to subscribe before they leave.
  • Sidebar form. A form that rests on your website’s sidebar which you can be created with catchy designs that would be hard for your visitors to resist to notice.
  • Newsletter Subscription

Take this Ebook: The Ultimate Lead Generation Kit to Jumpstart your Business as an example.


Tip: From social media, lure your followers and lead them to your website. The widgets mentioned above will help you capture their emails in a legit way and nurture them to become qualified leads.


 Garnish To Expand Your Social Reach

Garnish To Expand Your Social Reach

Measure the impact of each tactic you apply to gauge the effectiveness of your lead generation process. You need to know what your followers think and feel about your product which could be a credible reference for gathering ideas and steps for improvement. Start a Fire adds a branded badge to whatever content you recommend. It is also imperative to have a tool that will tell you which content your followers are reading and at the same time who your readers areLeadfeeder can do this for you.

Your social followers are undeniably active proofs of potent marketing tactics but undermining such may cause the business to be at a critical point. Instead, zoom in on extra tools and processes that you can integrate with your social marketing to turn your plain social followers into flavoured, nicely frosted and well garnished-like qualified leads.

Here’s how Callbox Lead Nurture Tool helps in generating more leads in Australia!

Lead Nurturing Done Right - Callbox Australia

Twitter-Marketing-Lessons-for-IT-and-Software-Marketers

Twitter Marketing Lessons for IT and Software Marketers

Twitter is an online social networking tool in which users post updates of what’s going on with their lives along with pictures or links of the things they think are interesting and are useful to their followers. Twitter users choose who to follow and control what news to show in their feed. This platform is used to engage with families, friends, peers, and favorite brands.

In business, Twitter is a great marketing tool for marketing startup or any established company to use. IT and Software companies use twitter because it gives them many opportunities to connect with their target audience. Most users follow brands in order to learn more about them and to know about promotions and new products. However, in order to maximize the opportunities provided by Twitter, you should be familiar with its marketing etiquette or you’ll end up offending your followers.

Here’s how IT and Software companies should use Twitter.

#1: Start following people.

Twitter Marketing Lessons for IT and Software Marketers

However, be careful when following people as Twitter have a strict rule when it comes to this one. You don’t want your account to get suspended because of suspicious activities so take it slow.

Who are the people that you need to follow?

  • Your customers
  • Your competitors/ other IT and Software companies
  • Leaders, Influencer and expert people within your industry
  • Other businesses run by people you know

Related:  Can Social Media Help Generate More Leads for Solar Products?

#2: By using Twitter,  you can stay up to date of the latest news in technology.

Twitter Marketing Lessons for IT and Software Marketers

IT and software companies should follow other IT and software companies and leaders to stay aware of the new practices and resources which provides them access to different opinions.

#3: Through Twitter you get to learn new tools.

Twitter Marketing Lessons for IT and Software Marketers

Ask questions or start a discussion with your followers or those who are following you. Follow experts within your field to benefit from their experience and interact to learn more from them.

#4: Use famous (#)hashtags for IT and software companies correctly to create visibility for your brand and showcase what you offer to expand the reach of your tweets and get more followers.

Twitter Marketing Lessons for IT and Software Marketers

However, you should limit your use of hashtags. Too much hashtags can be annoying. Use at least 1 or 2 relevant hashtags per tweet.

#5: Tweet regularly but don’t post promotional content constantly.

Interact with your audience and make them feel valued. Build a rapport with them and educate them by posting important IT and software contents to connect with them.

Related: 5 Ways To Implement Education-Based Marketing

#6: Twitter can help you build relations with your target audience by connecting with them.

Twitter Marketing Lessons for IT and Software Marketers

Find out who are the influencers and experts within your field and interact with them on a regular basis. Twitter can help you discover and learn from interesting people within your niche, achieve trust and build rapport with them. Remember that these influencers have thousands or millions of followers with them and when they start to notice the frequent discussion between you and their idols, they’ll eventually follow you.

#7: Learn from your target projects and check for feedback through Twitter.

Here’s how Linkedin use twitter as their customer service tool. They created this account ‘Linkedin Help’ for user complaints and to give loyal users immediate aid to their problems.

Experience is everything, and you have to monitor feedback on twitter if you want fans to become loyal customers. Ignoring comments, both positive and negative on Twitter is like abandoning your own business. Optimism is important when dealing with negative feedback. Put aside your fears and engage with your followers in an open and honest manner. Use feedback to improve your products and services. You’ll be surprise on how much your customers appreciate quick responses and solutions to their problem. Customer service is very much important especially to IT and Software industry, given the fact that not all IT buyers are tech savvy.

To become successful in twitter, don’t just share your product’s message and drive traffic to your sites, concentrate on building relationships with your followers as well. Discuss interesting topics, Interact and connect with them. The benefits of twitter depend on the context and the links you’ve posted to create noise. Make use of these marketing lessons for IT and Software Marketers to maximize the opportunities provided by twitter.

You might also like: Dummy’s Guide for Content Marketing

7 Refresher Tweets on How to grow your Consulting Business

7 Refresher Tweets on How to grow your Consulting Business

“Consulting is a large and fast-growing industry. But are you capitalizing on the growth?”

This was the BIG question asked by Drip in one of its articles on Medium. The consulting industry is in fact, huge — it earns around $200 billion in the U.S. alone and an average of over 5% growth each year in the past five years.

So I echo the same question: “Consulting is a large and fast-growing industry. But are you capitalizing on the growth?”

Wherever you are in the world, $200 billion is %200 billion, and it is a large amount even for the thousands of active consultants from all industries. Really, there is plenty to go around.

To some entrepreneurs, growing a consulting company is a make or break thing as it would mean more mouths to feed, more overhead expenses to take care of, and a substantial amount of risk of bankruptcy to take. A bigger company means more investment in staff training or maybe even an extension for an office space. In short, it means more money to gamble (and probably lose).

But this is not as simple as playing the hand you’re dealt. You can actually choose your cards! You could decide whether to hire for more staff and hope they will be productive enough to recoup your expenses, or maybe even double the revenue. You can also strategically position them in a way that they’ll become  profitable assets.

Consulting is really the art of making connections—not only in terms of the work, but perhaps more importantly, with people. Developing solid networks, both internally and externally, is crucial. You are constantly convincing (and proving) to new people that you are and would be a valuable asset to a project.

You might also like: Using B2B Demand Generation as a Driver for Sales Goals and Boost Competitiveness

The job also requires you to share ideas, explain concepts, and present findings almost on a daily basis. You’ll be working on teams of people you may have just met, but you must show clients that you work as team and have the same goal in mind — to ensure that their projects will be executed seamlessly.

So don’t let time outrun you. This is not the right moment to rest on your laurels because there’s an opportunity out there, presenting itself and you have to grab it.

More about sales and marketing to boost your consulting clients today! 

Check out our successful marketing campaigns in Australia:

Rock Solid Leads for AU and NZ’s Top Technology Consulting Firm

Callbox Revs Up Tax Consulting Firm’s Sales Efforts

Callbox’s Three-Step Tactic To Success for Marketing Consulting Specialist

Social Media Lead Generation Facts and Statistics

Social Media Statistics for Lead Generation in Australia

Whether to promote a special offer or have a poll or a survey to get feedback from your customers, social media is one way to connect with your prospects and increase brand awareness. It’s also a great source of leads for your business.

According to a report from State of Inbound 2017, social media can generate almost 100% more leads than other channels  –   content marketing, telemarketing, referrals, outbound mailing or calling, etc. 

How? The best way to close a deal is to build a relationship with prospects until they’ve reached the final stage of their buying process. According to a data below from socialmedianews.com.au, there is no doubt that social media is a good way to communicate and nurture prospects.

Social Media Statistics in Australia  as of July 2017 (Monthly Active Australian Users)

  1. Facebook – 17,000,000 Monthly Active Australian Users (steady)
  2. YouTube – 15,500,000 UAVs
  3. WordPress.com – 5,500,000
  4. Instagram – 5,000,000 Monthly Active Australian Users (FB/ Instagram data)
  5. WhatsApp – 4,500,000 Active Australian Users
  6. LinkedIn – 4,200,000 Monthly Active Australian Users approx
  7. Snapchat – 4,000,000 DAILY Active Australian Users (Snapchat data)
  8. Tumblr – 3,800,000
  9. Twitter – 3,000,000 Monthly Active Australian Users approx
  10. Tinder – 2,700,000 Australian users (my estimation)
  11. TripAdvisor – 2,600,000
  12. WeChat – 2,500,000 Monthly Active Australian Users approx – (my estimation)
  13. Yelp – 1,500,000
  14. Blogspot- 1,300,000
  15. Flickr – 480,000
  16. Pinterest – 290,000
  17. Reddit – 100,000
  18. MySpace – 80,000
  19. Google Plus – 60,000 Monthly active Australian users approx – (my estimation)
  20. RenRen – 50,000 Monthly Active Australian Users approx – (my estimation)
  21. StumbleUpon – 39,000
  22. Weibo – 20,000 Monthly Active Australian Users approx – (my estimation)
  23. Foursquare/Swarm – 11,000
  24. Digg – 10,000
  25. Periscope – 9,000
  26. Delicious – 7,000

Also,

  • Approx 50% of the Australian population logs into Facebook on a daily basis.
  • WhatsApp has close to 5 million active users in Australia
  • A significant proportion of the Chinese community in Australia use Chinese social media tools like WeChat, RenRen and Weibo and these networks are growing.
  • LinkedIn now reports there are 8 million registered users in Australia, just over half of this number log in every month.

Read more about Australian Prospects Preferred mode of Communicating By Statistics


Usage by Age

Here are some social media statistics every marketer can use as a reference for a successful lead generation campaign:

Facebook

  • It has more than 1.28 billion active users from around the world
  • Up to 32% of Facebook users unlike a brand because of uninteresting post
  • Another 28% unlike because  of too many posts
  • 47%  said Facebook is their #1 influencer of purchases
  • 70% of Marketers use Facebook to gain new customers

Twitter

  • Twitter has 500 million registered users
  • And has more than 255 million average monthly active users
  • 80% of  world’s head of state have twitter account
  • 34% of marketers use Twitter to successfully generate leads
  • Twitter is the fastest growing network with a 44% growth form 2012-2013

Related: 6 Basic Tricks to Boost Organic Reach on Twitter

Google+

  • Google+ has 1billion enabled accounts
  • It has 359 million monthly active users
  • It’s annual growth rate is 33%
  • Predicted to surpass Facebook in 2016

Sources:    5 Secrets of Lead Generation in Social Media You Never Knew

                 22 Social Media Facts and Statistics You Should Know in 2014

More than just being the center of social interactions, social media are business hubs that offer great marketing opportunities. Use these opportunities to have a stronger grasp on your market. Above all, don’t always become reliant on the classic theories of marketing. Use hard facts and statistics.

More than just the shallow logic behind these numbers, marketers should see a more diverse and deeper understanding of these statistical data. We can only see a tweet, likes, and shares but not the age, area, and gender. Without using a demographic-based data its most marketing plan will fail.

This year, only 47% (down by 1% from last year) of SMBs have social media presence. While 79% of Aussies are on social media.

At least 64% of consumers trust a brand with positive interactions on social media. Social media is a very powerful business channel. Immediately establish your presence in it to gain marketing leverage and a more effective lead generation. So It’s time to start having social media presence. But keep in mind, statistics will change, so learn to adapt.

3 Questions to Ask Before Pulling the Plug on Social Media Marketing

3 Questions to Ask before pulling the Plug on Social Media Marketing

In B2B lead generation, marketers are used to receiving immediate responses from prospects via email, telephone calls and events. But when it comes to social media, if there isn’t an instant and significant response then it’s considered a waste of time. While that is a logical response, a marketer should also understand that social media works differently. Considering that its potential to reach millions of people is unprecedented, it’s a shame to pull the plug on something that could help your business, just because of things you didn’t understand about it. Before you take a leap of judgment, evaluate your lead generation campaign using the following three basic criteria of effective social media marketing:

1. How useful was your content?

Unless your content is really useful, it could get lost amidst the flood of blogs, emails, videos, articles, tweets, and commentary, and it won’t get read—much less shared. So how do you create useful content? Think of value. Think of yourself as a business owner looking for information to help you decide whether you would like to outsource certain parts of your IT infrastructure. Of course, you would want to learn about the pros and cons, how much you need to prepare financially, and how much control you can retain after farming out.

2. Does your content encourage engagement?

A piece of content is most effective when it compels the reader to join in. It could be something that ‘challenges’ the status quo, like presenting an idea that’s entirely new or unique. Or it could be something that raises curiosity, like posing an industry-related question that can really stir their brains. Or it could be a comparison of 2 things, which could spark a debate among commenters. These are the types of content that people watch out for and have no problems with sharing to others.

3. Did you set realistic metrics?

Marketers often think that social media is so powerful that it has a life of its own and generate overflowing publicity (and revenue) for the business. Again, it simply doesn’t work that way. Social media is more about exposure and engagement, as well as understanding the target market. To truly appreciate the influence of social media, you may want to measure engagement and responses from people. It may not equate directly to leads (at least in the short run), but it can show you how your content and brand image are circulating in people’s awareness. After that is established, make a move on how to take advantage of that exposure, and that’s when the real stuff happens.

How To Make Social Media In Australia Generate Better B2B Leads

How To Make Social Media In Australia Generate Better B2B Leads

The thing about social media, despite all the flak it gets from older companies, is that it actually works. It can an effective tool for B2B lead generation, helping you get in touch with the right prospects, interact with them, as well as get important business information about potential sales leads.

Yes, it may be new, it may not be that reliable, but you can be sure that this is here to stay in the B2B leads game. What matters is that you make it work. You need to invest in new marketing means to get prospects and do business with them. But how will you make that happen? There are several pointers that you should be keeping a close eye on:

  1. Know your goals – before you start your B2B lead generation campaign, you need to carefully plan what you want to achieve at the end of the year. By setting good business goals, you will be able to set up the right parameters and the tools that you will need in the campaign. Think of this as a necessary, if not time-consuming, business investment.
  2. Know your metrics – yes, now you know what you want to achieve. But in order for you to actually find out whether you are reaching your goals or not, you have to put the right metrics in place. For example, you need to decide whether average handling time, number of calls made, or even the number of B2B leads you are able to convert into a sale. This will serve as a key to crucial office decisions that you need to make.
  3. Know how to measure right – once you have the right metrics to take note of, next would be the measurement tools that you have to employ. It has to be done real-time, so you can better decide on what you should be doing next. It must be a system that fits your business well and that can be used by your employees properly.
  4. Know how to monitor – observing and recording the results of your appointment setting activities can be said to be as important as the tools that you use to generate the data. After all, how will you be able to figure out what you have to do if you fail to properly record what happened during a business call. That would be trouble for you.
  5. Know how to evaluate – the evaluation process, as well as the steps you need to take in order to improve your telemarketing campaign, is very important. You know that there is nothing perfect in this business, and if there is any way for you to be better, then you should take it. This might be the key to keeping your business running better now and in the future.

Yes, social media can help in generate good B2B leads. What is important here is that you know where to start and that you have other marketing tools to use in your lead generation campaign.

What Dr. Seuss can teach us about social media marketing

What Dr. Seuss can teach us about social media marketing

When talking about children’s books, some of the titles surely to be brought up are The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. These, among others, are classic tales written by an American author, poet and World War II hero named Theodor Seuss Geisel, most widely known in pop culture as Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss was not your ordinary storyteller dealing with common morals and lessons. He often touched issues on environmentalism, anti-consumerism, racial equality, and militarization. That makes it no wonder that his stories did not only appeal to the young but also to teenagers and adults alike.

Dr. Seuss was open in discussing his methods and motivations in writing. These nuggets of gold have been treasured as guiding principles in literature and public media. Either through direct quotations or passages in his books, his philosophies can be applied in social media marketing:

“I meant what I said and I said what I meant.”

One important ingredient in making an impact: sincerity. You have to own your words; otherwise people will persecute you and question your integrity. Before you put a word out, check if it really represents what you wanted to convey.

“The more you read the more things you will know.”

Dr. Seuss wanted to promote reading among children, and for adults he acknowledges man’s innate thirst to learn. It’s hard to introduce concepts to people if you don’t have anything to give. Reading inspires, motivates and brews ideas so we can share them.

“Why fit in, when you were born to stand out!”

Social media is becoming so multi-faceted that the only way to be noticed is to be extremely unique. If your content doesn’t have that x factor, recognition will be a long shot.

“Be who you are and say what you feel because the ones who mind don’t matter, and the ones who matter don’t mind.”

Critics may decry your work, but they are not who you’re marketing for – it’s the audience who matters, and as long as you cater to their needs, you’re doing fine.

“Words and pictures are yin and yang. Married, they produce a progeny more interesting than either parent.”

Statistics will tell you that posts with photos gain more engagement, and common sense will tell you why.

“It is fun to have fun but you have to know how.”

Perhaps one of Dr. Seuss’s most famous lines, this just means that you are always allowed mixing enjoyment in achieving your marketing goals – in fact, sometimes it’s a pre-requisite to being effective. You just have to determine certain boundaries to remind yourself to stay on track.