According to eMarketer, nine in 10 companies in the United States are using social media for marketing purposes. Clearly, this is a popular method for exposure, brand awareness, and getting in front of an organization’s most important audiences. But, are you using it correctly and are you getting the most out of what you’re doing?
Keep in mind, when launching a social media campaign of any sort, it should align with your overarching business objectives. In other words, it shouldn’t be done just because a competitor started using it or without thought behind it.
A good example of how to effectively use social media, namely Twitter, comes from our own experience! We were recently honored with the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Maryland Social Media Award for our work with Weiss PR, a public relations firm. We thought this case study might demonstrate for others who were once in our shoes how they might also achieve results by using Twitter.
When Weiss PR initially suggested a social media program to us, the idea was to incorporate another tactic to further position our firm and our CEO, Wes Guckert, as a forward-thinking, national thought leader while gaining more exposure.
To understand a little more about why it made sense to incorporate social media into the PR mix, our PR team presented us with a competitive analysis. This deep analysis detailed who was already using major social channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter), how frequently they posted, what they posted about, a sample of posts, and who was following them. The chart was segmented by audience categories, including: Local and National Competitors, Key Prospects, and Local and National Media. To our surprise, they showed us that both The Traffic Group and/or Wes were referenced on social media already, even in the absence of an account (Wes literally got up and walked around the table to see who and what was posted about him!).
Since this was all new to us, we opted to start with Twitter only.
But before launching the account, we worked with our PR team to determine who we were targeting in terms of those we would follow and what messages we would post and Retweet. The audiences were prospects, media/influencers, and clients/partners.
Results Since Launching
In the year since launching our Twitter account, TTG has stayed front-and-center and maintained top-of-mind awareness with key executives, media, politicians, and government officials. Results include securing media coverage with key trade magazines, national media Retweets (including Governing Magazine), increased key Twitter followers (including Bloomberg Media, California Transit Association, and Maryland Association of Counties), engagement with key regional planning boards, state departments of transportations, as well as Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.
Weiss PR has also provided metrics and Twitter Analytics regularly to see what is – and sometimes isn’t – working. For us, measurement equals quality – not quantity – of followers and Retweets, which ensures goals are accomplished.
In Conclusion
Before joining Twitter, both our company and CEO were discussed on the social media platform, but had no way to engage with those individuals – in fact, we didn’t even know we were being discussed! TTG now has a means to be visible and talk to target audiences, whether they are down the street or around the globe. These audiences – and visibility within modern channels of communication – are vital to our company’s continued success and growth.