Many MSPs are struggling with promoting themselves on social media platforms, which isn’t a surprise: Marketing has always been a top challenge for MSPs. Over the years, more and more MSPs have become interested in deploying social media strategies to increase brand awareness and generate leads for their sales teams. Before making the jump, there are some things to consider first.
First things first: Develop a social media marketing strategy
Despite common belief, there’s more to social media marketing than just posting pictures of your office dog to your company’s social networking accounts. In fact, before even thinking about publishing anything from your business accounts, ensure there’s a plan to deploy a coherent brand experience across all channels. In other words, your company’s social media presence should reflect the brand image your marketing team worked tirelessly to develop for your business. To accomplish this, review your brand’s messaging before creating a social media marketing plan designed to further enhance your brand, put you in front of potential customers and generate leads for your salespeople.
At the very least, every social media marketing plan should have overarching goals. Basically, these are the reasons why you’re dedicating time, money and resources to increasing your company’s online presence. Your top social media objectives should be clear and concise. Most importantly, they should be realistic. For example, more than likely, your company’s Facebook page isn’t going to acquire 1,000 followers the day after you launch it, so don’t set your goals out of reach. This will only discourage you and the employees you assign to managing your company’s accounts. After setting all your goals for social media marketing, determine how your business is going to achieve each one.
Creating content for your social media accounts is a process, so be ready to brainstorm with your employees on potential topics. After creating content, make sure it’s beneficial to your followers, not just you. For example, posting too much about your company can turn followers away. To prevent this from happening, publish content on your accounts from other reputable sources (not your competitors). Creating content is a skill, so don’t be put off right away if it’s challenging. It’s going to take some time for you to get into a rhythm — but after some practice, the process becomes easier.
The most common mistake MSPs are making
When it comes to social media marketing, the most common mistake MSPs are making is expecting results to happen overnight. The truth is social media promotion takes a lot of time and effort. An MSP’s social media presence is built, not bought. Don’t compare yourself to your competitors. Be aware of what your competitors are doing on their social media platforms, but don’t fall into the trap of obsessing over their metrics. You’re on a different timeline than your competitors. Don’t forget this: What’s working for your competitors and other MSPs might not necessarily work for your company.
Which social media networking sites should MSPs be on?
Not every social media platform is right for every business, so don’t try everything all at once. At the end of the day, go where your customers are consuming their information. If they’re on Facebook, create a Facebook page. If they’re on Twitter, create a Twitter page. There’s nothing wrong with testing out various social media platforms to figure out what’s working best for your own business, but ultimately, you’re going to have to decide where you want to dedicate resources, time and money.
Social media marketing can be overwhelming at first, but after a little bit of practice, it becomes less daunting. Before rolling out your brand’s pages, develop a strategy with your goals. Stay committed to generating valuable content even when success isn’t immediate. Most importantly, have fun with it.
