by Jennifer Hart Yim | Feb 28, 2018 | Blog, Leadership, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
For busy executives, being active on social media is kind of like networking. It’s one of those things that everyone says you absolutely have to do to benefit your career, but it’s hard to make it part of your daily routine.
This guest post comes to us from Argentus Supply Chain Recruiting, a boutique recruitment firm specializing in Supply Chain Management and Procurement.
Let’s be honest: it’s even harder for those who came of age before social media became ubiquitous. It can be tough to pin down what channels you should be on, what you should be posting, and the specific ways that a strong social media presence will bolster your career.
Supply Chain Management and its related functions (Procurement, Planning, Vendor Management, Logistics, Operations) are on the opposite end of the spectrum from functions like sales and marketing – areas where your brand is everything.
But from our perspective, there are still lots of different benefits that Supply Chain and Procurement executives can gain from building their social media brands:
- The most obvious – and relevant to a recruitment company like Argentus – is that having a strong presence on social media makes you a more attractive candidate for employers and recruiters.
- Social media activity can help position you as a thought leader in your industry, which can help connect you with new possible suppliers and strategic partners that you can bring into your Supply Chain. This is just as valuable as leads that a Sales professional might gain from being active on social media.
- Being a thought leader raises your profile in a job search, but it can also raise your profile within your company. If you feel stuck or siloed in a certain function, it can give you the opportunity to speak out about other topics within Supply Chain and Procurement. It can lead to increased responsibility and more leverage when it comes to promotions and salary increases.
- If you’re an executive (let’s say Senior Director, VP, and C-Suite), you’re a voice for your company. You can help raise the company’s profile as an employer. This is huge for attracting talent – which is a major difficulty for companies in this tight job market that favours candidates.
With all that in mind, how do you actually gain these benefits? Here are a few tips:
1. Think about goals.
How many of us have heard, “you should really get active on social, it can help your brand,” then signed up for a service, half-heartedly used it for a week and a half, and quit?
It’s important to be strategic about why you’re using social media to help further your career and brand. Are you looking to move into a new job? Are you aiming to connect with possible suppliers and partners? Are you trying to help your company seem like an awesome place to work? Are you going to offer thought leadership to be seen as an expert in the industry and widen your horizon?
When you’ve set concrete goals, it’s much easier to figure out which social media activity is going to be most effective when building your brand.
2. Streamline your channels.
This follows on the previous point. It’s easy to adopt a shotgun approach and sign up for – or resuscitate – your accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and all the rest. But it’s best to pick one or at most two channels based on your goals. LinkedIn is always a good pick for networking and personal branding – check out what we’ve done with LinkedIn Publisher. It’s also, obviously, the best tool if you’re in the hunt for a new job and want to network with peers, recruiters and hiring managers.
Twitter is the still the best channel for industry news, whether you’re commenting on it or having conversations about it. Facebook and Instagram are more personal networks, so have less value for your professional career, but if you’re already comfortable on those platforms they can be useful places to be active. Some fields like Procurement have dedicated social media networks (we happen to really like Procurious), which will help you connect with people in the field and share best practices.
One other thing to consider is video. It’s more time – and possibly cost – intensive, but many executives have used YouTube, Vimeo or LinkedIn native video to speak about industry topics and build their personal brands. You might have to develop your video skills (modern smartphones can take videos with more than acceptable quality) or even hire outside video producers, but video has great engagement, so it can be well worth it.
3. Brand yourself.
Once you’ve chosen your channel or channels, you want to focus on creating a professional brand that resonates. This can sound intimidating, but often it just amounts to putting that little extra bit of “polish” into your social media profiles. Upload high quality pictures, include examples of your work or presentations that you’ve done. Think about your niche and the expertise you have to contribute.
4. Develop content.
The next step is to post on your chosen channels regularly. If you’re on LinkedIn or Twitter, seek out connections and follow people and publications that are active in Supply Chain and Procurement.
Picture your social media feed as a place to develop content that might be interesting to other professionals in the field. This is something that a lot of people struggle with, but it’s not too difficult once you get the hang of it. The best way to start is to re-post interesting articles with a comment. Say you’ve seen a great article about technology in Supply Planning: share it, and comment on how your organization does it. After you’ve developed a rhythm, make a quick post asking your network for best practices. Solicit advice. Shine a spotlight on people in your network or company. Make a comment on Supply Chain trends. What’s a big story in the news that has implications for how organizations manage Supply Chain or Procurement? There are so many angles, and once you get active you start seeing more. Writing out your opinions about, say, Strategic Sourcing, might actually help you discover new ideas you didn’t have before.
5. Focus on engagement rather than just numbers.
The return on investment for time spent developing a personal brand isn’t always obvious. Things to pay attention to are new followers, connection requests, or mentions. But numbers aren’t everything. Take it from us: if you’re a consistent voice on your chosen channels, people are often paying attention even if they aren’t “liking” every post. Lots of people are surprised when someone brings up their posts in conversation months later – even if that person has never given any online indication that they’re reading. The key is to focus on quality of engagement rather than quantity of views or other metrics.
Even though it’s quite a buzzword, a strong personal brand is a major asset to any executive or aspiring executive. It doesn’t have to be a chore. It can actually become an illuminating part of your work routine, and it pays off. We hope these tips are useful even if you’ve been active on social media in a professional capacity before!
Related posts:
SaveSave
by Fronetics | Jan 17, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Users will see less content from businesses, brands, and media, so you need to adjust your strategy to appear on your followers’ Facebook News Feed.
Mark Zuckerberg once again rocked the world on January 11 — at least for businesses — when he announced that Facebook News Feed was evolving to include less public content, meaning content from Pages of businesses, brands, and media. The algorithm will now prioritize posts from friends and family (over public posts) and those that “spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people.”
Cue businesses around the world freaking out. They’re about to see their organic reach, video watch time, and referral traffic take a nose dive.
The fact is, this is really not a huge surprise. Facebook has been taking steps in this direction for a while, including the testing of Explore Feed last year. Even though you may have anticipated that some changes to Facebook for businesses were coming, you may be tempted to suddenly stop maintaining your Facebook Page. Is it worth posting content to Facebook if it is not going to reach your followers after these new changes?
Our stance at Fronetics is that Facebook is still worthwhile for businesses. But Zuck’s recent announcement does merit your close attention to — and perhaps a revisiting of — your Facebook strategy. We’ve compiled a list of things you need to know/do in light of the new changes to Facebook News Feed. Here they are.
4 steps to adjust your strategy for Facebook News Feed changes
1) Focus on news-worthy content that drives engagement.
Zuckerberg says, “I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.” That means that engagement will now mean more than ever before for content visibility.
In other words, posting your blog content to Facebook is no longer going to cut it. If your posts don’t garner comments or reactions, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. You’ll need to start thinking of Facebook as a place to post and discuss active news items, hot-button issues, and highly shareable content (content that is educational or entertaining, for example).
Scheduling multiple posts ahead of time, though convenient, will probably land your content further into the depths of oblivion. You’re going to have to pay attention, actively seek to generate conversation between users with your posts, and fight to win space on your followers’ feeds.
2) Tell your community to access the See First feature.
Users who still want to see posts from certain Pages they follow can choose “See First” in News Feed Preferences. So, quite simply, we suggest asking your followers to choose to see your content.
While some proactive followers may do this on their own, we want to encourage you to explicitly remind your community to do this. Remember that people are most likely to do what you want them to when you make it easy, exact, and clear. So send them an email with directions. Or put it in your newsletter or a blog post. Just tell them to do it.
One thing you don’t want to do: goad people into commenting on your posts as a means to increase your content visibility. Facebook has explicitly stated that it will demote “engagement bait,” or posts that ask for comments or reactions. So you’ll actually hurt your content by doing this.
3) Get your executives on social media.
I’ve written before about getting your executives on social media as themselves — they act as brand ambassadors for your business. Facebook’s latest announcement underscores the importance of this directive.
Your company’s executives are the most visible people in your business. For many of your industry peers and customers, they are the face of your brand. Get them active on Facebook to add meaningful thoughts to your company’s posted content, to engage in discussions, and to share newsworthy content of their own.
It’s important to note that I don’t mean that they should do this in a superficial way. They should actively seek to add value to your Facebook content and that which is relevant to happenings within your industry. By being engaging on Facebook, your executives emerge as thought leaders, which boosts your brand’s visibility and reputation.
4) Consider your Ad budget.
In the past, we have recommended adding some social media advertising to a traditional content marketing strategy as a way for clients to add gasoline to a fire, so to speak. It speeds things up. But those companies who are just starting out or who rely heavily on referral traffic might want to consider reallocating budget to sponsored ads.
Final thoughts on the new Facebook News Feed
This is a shift, yes. A challenge, for sure. But not one that’s insurmountable — or even contrary to the basic principles of good, data-driven content marketing.
Remember, Facebook is not eliminating Page content from News Feed altogether — just limiting it. The most relevant, engaging Page content will win that space. So seek to understand your target audience and produce high-quality, original content that engages those people, and you’ll come out on top of the new Facebook News Feed.
Related posts:
SaveSave
SaveSave
by Fronetics | Nov 28, 2017 | Blog, Manufacturing & Distribution, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Manufacturers who are active and engaged on Facebook are more likely to introduce product innovation than those who are not.
If you’re killing time during business hours on Facebook, you may actually be onto something valuable. Well, no, — scrolling through your sister-in-law’s vacation album is unlikely to help your business. But recent studies show that staying attuned to user feedback on Facebook may actually help manufacturers create better products.
The practice in question, social listening, is the process of monitoring social media to identify and assess what users are saying about a company, individual, brand, product, or service. We’ve written about how social listening can help your business — you can gain market intelligence and learn how your company, products, and services are being perceived.
But two researchers from the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) have taken things a step farther. They studied data from nearly 3,000 German manufacturing and service firms to analyze the role that Facebook plays in the innovation process. What they found was that the probability that a company introduced a product innovation was significantly determined by firms’ adoption of a Facebook page and by the activity by users, measured by both quantity and quality.
The researchers, Irene Bertschek and Reinhold Kesler, discuss their findings in detail in this article published in the Harvard Business Review. So you can skip to the bottom line, we’ve pulled out a few key takeaways for manufacturers:
Negative comments are your friend…
…if you take them seriously.
While you might cringe when you seed a negative customer comment on Facebook, what the researchers found was encouraging: “Surprisingly, only the share of negative user comments was significantly predictive of innovation, perhaps suggesting that customers were helping to steer companies away from bad ideas.”
To make this work for you, it’s important that you pay attention to negative reviews, actively engage with them, and pass along relevant information to the people within your company who can address the issues. For more ideas, check out this post for tips on dealing with negative customer comments.
Simply being on social media isn’t enough — you need to be actively and intelligently engaging.
The study found that companies who were “using keywords in their posts that encourage users to leave feedback were significantly more likely to release a new or improved product.”
In other words, to gain the kind of valuable feedback that allows your products and services to improve, you need to be intelligent about soliciting it. “When developing social media strategies,” suggest Bertschek and Kesler, “companies should not only focus on marketing aspects, but also consider the potential for the firm’s innovation success.”
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Nov 22, 2017 | Blog, Leadership, Strategy
Employees are much more than people you employ — they can be your best brand ambassadors.
There are many benefits to having employee brand ambassadors, and one of the biggest is the rise in peer influence in B2B buying. But the benefits don’t stop there. There are the increased social media reach, growth in brand engagement, and elevated employee performances.
But companies can’t force their employees to become brand ambassadors. To be truly effective, the shift from employee to brand ambassador must happen organically. But there are ways to help. Here are 3 ways to use your employees as your greatest marketing tool.
3 ways to cultivate brand ambassadors
1. Create a work environment people enjoy coming to.
One of the best ways to get employees to speak honestly and positively about your brand is to have employees that enjoy coming to work. Make sure that your office is an environment that promotes a positive culture. Being flexible, recognizing a job well done, and offering opportunities for professional growth are ways to cultivate satisfied, productive employees.
When an employee feels valued, s/he is more likely to promote your brand. Opportunities for professional development and recognition for hard work may seem like small gestures, but they contribute to happy employees. This breeds the most effective brand ambassadors.
2. Improve employee engagement.
The more excited your employees are about their jobs, the more engaged they will be. And what’s more, companies with highly engaged employees see a 20% increase in sales and a 10% in customer ratings.
Improve engagement by encouraging open lines of communication with your employees. Make sure they are in-the-know with company happenings. Encourage their feedback. Work to implement suggestions employees make to improve processes. If you want employees to invest in your brand, you must build the bridge between being an employee and feeling like a part of the team. When employees feel like an insider, they are engaged with your brand and will naturally want to promote it.
3. Provide incentives.
When you have employees that are passionate about your brand, it’s important to find ways to recognize the work they’re doing as brand ambassadors. The obvious incentive is money, but that’s not always the best way to encourage your employees.
Ever heard of motivation crowding theory? This theory states that extrinsic motivators, such as monetary incentives, can undermine intrinsic motivation. If you have happy, productive employees that want to rave about your company, don’t squash their excitement by throwing money at them. This could turn their passion into more work.
There are lots of other incentives that will keep your employees dedicated to being brand ambassadors. One of the easiest to implement is recognition. A shout out on your social media pages or recognition in a staff meeting can go a long way. Other options include product giveaways or discounts with your vendors. Get creative! The incentives don’t have to be expensive, but a little motivation can go a long way.
Don’t miss out on one of your brand’s greatest marketing opportunities — your own employees! Help your team make the leap from employee to brand ambassador, and watch how the shift benefits everyone in your office, including you.
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Nov 20, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
Measuring brand awareness has been notoriously difficult. But these 4 metrics can help you evaluate if potential customers are encountering your content.
Companies work hard to get their products and services out into the world. It’s a key step in gaining exposure among potential customers and earning new business. This process is called brand awareness, the extent to which consumers are familiar with your brand.
Heightening the public’s knowledge of your business will generate leads, some of which will turn into sales. But this knowledge, or brand awareness, has proven difficult to measure. Do potential customers know your name, what you sell, and where to contact you? Creating ways to measure how recognizable your business is will show you what people think of your company, as well as where you should be focusing your time and money to help grow your exposure.
Here are 4 metrics to measure your brand awareness.
1. Social media reach
The larger your social media reach, the larger the potential audience. The reach of your social media content has a big impact on your brand awareness. Tracking engagements on each network will help you measure progress, build a greater following, and, ultimately, generate more site visits.
Use tools like Sharedcount, a free online tool that tracks the number of times a piece of content has been shared on the most popular social media sites — including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn — to easily keep track of your social reach.
2. Blog shares
Your blog content is the perfect fodder for organic brand awareness, especially if sharing your posts is easy. Create a share bar on your blog to allow your readers to quickly share your content through social media networks. Measure your number of shares to track your most popular blogs, monitor your growing brand awareness, and help guide the topics of your future blog posts.
3. Brand mentions
Are customers talking about your brand online? There’s a great deal of value in knowing what they’re saying. Monitoring brand mentions online can provide honest feedback and objective insight from current and potential customers.
There are several tools to help you track brand mentions online. Here at Fronetics, we prefer the ease of Google Alerts, which allows you to set up custom alerts when your brand is mentioned online. We also use Hootsuite, where you can track brand mentions, as well as keywords and phrases across all of your social media platforms.
4. Website traffic
Every visit to your website represents someone who is familiar with your brand. The question is: How are people finding your website? Think of web traffic in terms of sources:
- Organic traffic – users come across your website from search engines
- Direct traffic – users type in the name of your website or brand directly
- Referral traffic – users find your website from links on other websites
- Social traffic – users come across your website from social media content
- Paid search/social – users click on one of your paid digital ads, which drives them to your site
- Email traffic – users click through one of your marketing emails
You’ll want a healthy balance of each source to ensure your brand awareness campaign is diversified. Measure each of these metrics using a platform like Google Analytics or HubSpot. As each grows, you’ll know your brand awareness is growing alongside.
Use these 4 metrics to measure your brand awareness and track your progress as you work to grow your exposure. See where you’re having the most success and where you need improvement, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Related posts:
