How to use social media to boost your inbound marketing strategy

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Inbound marketing is a business methodology that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them (Hubspot).

Social media integrates well with inbound marketing because you can push content on channels your personas use and move them through the sales funnel.

• In the attract stage, you should share content that creates awareness around your brand
• To convert prospects to leads, you should include links to landing pages and premium content
• In the close stage, you need to initiate conversations, interact and follow up comments
• And to delight, assist customers, request feedback and engage in social media listening

Getting the most out of social media

The good thing about social media is that you can engage new prospects with organic posts. For this to work, your content needs to be relevant and informed by research and buyer personas’ preferences.

Organic reach is positive but paid-for social media ads enables you to get your content in front of the right people more quickly, as you can specify things such as location, age ranges, job titles and more when targeting your ads.

Social media also provides you with an opportunity to build your brand, and demonstrate authenticity and personality. Specific topics that are of importance to your prospects, imagery and tone of voice help to engage readers and different channels can be used to showcase your brand identity.

A brand that performs well on social media is Missguided, the fashion retailer. The brand’s Instagram has 4.7m followers and it’s highlighted stories provide varied and engaging content. Their regular posting includes product promos, user generated content, lifestyle posts, memes and offers. And, it engages with popular culture that its personas are interested in, such as Love Island.

This kind of social media activity builds trust and improves customer retention. Responding to customer enquiries and feedback positively like Missguided does is also important, as customers are increasingly using social media to reach out to brands.