In today’s world, social media plays an immense role in daily life — from keeping up with friends and family to knowing where to go for the best cup of coffee in town. Social media’s prevalence in the customer’s day-to-day routine makes it an extremely effective tool for consulting companies.
Harnessing the power of social media can help consultants establish their business as a thought leader and connect with prospective customers on a personal level. When used correctly, social media marketing can launch your consulting business to the next level.
So, where should you start? We’ll cover the tips you need to make the most of social media marketing for your consulting business. You’ll learn the importance of:
- Establishing your expertise
- Fine-tuning your brand identity
- Getting to know your followers
- Starting the social media conversation
- Next steps for social media marketing for consultants
Get new clients and repeat business with all the tools and marketing advice you need, all in one place.
Establish your expertise
As a consultant, you’re passionate about helping your customers build their business — but — before you start, it’s important to build yours. Your customers are relying on you to already have the right tools to improve their business. You can show them your mastery of social media marketing tools through the success of your own online presence.
To that end, it is vital that you follow the techniques and tips that you set out for your clients. Practicing what you preach as a consultant is one of the most effective ways to establish trust with your customers.
Social media is a transparent medium — it’s easy for your customers to observe your habits. By following your own advice, you can quickly establish your expertise in social media marketing and build trust with your clients.
Stay engaged
Social media is a fast-paced environment set in an ever-changing world. Once you’ve established your expertise in building business connections through social media, it is essential that you maintain your status.
You should keep up with the latest trends and consistently engage with potential customers to maintain their trust. Constant content and engagement will keep your client’s confidence in you strong as well as leverage social media engagement into new business.
Fine-tune your brand identity
A strong brand identity is one of the cornerstones of good marketing. An effective brand is recognizable, memorable, and consistent across all platforms. Your identity should encapsulate:
- The values of your brand
- The aspirations of your business
- The value you offer to your customers
As you expand your consulting business to the realm of social media, you should already have a firm grasp of your brand’s voice. The way your customer perceives your brand depends on the way you express yourself over social media.
Whether you’re a consulting company that defines itself as being fresh and edgy or one that markets itself as being friendly and approachable, all of your social media content must embody the right tone.
Fine-tuned brand alignment communicates to prospective and current clients that your social media marketing techniques are reliable.
Harness the power of the hashtag
Using hashtags allows you to hitch your proverbial cart to the latest trends, but it also allows you to deepen your brand identity. Including a trending hashtag in your social media content is an excellent way to increase traffic and brand awareness.
When picking a hashtag, consider the ways it can help draw in prospective clients. For example, including #consulting in your posts will make you visible to customers who may be perusing hashtags.
Adding more unique hashtags — such as #ConstantContactConsulting or #socialmediamarketing — can help establish your identity within your field.
To boost your visibility, include a hashtag that is trending, and all eyes will be on you! Remember that hashtags work better in groups.
Get to know your followers
When promoting your consulting business on social media, posting the right content at the right time is key. So, how do you know what works for your followers and what doesn’t?
By keeping an eye on the number and kinds of interactions you are eliciting from your content, you can get a strong idea of what is working. You can also take a deeper dive by using native reporting tools like Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics.
By tracking your analytics on popular posting times, popular content, clicks, likes, shares, and more, you can understand your followers more deeply. Get to know your audience and their habits. Then you can adjust your social media strategies to speak to them.
Post frequently
Social media is all about timing! While nailing down the perfect time to post on Facebook can be complex, the most important element is consistency.
Your followers should know that they can count on frequent and engaging content across your platforms. If you’re not sure how often to post, try setting up a conservative schedule and track your engagement!
Start a conversation
While email marketing certainly has its place in promoting your consulting business, social media allows you to connect with customers more directly. Utilize your brand’s recognizable voice to engage with current and prospective clients via posts, comments, and even direct messages.
Offer valuable content that highlights your skills as a consultant and gets your followers talking. By sparking conversation among your social media following, you will encourage more people to continually check your channels. This is a great way to draw in new customers and stay engaged with the ones you have.
To elevate engagement even further, consider aligning your email and social media campaigns. Diversifying your content market strategies to cover multiple platforms can yield serious results when it comes to attracting more customers on social media.
Create relatable content
Clients are more likely to connect with you if they can see who they might be working with. Instagram is an excellent platform for sharing light-hearted content that highlights you or your employees. This will make you more relatable and approachable — two wins when it comes to earning new customers.
Show off your website
The end goal of social media conversations is to drive more traffic to your website, and — ultimately — build your business. Don’t forget to link to your well-designed website whenever possible. Make your social media engagement count by keeping your website fresh and up-to-date.
Next steps for social media marketing for consultants
Ultimately, your social media presence is the best way for customers to find you in today’s world. Now that you know the importance of establishing your expertise, fine-tuning your brand identity, getting to know your followers, and connecting with them through content, are you ready to get started?
If you’re ready to take a deeper dive into the best social media for consulting companies, read more of Constant Contact’s consulting services resources and social media marketing tools. These comprehensive archives are straightforward and packed with game-changing information.
When you team up with Constant Contact, you will be creating a fresh, effective social media presence in no time. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can begin to reap the immense benefits of social media for consultants.
