PPB December 2018

FEATURE | Social Media Do use #hashtags. Remember that mark we used to call a “pound” or “number” symbol? Today, that’s called a hashtag, and it’s a way to associate your posts to relevant topics and become part of the larger conversation on #marketing, #thoughtleadership or how #catsarejerks (because they are). “Hashtags are huge,” Gibson says. “The tags you add into your posts will determine who sees what you share.” She suggests suppliers use hashtags that are relevant to distributors, such as #promotionalproducts and #ppaiexpo. Distributors will need to do research into the topics that are relevant to their clients and prospects. “What events are your clients attending? What hashtags do they follow? If you figure this out and then use these hashtags (when relevant) in your posts, there is a much greater chance of the right people seeing your posts,” she says. Don’t forget to post. “The last thing you want is for someone to find your Facebook page or your Instagram account and discover you haven’t posted anything there in months,” says Josh Storey, social media writer for Issaquah, Washington- based supplier SanMar. “Inactivity makes you look lazy or unorganized at best. At worst, the customer will assume you’re no longer in business.” If keeping up with social media is a challenge, create an editorial calendar with content ideas throughout the year. This can make it easy to keep a schedule and to always have a topic ready. If it still seems overwhelming, start small. “Focus your efforts on one or two networks at first, and then slowly expand as your mental bandwidth increases,” Storey says. And don’t forget that responding to other people is just as important as making regular updates. “Don’t post and ghost,” says Charity Gibson, national account coordinator for Newark, New Jersey-based supplier Peerless Umbrella Co. “If people are messaging your page, reply to their messages. If they are commenting on your post, comment back and keep the conversation going.” Do engage with your audience. Where social media stands apart from traditional advertising is interactivity. Social accounts and apps allow for direct contact with your clients and prospects, creating conversations and relationships more organically than traditional media. “The most important part of using social media is to be responsive and engage with people,” says Anna Henley, marketing director for business services company PromoCorner in Middleboro, Massachusetts. “So many people miss the ‘social’ part of social media and simply look at it with a ‘what’s in it for me’ attitude. That idea won’t get you far.” The basic tenets of social media interaction—create posts, respond to comments, open dialogues—are easy. The next level of audience engagement is being proactive. Instead of waiting for prospects to come to you, find and follow them. Comment on their posts with genuine interest. Find their industry groups and join those conversations. Getting your name out there and displaying a level of engagement shows not just your commitment, but also that you are an individual. 28 | DECEMBER 2018 |