The Edge for August 2022
Why is it important for your company to use social media? Here’s one reason: Your competition is using it to lift their profiles – and generate business. So we asked New Jersey Chamber of Commerce member companies: How do you keep your social media updates interesting, fresh and eye-catching? How often do you post, what do you post and how do you stand apart from other organizations? Here is what they said:
Lighten Things Up
Our social media postings cover a lot of what you’d expect: tax updates, new accounting regulations and financial management guidance. But we also lighten things up by congratulating members and CPA firms on awards and accomplishments; celebrating milestones; and sharing accounting memes and jokes. We also run a series of fun graphics during tax season — called Tax Timeout — as a diversion to the stress many of our members are under as the April 15 filing deadline draws near.
– Rachael Bell, Content & Communications Director, NJCPA
Photos, Graphics and Video Keep it Interesting
We post a mix of information on oral health and dental insurance, as well as trending content, thought leadership, and information on our community volunteerism. We want our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn followers to be able to relate to us, and we have found that showing our associates giving back to the community resonates. Photos, graphics and video keep it interesting.
– Randy Stodard, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Delta Dental of New Jersey
Keep the Content Intriguing
We like to keep our posts intriguing, so once a week, we post articles about data breaches and their effects on business, or about environmental developments pertaining to electronics. Those articles illustrate what we tell our clients – paying attention to data security and the environment when disposing of electronics is vital. Even if our social media audience doesn’t choose us to recycle their devices, we still want to educate businesses about proper hard drives disposal.
– Melanie Haga, CEO, Back Thru The Future Computer Recycling, Inc.
Keep it Real
Authenticity, relevancy and transparency are just as important as distributing valuable content. Successful business-to-business marketers will continue to evolve, build content that aligns with business objectives, leverage new platforms, and find creative ways to engage their audience.
– Alicja Patela, Marketing Senior Manager, EisnerAmper
Promote Your Company and Its People
We use LinkedIn as our main social media platform, posting business-related content and news, as well as highlighting employees and our activities. We post between two and four times per week. We use it to elevate our brand by sharing thought leadership pieces that demonstrate our commitment to our clients, our communities and our employees. We have found LinkedIn to be a great recruiting tool too. Imagery and hashtags create eye-catching and memorable posts, and tagging people in our pictures spreads our messages more broadly. Our employees get involved too by liking our posts and sharing them with their connections.
– Denise Pace-Sanders, SVP Managing Principal, Brand and Marketing Director, Peapack-Gladstone Bank
Be the Expert Your Network is Looking For
We use our website video gallery to educate consumers – employers and job seekers – on what we do, who we do it for, where we do it and how we do it. We use LinkedIn and Facebook to build brand awareness and to share career opportunities. If you are not embracing social media, you are probably losing business to your competitors who are. Here are some quick tips: Start small with occasional weekly posts and build from there; use thumb-stopping images (be creative to gain attention); provide unique content; and be the expert your network is looking for. If you are passionate about your company, product or service, be proud and share it!
– Nick Malefyt, President, Master Search Solutions
Use Social Media to Connect Your Community
We use social media to reach students where they are and to keep the college community informed. We celebrate newly accepted students, keep alumni engaged long after they graduate and encourage our international community to share their Berkeley spirit from across the globe. During the height of the pandemic, Facebook and Instagram Live were used to stream events and workshops. As a career-focused institution, Berkeley College is able to directly connect with the workforce through LinkedIn to promote lifelong learning, and to facilitate internships and job opportunities for students.
– Kevin L. Luing, Chairman, Berkeley College
Tell Your Story in a Unique Manner
The CSG Law marketing department uses social media to celebrate the accomplishments of and share news about our team members – an approach that allows us to share the firm’s story in a unique manner. We create special campaigns featuring commentary from our women members in celebration of Women’s History Month and insights from our summer associates to get to know them better. These campaigns cultivate connections with clients, prospects and external organizations, and they generate additional followers.
– Dawn Afanador, Chief Marketing Officer,Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC
Empower Employees to Act as Brand Influencers
Our social media strategy is expanding with the addition of custom social graphic templates, the launch of our Instagram channel, and the implementation of our associate advocacy program. Our custom social graphic templates allow for quick turn-around times on branded visual assets to keep our feeds fresh. Instagram enables us to build new audiences. Our associate advocacy program, #AmeriHealthInsiders, empowers employees to act as brand influencers as they amplify brand content while building their own professional networks.
– Mike Munoz, Market President, AmeriHealth New Jersey
