SMM for IT

Promotion in social networks is designed to maximize coverage of potential customers, wide distribution of information about the company and its products (services). More than 2/3 of the world’s population “live” in social networks, actively consuming information which is placed in the groups. This is a huge audience, which must be won to increase awareness.

Social media is a great platform to promote products, as long as you don’t engage in “head-on” sales. Posts talk about new trends, tools, ways to solve a problem. Activity in social networks is a marker of a good reputation of an IT company.

Why SMM for IT

Companies working in the IT sphere often neglect advertising. Meanwhile, promotion in social networks allows:

• Develop a personal brand, build the image of an expert;
• to tell subscribers about competitive advantages of the company and its product in a natural and interesting way, to demonstrate advantages in comparison with competitors;
• to increase niche-recognition;
• to have constant traffic without downturns;
• warm up the audience and maintain communication and interest in the product;
• promptly announce new products and events in the IT market.

SMM is not a miracle way to dramatically increase sales. It is a channel that works on reputation by handling objections.

The task of promotion is to attract subscribers, increase user activity and engagement rates. As the number of loyal subscribers increases, the tone of comments becomes mostly positive. As a result the recognition of the company and its products grows, the image of the company as a reliable partner, expert and employer in the IT-sphere is formed.

Social networks allow to establish communication with potential and real customers, employees and partners.  The platform does not imply strict formats of communication, allowing to place more complete information, unlike the corporate website. Quick feedback from readers is useful for brand development, informing about the benefits of products and IT-solutions.

What does promotion in social networks look like?

Promotion in social networks is part of an integrated marketing strategy, in which all activities are subject to a common plan. Prior to the start of promotion, preparatory work is done:

• Together with the client, a ToR is developed in which achievable and measurable goals, promotion tasks and KPIs are formulated.

• We analyze the accounts of both competitors and the brand’s social networks, as well as various content chips and visuals.
• The target audience is studied, the brand-ambassadors are defined, and the optimal channels for attracting users are developed.
• Triggers and the content relevant for various segments of CA are found out. There should be a clear understanding of how each group of users consumes information. With this aim the main idea is formed, the vectors of communication strategy with subscribers are defined, rubrics are approved, a content plan is formed, content packaging, visual concept is elaborated, different non-standard mechanics are considered.
• A promotion strategy is created. Targeted advertising is launched, close cooperation with bloggers is conducted, contests and promotions are organized.
• A community (group) is formed, and menus and widgets are set up.
• As promotion proceeds, the results are analyzed at certain intervals, and then the mechanics are adjusted.

With a competent approach to SMM, you can get a live response from the target audience in as little as a month. The choice of a social network for promotion depends on the target audience, as well as the company’s willingness to invest in content creation.

It is ideal to maintain groups (accounts) on several sites using a variety of tools that are unique to these social networks. Targeting brings in clients who are not attracted by other advertising tools.

Keep in mind lead magnets that encourage readers to buy or subscribe. Social media resources allow you to significantly increase lead generation.

Nuances of SMM for IT

Getting down to managing accounts, you should clearly understand the specifics of the product, its strengths and weaknesses, the needs of the target audience, as well as the way the information is “consumed”. All complicated topics and high technologies should be described in language understandable to the target audience!

Content in all formats (text, photos, videos, podcasts, surveys) is prepared together with the customer. Opportunities for engaging page subscribers in communication are studied. The SMM-strategy selected and fixed in ToR is implemented, and the information demand for content tied to industry events is forecasted.

A package of creatives is created and a content plan is developed for a long period of time, for example six months or a year.  When making a content plan for IT topics, the following are used:

• reviews to help you understand technology and concepts;
• instructions – specific, detailed;
• cases, introducing ready-made solutions (users relate them to their pain and choose acceptable ways to solve the problem);
• interviews, expert feedback, comments on industry news from the company’s employees;
• answers to readers’ questions;
• infographics, statistics;
• digests.

The planning of publications, necessary integrations, and any interactions that lead to increased activity should fit within the framework of moving toward a single goal! The road to the goal is shown by performance benchmarks (KPIs) that operate on the concepts of subscriber growth, retention, targeted actions, number of impressions, reach, and engagement.

In social networks, a positive image of the company is formed due to the content. In order to motivate subscribers to take targeted actions, you can and should use various tools, for example, Influencer Marketing. You can use any techniques to attract the audience from social networks to the website of IT-company.

When promoting it, the number of subscribers is maximized. To this end, the group is promoted in thematic IT-communities, connect targeting with a customization, for example, by pixel site, interest in software (both from developers and users).

The use of pixels gathers the target audience for remarketing lists. This is necessary in order to engage those users who came from other channels. If the audience is large enough, you can run look-a-like searches, picking up similar audiences.

It’s easy to recruit webinar participants through social networks. It is enough to offer real benefits and help for the foreseeable future so that people start to take an interest in IT-solutions themselves. There are many nuances to be considered when selling a non-shortcut product. The easiest way is to use social media as a platform for dialogue, involving firstly participation in webinars, and then leading to the need for audits, research.

By promoting IT with SMM, companies not only increase coverage and engagement, but also close vacancies and select employees through social networks. Recruitment requires actively handling objections and broadcasting the company’s image as an interesting and reliable employer.

SMM-promotion allows you to tell about the company in a bright and clear language to as many users as possible, to attract potential customers who are interested in the final IT-product.