61% of companies surveyed are planning to increase their social media budget this year. Why? Because social media works not only for retention, but for acquisition as well. (Econsultancy)
58% of B2B marketers plan to increase their social media budget in 2014. (MediaBistro)

Social media is important for:

SEO
Developing thought leadership
Establishing your brand
Maintaining brand consistency
Customer service
Lead Acquisition
Lead Nurturing
Staying up to date in your industry

So, how can you make your social media strategy stand apart from everyone else’s? Here is some of the best advice we’ve gathered from our experience.

Social Media for all! Eliminate Silos.

Social media should not just be the job of one social media manager. It is important to get the team involved. Neither one person, nor one department can know everything that is going on at any given moment within an organization. Having more than one person contributing to social media will make your strategy much more ‘social’, as well as give your brand more personality.

Interesting News? Tweet it!

This advice goes with the tip above. If you encourage employees to utilize and contribute to your social media strategy, then you should have a constant flow of diversified and interesting content about your business. This keeps your content relevant, up-to-date, informative, stimulating, and meaningful.

The most engaging and shareable content is content that is relevant and contextual. Just like you wouldn’t want to read yesterday’s newspaper, social media is the same way.

Make it meaningful.

Again, this tip piggybacks off the last. Anyone can spit out content into the social 'mediasphere'. The trick is to share content that others will find good enough to share with their networks. This is when your strategy gains momentum and becomes effective. If you can get key influencers, loyal clients and customers, and other prominent social media personalities to engage with you, the more likely your business will reach potential customers that you haven’t tapped into. This drives traffic to your website, builds up your credibility as a thought leader, and inspires brand loyalty.

Don’t just talk, listen.

Everyone always says that it is important to be a good listener, and this is true for online relationships as well. You can’t learn what your customers/clients want if you don’t understand them, and you can’t understand them if you don’t listen. Before you do anything else, listen to conversations and gather valuable insights. Spend less time spitting out content all day long and more time finding the conversations that matter. A good way to do this is by using keyword searches, constantly monitoring your mentions and the people who refer to you on other social networks such as Google+ and Facebook.

The more you listen, the more you are going to hear. This data is valuable to your business for sales, customer service, and of course, marketing,

So, instead of brushing off social media, give it a try this year. Get your brand engaged in the conversation. Conversations are happening everywhere, and those that join in will be heard.

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