Social Media Marketing How-To

Gregory Bailey, CEO of Denim, Matt Ostanik, CEO of FunnelWise, Courtney Yuskis, Director of Revenue of Meredith and Mike Draper, Owner of Raygun, all with startup roots in Greater Des Moines (DSM), discuss social media marketing for large-scale businesses and startups.

Social Media Marketing Topics

Social media marketing will help your startup achieve its goals through creating content for social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and more. The end goal is to drive engagement around your brand and expand your reach.

What Works Consistently?

Draper: Consistently, things related to behind-the-scenes brainstorming work well creating customer interaction. Social media should be more about giving followers a window into the company that pulls the veil back.

Bailey: Hyperlocalized ads win big time and performs 250 percent better.

Yuskis: A focus on content draws in the customer.

Ostanik: When selling B2B, utilizing LinkedIn for recruiting has been pivotal.

What Are Some Strategies for Small Businesses on a Small Budget?

Draper: Respond. Every one person you interact with will connect you with six more people so every interaction makes a difference.

Yuskis: Identify your objective and figure out how to measure it.

Bailey: In annual planning, pick three to five things to execute well.

Ostanik: The book Traction has a lot of great info on figuring out which things to execute.

Achieving Brand Authenticity

Draper: Be authentic and believe in what you’re selling.

Bailey: Create credibility by inviting social media followers along on the startup journey.

Ostanik: Focus on making sure your customer experiences match up to what you are marketing.

Yuskis: Be transparent about feedback.

The panel agreed you have to pick a strategy and assess it after time. Figure out what you want to measure and then find the tool.