Social media usage has grown by nearly 100% in the last 5 years. It's fair to say it's here to stay and it's a pretty damn powerful tool when it comes to building your brand. So, what does the future hold for social media? Is it going to become more important than your website? During this event, we covered: 👉 Our future predictions of how social media will change as a marketing tactic 👉 Why social media is crucial for business growth in 2021 👉 Each B2B social media platform and how it can be used 👉 How to future proof your digital marketing strategy 👉 Some useful tools we recommend to use for your social media If you run your own business or are in charge of marketing the business you work for, this one's for you.

1. Is social media going to
be just as important as
your website?
Presented by Jag Panesar & Danni Johnson

2. Did you know that social media usage has increased by almost 100% in
the last 5 years? That’s nearly 1.5 billion new users.*
Did you know....
Smart Insight*

3. In this webinar we will cover:
Our future predictions of how social media will change as a marketing tactic
Why social media is crucial for business growth in 2021
Each BtoB social media platform and how it can be used
How to future proof your digital marketing strategy
Useful tools you can use to strengthen your digital marketing strategy

4. Studio based in
Saltaire, West
Yorkshire
Full service digital
marketing agency
Est. 2007 - 14 years in
business
About Xpand

5. SOLAR7

6. Our future predictions of
how social media will
change as a marketing
tactic...

7. 58% of
people said
they check
social media
as part of
the buying
process...
1
Could social media sit at the heart of your
marketing model?

8. HOME
SOLAR7

9. Ways you can do this...
Write a blog outlining your expertise
Create an E-book
Create an industry report
Create how-to videos
2 Value adding content will take the lead
Posting for the sake of it will get ignored.
You need to consider what will add value for your audience.

10. It is now predicted that by 2022, 82% of
all content online will be video.*
3 Video will continue to take centre stage
Cisco*

11. Facebook and Instagram have taken the lead with their
integrated shopping feature which allows users to purchase
without leaving the app, contributing to a good user
experience...
...how will this impact the need for websites in the future?
Social media channels could double as
shopping channels
4

12. Authenticity will be vital
5
Brand trust
is key
Find and
project your
brand
personality
Post user
generated
content

13. Personalisation is key
6
Personalising your organic content is near impossible.
So, how can this be achieved?
The answer: Paid ads...
If you’re looking to experiment with paid advertising but unsure where
to start, take a look at our recent webinar by our Digital Marketing
Manager, Danni Johnson.
Top tip

14. You need to re-evaluate the metrics that are
considered to be important
Stop focusing on how many likes your post has and
start paying attention to the data that affects your
bottom line...
7

15. You need to re-evaluate the metrics that are
considered to be important
7
Focus on the sales funnel...

16. Why social media is
crucial for business
growth in 2021

17. Did you know...
There are now 4.2 billion active users around the world with each person
spending on average 2 hours and 25 minutes a day on social media.*
Smart Insights*

18. You can connect with your audience to form long-lasting relationships
Increase your brand awareness
Reach wider audiences
Create and personalise content to increase customer loyalty and engagement
Learn about what your competition is doing
How can social media help your brand?

19. Studies have shown that you need to have been exposed
to a brand at least seven times before you decide to
make a purchase.
The average person has 8 social media accounts.
Even with only a few accounts, you can be omnipresent.
You can be omnipresent
1

20. Social media adds credibility to your brand
75% of people use social media to gauge a
brand before making a purchase.*
Don't fall at the first hurdle, make sure
your social media presence is strong.
2
Show off your customers reviews. If you get negative
reviews, don't shy away from them, respond
appropriately. It will show you to be an engaging brand
that doesn't hide from problems.
Top tip
HubSpot*

21. It can help you to build your personal brand
3
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”
Jeff Bazos
You can use your
personal social media to
talk about your
expertise in your field,
which will positively
reflect on your brand.
REMEMBER: People
buy into people
When building your
personal brand it’s
also important to be
omnipresent, just like
a brand.

22. It can help you to create relationships and build a
community
It will help you to build your brand credibility
Being active in groups and offering expertise to other members will
help to position yourself as an industry leader
If you create a solid relationship with your customers they're more
likely to stay loyal to your brand
How does this benefit your business?
4

23. Each BtoB social
media platform and
how they can be used

24. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the internet. Businesses can use
the platform to grow their network and brand presence.
LinkedIn features you need to know about:
To name a few...
LinkedIn
Analytics
Events
LinkedIn
Live

25. Facebook
Facebook, it’s one of the longest standing social networks. It allows you to reach and engage with
your audience without the spend (unless you’re looking to invest in paid ads).
Facebook features you need to know about:
To name a few...
The Ads
Centre
Facebook
Shops
Communities

26. Twitter
Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that allows users to post short updates limited to 280
characters. The most successful users don’t just ‘tweet’, but use the platform to engage with
other users.
Twitter features you need to know about:
To name a few...
Twitter
Polls
Twitter
Lists
Spaces

27. Instagram
Instagram is a simple and economical way to put your brand out there for the world to see. Even
though it takes time to develop a huge following, once you do, the benefits can be great for your
business.
Instagram features you need to know about:
To name a few...
Instagram
Stories
Instagram
Reels
Influencer
marketing

28. YouTube
Every day, YouTube users watch over a billion hours of YouTube videos and yet only a handful of
small businesses have started their channels.
YouTube features you need to know about:
To name a few...
Channel
Art
Channel
Trailer

29. Examples of
companies that are
doing it right

30. Shouting about their employees
Posting images and videos of on site progress
Reposting user-generated content and
customer testimonials
Use of hashtags
Jupiter Construction is a great example of a
company doing LinkedIn right.
They are:
LinkedIn

31. Instagram
Using time-lapse videos to showcase their work
Sharing curated industry content
Sharing before and after content
Using Highlights
Using Reels
Priestley Construction is a great example of a
company doing Instagram right.
They are:

32. Twitter
Demonstrating CSR by fundraising
Showing behind the scenes of the business
Talking about their work with women in
construction
Tagging relevant accounts in posts to help
further reach
Howard Civil Engineering is a great example of a
company doing Twitter right.
They are:

33. How to future proof
your digital
marketing strategy

34. What can you do with it?
Give you a better understanding of who your audience is
Help you to understand the keywords that your audience is
searching for when they find you
Use your data
The social media platforms you use can give you access to
plenty of insights, including information about your audience.
Top tip

35. Create value-adding content
Did you know?
A study by Microsoft has concluded that the human attention
span has dropped to eight seconds, meaning that it is now
more difficult than ever for brands to stand out through the
noise.

36. How to guides
Webinars to educate on an area of your expertise
Panel discussions with an expert in your field
Thought leadership blog posts
Reactive content that discusses what’s new in the industry
User generated content
A starting point for creating valuable content

37. Be honest, are you taking time to sit down and look at what
your competitors are doing?
Monitor what your competitors are doing

38. List at least 3 of your competitors.
And then, list at least 3 benchmark
companies of a similar size to you
that you don’t 100% compete with.
No. of followers/ likes
No. of posts per day
Shares per post
Comments/replies per post
Hashtags per post
Type of content they post.
Go on social media and have a look at
their profiles.
For each one, assess the following:
How we recommend monitoring what your
competition is doing

39. You want to make sure you’re looking out for:
No. of enquiries
No. of proposals/ quotes written
The total value of quotes/ proposals sent out
No of sales
Value of each sale
Review and measure always

40. Tools we
recommend for
improving your
digital marketing
strategy

41. Plus one additional downloadable tool...

42. Our future predictions of how social media will change as a marketing tactic
Why social media is crucial for business growth in 2021
Each BtoB social media platform and how it can be used
How to future proof your digital marketing strategy
Useful tools you can use to strengthen your digital marketing strategy
You should now know...

43. Any questions?

44. Follow us
/XpandMarketing
@Xpand_Marketing
/company/xpand-marketing
/xpandmarketing
Let's connect
www.xpandmarketing.co.uk