Laurena Chan: The Importance of Social Media Presence in Marketing

Social media is an essential tool for proper business marketing strategy. Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube help businesses connect with their customers, increase brand visibility, and at the same time boost leads and sales.

Different social channels evolve daily, and they are continually releasing new features. Consequently, it is highly pertinent that growth leaders develop the right organizational structure to support and maximize social media in their companies.

Today's post on Rediscover Marketing features a highly experienced Communications Specialist; Laurena Chan. She shared the best marketing strategies targeted at increasing companies' visibility and leads via social media.

Meet Laurena of RTK & Co.

Laurena is the former Marketing Director at RTK & Co and current a Communications Specialist at Covenant Church. She is highly experienced and has a demonstrated history of working in the marketing of non-profit organizations. She is skilled in Web Design, Brand Design, HTML, Adobe Creative Suite, and Organizational Development.

Laurena has worked with people from different backgrounds, ages and countries. She has a high penchant for helping independent and bright minds achieve their business goals, hence her interest in marketing and in non-profits.

The Influence of the Pandemic on Organizations

The "new normal" we are all experiencing due to the pandemic affected many sectors, including the religious organizations. The pandemic has seen more and more people turn to the Internet. Stepping up social media presence is now a MUST for businesses. As a growth leader, be open and vulnerable with the changes going on in your company.

Laurena shared digital strategies she implemented as the communications specialist that helped the organizations she worked for soar, even during the pandemic:

Audience Engagement

Laurena teaches us that her team's success could also be attributed to the strategy of engagement they employed with clients. She shared that they figured out that the best way to interact with clients is to keep them hooked to their content.

Growth leaders should pay attention to their subject matter, communication style, and frequency in which they engage customers to improve customer satisfaction. Leaders should be able to provide answers to the following questions:

What have you developed to engage your audience?
How do you connect with your clients?
How often do you interact with your customers?

Virtual/Facebook live streaming

Humans highly value socialization and community relationships, and these are key characteristics of a religious gathering.

Laurena shared that her team was fully prepared ahead of the pandemic as her supervisor already convinced their client base, the Covenant Church, to start live streaming. Thus, they did not find it difficult transitioning from the conventional way of doing things.

To keep the warm feeling of a community, Laurena revealed that she pushed for the use of social media platforms, particularly Facebook, for live streaming services. She shared that the Facebook Lives were a success as people could engage with one another on a familiar social platform during services. They started weekly Facebook Live interactive discussions, also leading to an increase in engagement and attendance.

Platforms and Content

A lot of businesses did not have a substantial online presence before the pandemic. Many companies were still focused on conventional methods of reaching out to potential clients, such as physical advertisements and foot traffic.

Laurena shared that her team at RTK & Co. turned their attention to LinkedIn in response to the pandemic because it focuses on professional interactions. They used this platform to share their research findings relating to the job marketing and hiring processes, as well as tips and tricks to ace an interview.

Laurena emphasized that not all social media is necessary for every organization. For example, a church does not need to be on LinkedIn or even YouTube. It depends on the company goal and target audience.

Sharing relevant insights with the online community increases credibility and traffic. In the last quarter, they recorded an average click through rate of 14.9% per post on the company's LinkedIn page.

Rebranding

Growth leaders should reflect on new goals, products and company values. A company’s brand should show that the business has evolved. Rebranding is one incredible way to reveal that the company has grown to offer quality products and services.

At various points, Laurena executed rebrand strategies at both of her organizations. One company had low engagements on their posts and this affected their client base. Laurena shared that her team adjusted their hooks for social media posts to focus on relatability, and she also redesigned their graphic media style, which led to an increase in engagement.

The other organization underwent a website redesign. The focus was to simplify the content, number of pages, and menu interaction. Laurena shared it is crucial to connect your website and your social media so customers can be led to both locations from either side. In addition, she noted a company’s website and social media platforms should be consistent in design and information.