Many professional services firms have been reluctant to embrace social media as part of their online marketing strategy. But for those who have – and have done so consistently – many are reaping the rewards. One firm that provides a good example of B2B social media marketing is Futurestep, a global recruiting firm under Korn/Ferry.
The first, and most important, piece that Futurestep is doing well is creating and sharing content, not solely on social media platforms, but on their website. An entire section of their website features opinions and blog posts written by Futurestep, as well as articles from around the web. This practice of creating and curating content gives them the ammunition that is necessary for successful B2B social media marketing.
Futurestep uses Twitter to reach their target audiences by drawing them into a conversation about what is happening in the HR and recruiting industry. They showcase their thought leadership and knowledge of current industry hot topics by sharing both content that they have created and external content. See the example tweet below:
Futurestep has included a statistic, a link, and a hashtag in this tweet – a Twitter trifecta. Tweets featuring both statistics and hashtags are much more likely to get retweeted, increasing the firm’s visibility online. Sharing relevant content offers something valuable to followers, while actively increasing brand visibility though the tools on Twitter.
They also are utilizing Twitter as a job board, a practice that is becoming more and more common. Futurestep has created a separate Twitter handle, @FuturestepTLNT, to post job openings in addition to content that may be more interesting to potential candidates. See below:
Again, they are drawing in their audience with relevant content and offering their services, in this case job openings, alongside.
However, most firm’s social strategies are not perfect. One way Futurestep could improve theirs is retweeting posts and engaging more with users to grow their followings on their various handles. It’s important to remember the golden tweet ratio 80/20 – 80% external content and 20% branded content.
Futurestep uses Facebook in a similar way as Twitter, sharing relevant content and job openings. They do a good job striking a balance between these two areas, averaging slightly more content than job posts.
One area they could improve on is showing more brand personality on Facebook. Recruiting firms can often struggle against a corporate image when reaching out to both clients and prospects. Using Facebook and other social media channels to share photos or videos of staff, or even memes, would help personalize their brand. Their imagery is fresh and entertaining, but people visiting Facebook may like to see some Futurestep employees doing the Harlem Shake too!
Google+
As a big fan of Google+, I have to give kudos to Futurestep for being ahead of the curve on this one. They do a great job sharing relevant industry specific content. They also incorporate hashtags and +1’s to increase their visibility and connect with other users.
While I give them credit for being on Google+, I think they could do a lot more with this social network. I would recommend using Google+ to its full social media marketing potential, posting jobs, hosting hangouts and joining the conversations happening in their industry’s “communities.”
Futurestep does a great job on LinkedIn. And as one of the more powerful social media networks for professional services, it is important that they have a good presence. Their company page is well branded visually and they regularly post both branded and unbranded content. They have also created branded discussion groups that undoubtedly help networking efforts for potential clients and candidates. Their presence on LinkedIn is professional, clean, and concise.
Professional services firms are beginning to realize the value in social media, and some are beginning to leverage the tools available to increase their brand awareness and nurture leads. Though I would have liked to see a little more fun out of Futurestep’s overall social media presence – it is social after all – they do a good job using the social tools available to connect with their audiences. With consistency and increasing personality on top social networks, they will continue to improve their practices and followers.
Find out more ways to use LinkedIn to grow your social media presence by downloading our free LinkedIn guide.
