Periodically, Timmermann Group will introduce you to one of our talented team members so that you can learn more about them, their role at TG and their approach to helping our clients achieve their business goals and objectives.
This month, we spent some time with Brandon Judd, our Senior Social Media Specialist, to learn more about the importance of social media in any business’s marketing plan.
What is your approach to social media?
The advice I give to any brand or organization utilizing social media is to be genuine about what your message is and what your passions are. People respond very well to someone being upfront about what they want and what they hope to achieve. Attempting to be something you’re not and inserting yourself into every social media trend or passing meme is easy for your audience to see through. Focus on your message and like-minded people will respond to it.
Any good strategy starts with goals. Great content and a large following is a good start, but they mean nothing if you have no clear goals or mission set. Those goals of a bigger following, increased engagement or more conversion will determine what kind of content and voice you will develop.
In your opinion, what are some brands that are doing social media right?
For the brand message aspect, Lego is a great example of a brand that stays true to its main tenets of creativity and imagination. They take a simple set of blocks and show how they can be a jet or a racecar, something every kid has done. They also showcase the people designing and making their products, showing the motivation behind what they do.
On the other side of it, I love the MoonPie Twitter account. The personality behind the account is that of a somewhat uncaring teenager. The tongue-in-cheek approach is irreverent, funny, entertaining and incredibly engaging.
What are the benefits of working with an agency for social media?
The biggest benefit is that an agency like Timmermann Group has a talented staff of experienced people devoted to content creation, strategy, analytics—every part of the social media planning and implementation process. You would have to hire at least a dozen highly skilled, full-time employees to achieve the same successful impact and results that an agency can provide.
What would you say to a company that is skeptical about whether social media is right for their business?
The biggest misconception that many business owners have is that the industry they’re in or the product they offer isn’t interesting or ‘cool’ enough for social media or that social media is meant for just entertainment. All the potential customers they’ve been cold calling, putting up billboards for or trying to reach in print ads are all on social media. The direct connection that a business can make on social media versus more traditional advertising methods is incredibly valuable when it comes to building brand awareness and growing a customer base. Further, advertising on every social media platform can target potential customers in ways the shotgun approach to promotion with older forms of advertising just can’t compete with.
What do you see as the future of this growing department at Timmermann Group?
We have a strong foundation of talented, experienced people, and I hope to take the strengths that each individual person brings to the table and apply to them to what we offer each client so that we’re giving our best every time.
Click here to learn more about how Timmermann Group can help your business grow via social media marketing.