Hubspot’s Social Media Tool: How To and Why, From a Hubspot Partner

Hubspot is a tool! And like all tools if it’s not being used correctly you won’t achieve the results you desire or expect and that it is capable of delivering.

As a Hubspot Partner and Hubspot client I thought I’d share some of the ways I personally use the Hubspot tools. And like most of you out there, I too am time poor and guilty of not being consistent or using my Hubspot tool correctly.

Today’s article is about the Social Media Tool.

I plan on sharing more about the tools on Hubspot and how they help business so please subscribe to this blog if you would like to receive my Inbound Marketing and Hubspot updates.

The Social Media Tool:

Click on the top tab “Promote” and then “Social  Media”

If you haven’t already, set up the keywords you would like to be tracking across the social mediasphere and add in the relevant filters by clicking on ‘edit’.

This is also where you set up your social media accounts. Click on the option 'social media account' and choose to 'add' the accounts you have ie: Facebook, Linked, Twitter and Youtube. Then scroll down to choose how you want to use them. There are options for choosing whether you want them included in your Reach report or if you want to auto publish your blog to them when you publish your blog, or if  you want to be able to access them from the social media tool. And there is an option to have the link show up in the "Follow Me" widget.

Why is this tool so important?

No matter what your business goals are or strategies to achieve them, monitoring the social mediasphere for relevant keywords is a valuable tactic and here’s why:

1. Competitor Analysis: Monitor your competitors’ brand names, company, key personnel and stay up to date with what they’re doing.
2. Research and Development:  By monitoring what prospects are saying about your industry you may learn about new ways to market your product or service, or how you need to change your current products to better meet market demand or make valuable connections.
3.  Lead Generation: By monitoring keywords that represent the problem or need you provide a solution for, you have the opportunity to meet and connect with new people who may become valuable business partners or clients.
4. Build Authority: By monitoring keywords that represent your industry and area of expertise you have the opportunity to connect with bloggers and individuals who are posting questions on Linked In.  This provides a great opportunity to share your knowledge and position yourself as knowledgeable in your industry.
5. Link Building: Comment on blogs to get inbound links. The focus really needs to be on providing a valuable comment, otherwise you can do more damage to your reputation than good. But with that being said, remember that commenting often provides a link to your website so this should be part of your ongoing inbound link tactics.
6. Awareness: Engaging on social media sites is like networking, letting people know about your company, product or brand without using any pushy sales tactics.

 

If you use Hubspot I would love to hear from you. Are you wondering how to use a particular tool or how it’s going to help your business?  If you want to add to my list of benefits for using the Social Media Tool, Hubspot client or not, please do.

If you liked this post, please don’t forget to click on the ‘like’ button at the top. Thank you for reading.

 

 

How Traditional Marketers Can Make The Shift To Social Media Marketing

My career in marketing started before emails and the internet.  In fact in my first job (and Im under 40) I was using a typewriter.

Marketing in the early 90s didn't include acronyms like SEO, SEM and SMM. SWOT and the 4Ps were the ‘in' marketing jargon of the day. But for many of us ‘traditional' marketers, it is obvious that business owners and marketers must make the shift from print, radio and tv advertising to search engine and social media marketing. And if you provide a marketing service, from Advertising to Public Relations, you know you need to offer internet and web based marketing solutions to your clients.

So how do we make the transition from ‘traditional' marketing that is heavily focused on interruptive strategies like advertising and junk mail, to learning social media and search engine marketing? 

David Meerman Scott said in his Foreward for the Inbound Marketing book "... traditional marketers need to unlearn what they've learnt." Everything or just some things? How do we do that and where do we start?

I first discovered a company called Hubspot in 2007, I was impressed with their, very easy to use, website software that allowed business owners and marketers, without any technical  or web development skills create their own content and upload their own web pages.  I started using their software and learning their Inbound Marketing Methodology, sitting in on as many webinars as I could and reading their blog on a daily basis. Hubspot continues to evolve with the needs of their clients and now has an Inbound Marketing Service Directory for prospects or clients needing help or advice with Inbound Marketing - its basically a list of the who's who in Inbound Marketing Services, giving business owners and marketers an easy to find solution for making the move to inbound marketing.

If you provide a marketing service and would like to add ‘inbound marketing' strategies to your list of services, Hubspot is your answer.  This is a unique opportunity to stay up to date with latest in website, search engine and social media marketing.  The bonus is, once you're certified you'll receive qualified leads, prospects who are looking and needing your professional marketing service.  Since the directory started I've received leads on a regular basis all of which have converted into paying customers. It's a win/win/win situation for everyone involved.

If you're interested to learn more about Hubspot, Im both a client and Hubspot Partner and would be more than happy to answer any of your questions.

Where do you see Marketing heading in 2010? What are your thoughts on the Hubspot Service Directory for Inbound Marketing?

I look forward to your comments.

 

Inbound Marketing Takes Internet Marketing Live On Hubspot

Why do the experts in internet marketing turn to Hubspot?

As a Hubspot Partner Im always excited to help businesses get started with the Hubspot software and help them with their weekly marketing needs - however my newest client to Hubspot had me asking some questions...

Here's little background: Mahoney Internet Marketing is an internet marketing services agency.  MIM specializes in; Strategic Planning, Google Adwords, Buyer Personas, Google Analytics and Salesforce.com. I thought Hubspot was designed for marketing managers and business owners who really knew very little about websites and internet marketing, making it easier for them to market online and manage their website. So  Im curious, why then does an internet marketing expert need Hubspot, what value does it bring to them?  I asked Carole Mahoney the visionary and owner of Mahoney Internet Marketing why, and few other questions.

Inbound Marketing Solutions: Why were you initially interested in Hubspot?

Mahoney: Hubspot technology supports a closed loop marketing system and this is one of our primary goals when developing strategies for our clients.  Hubspot's ability to integrate with CRM packages like Salesforce.com enables the type of reporting to not only prove value, but to optimize marketing for conversion.

IMS: What was it about Hubspot that really sold you and compelled you to become a customer?

Mahoney:  I have been a long time proponent of Inbound marketing and until now been searching for a solution that makes inbound marketing easier to grow and manage without having to re-invent the wheel. As I learned more about  Hubspot's Inbound Marketing Methodology I quickly realized that their approach to marketing is nearly identical to my own philosophy. I did not have to re-align my processes or marketing strategy to fit within the technology. The technology supports the process and helps to improve it as new trends emerge with internet marketing.

IMS: What do you hope to achieve?

Mahoney: A one stop place to manage all of my inbound marketing that will grow and nurture leads. I am so thrilled with the software that we are currently in the process of becoming a certified Hubspot partner to extent it to all our clients- large and small.

IMS: How do you expect it will add value to your business?

Mahoney: I expect inbound leads to increase of course! I also expect that as MiM becomes a certified partner it will be much easier to provide a full spectrum of internet marketing services to our current and future clients. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

So what I learnt is that Hubspot is for the experts. And not only for their business but for their clients as well,  allowing them to provide a better service with tangible results.

If you're looking to extend your marketing services, generate more leads for your own business and your clients, talk to a Hubspot Partner and get started with a  free trial today!

 

 

  

 

Why I Asked To Be A Hubspot Partner

Several years ago I identified the need to optimize our website with keywords so we could rank higher in the search engines.  Through my research in looking for the ‘best' search engine optimization company to employ, I quickly learnt that SEO wasn't something that you do once, it was ongoing and continually changing.  Not only that, the seo experts I was speaking with charged in excess of $1000 with no guarantee.  I decided it was going to be cheaper and better long term, for me to learn seo and make the changes myself.  So I spent a considerable about of time studying SEO until I knew what we needed to do with regards to optimizing the website, headings, page titles, meta descriptions and rewriting the website copy.  But the next challenge I ran into was updating our website.  Our web developer charged $100 p/hr to make the changes. This didn't provide me with the flexibility I needed to upload new content, test and measure results and change offers, calls to action. Also we needed to start a blog, but again the cost factor outweighed any financial benefit we could foresee.  It was frustrating and expensive, to say the least.

So you can imagine my excitement, as a business owner when I discovered Hubspot. As a business owner, entrepreneur, who isn't a tech geek or web developer Hubspot made website development, seo and social media marketing doable and affordable. 

As a marketing consultant, I help business owners develop an effective website,  incorporating SEO and social media marketing. The one and only product, that I've come across, that is both user friendly, effective and helps business owners implement strategies, test and measure and ultimately get results is Hubspot! And that is why I asked to be a Hubspot Partner.

If you haven't already, check out the marketing effectiveness of your website with Hubspot's Website Grader.  And if you have any questions about Hubspot or Inbound Marketing please ask, I look forward to helping you.