As we prepare for 2012, we'd like to share one of our most popular blogs from 2011. Shortly after we published this blog, we were contacted by the Social Media Manager for PostcardMania. They were certainly appreciative of being mentioned, but also had some new information. I'll let him tell you:
"Hi there, it's Ferris the Social Media Manager at PostcardMania. Thanks for sharing our story on your blog Sean! Since this case study launched on Social Media Examiner in early November, our statistics have grown rapidly. We are now just shy of 900 leads and our income is around the $120,000 mark.
You can bet we'll continue investing a good portion of our social media marketing efforts on LinkedIn for the coming year!"
What will your LinkedIn story be in 2012?
As prevalent as social media has become, there is still a reluctance for many businesses to fully embrace it.
As we have previously reported in this blog, social media use is up, especially among small businesses. Yet, a recent survey found that 56 percent of small businesses still do not use social media as part of their marketing strategy.
The reasons for the reluctance are varied, but there is most likely a very simple reason they have not adopted a social media marketing plan - they are just not convinced it can improve the bottom line. Rest assured that with a little diligence, it can.
One of the best case studies connecting the dots between social media activity and the bottom line comes from Social Media Examiner and involves LinkedIn, perhaps the least sexy of the major social media platforms. For PostcardMania, a Florida-based postcard marketing firm, using LinkedIn has added $72,000 to the bottom line.
How did they do it? By executing 5 simple tactics, all using LinkedIn:
The end results are pretty impressive: 600 leads from LinkedIn alone. Those 600 leads resulted in $72,000 in new business.
Now, LinkedIn is not the only social media channel that PostcardMania uses, but the results make a compelling case for making sure that your business includes a social media strategy as part of your overall marketing strategy in 2012.
For complete details on how PostcardMania used LinkedIn to generate $72,000 in new business, read the full case study at Social Media Examiner.com.
To learn more about Inbound Marketing and how it can help you attract more visitors, more leads and more customers, check out our offer on how to Turn Your Website Into a Sales Magnet.
Topics: Inbound Marketing, Content Marketing, Social Media
