Imogen Pickton, Account Manager, Veritas Digital Marketing
Imogen Pickton, Account Manager at Veritas Digital Marketing
Can you give our readers some background on the main social platforms you use to grow your business?
As a freelancer, I began on LinkedIn and still primarily use it as well as Instagram. When I was starting out I really wanted to make connections within the industry and generate organic leads so LinkedIn seemed to be the best option. For me, Instagram has been more of a place to make industry friends and experiment with video content.
Can you share a memorable example of how you leveraged social media to achieve significant business growth or a specific marketing objective?
To put it simply, had I not joined LinkedIn I wouldn’t be where I am now! When I created my account I was just beginning to explore marketing as a career path and learning about the value of personal branding. This is what led to me creating content and starting the process of building my own personal brand in summer 2021. It’s ultimately my online presence that led to my current role as an Account Manager at Veritas Digital Marketing. As a freelancer I’d say at least 80% of the leads I’ve had and the clients I’ve worked with have come from LinkedIn and without it I wouldn’t have been able to build a portfolio as quickly as I did. It’s such a good platform to make a name for yourself and catch the attention of key decision makers, which as a freelancer is invaluable.
What strategies or tactics have you found successful in building and engaging your social media audience?
I’d say the key to building an engaged audience is to focus on community! If there’s no interaction or understanding on your part it’s unlikely that your audience will feel a connection to you. There are technical things I do such as posting early in the morning and creating a range of content but the biggest thing is to truly be yourself. It’s easy to just relay facts or share details about industry news but that’s something anyone could do.
It’s your opinion and your insight that make you stand out and allows your audience to actually connect with you on a personal level. You can’t just copy big creators and expect it to work for you because at the end of the day, it’s your brand. It’s more impactful when you focus on your passions and work towards building a community rather than just growing a following.
Are there any quick fixes that anyone can make to instantly improve their personal or business social profile?
Look at your bio, without any other information would someone who doesn’t know you be able to tell what you offer and who for? You need to be including keywords in your profile that you know those needing you will be searching for. Our attention spans are short, not everyone will scroll down your profile to read your about section or see your content. By quickly optimising for search and reviewing your wording you can make sure that you’re making the best possible first impression.
Is there any one tactic you'd recommend to people who want to grow their business using social media?
Experiment! A social media strategy isn’t a one size fits all solution so what works well for someone else probably won’t work for you. This is why experimentation and metric tracking is so important. I'd recommend to try our different content types, varying the structure and see what resonates with your audience best. This allows you to figure out what you want to speak about and also pinpoint where you can stand out online so that you can lean into that and optimise your success.
Are there any accounts you follow to find inspiration for your own content?
As a social media marketer a lot of the content I create is centred around marketing techniques and campaign examples that are influential. I like to follow pages like Pretty Little Marketer & Because of Marketing because they share campaigns as well as key news updates. Whilst learning about the industry this has been really helpful for me!
Can you share any insights on creating compelling and shareable content on social media that resonates with your target audience?
If you’re wanting to create a post that is compelling or shareable it needs to be emotive in some way. The best way to do this is to use your insight and tap into your own emotions. If I want to create a compelling post about breaking into the industry the best way I can connect with my audience is to speak about my journey as this is what sets me apart from any other creator. Similarly, if I want to create a meme that will really resonate with social media managers I can think about my own experiences and draw on that for inspiration. The key to evoking that emotional response within your audience is to know them and use that knowledge as a basis to plan your content.
How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media efforts and how often do you do this?
On a weekly basis I make a note of the metrics of each post and my follower count on my content calendar. This then allows me to review my metrics at the end of the month to see which posts have performed the best and which haven’t met my expectations. Once I’ve looked over the performance of my content I then use the data to make informed decisions when I create my content calendar for the following month.
Finally, looking ahead, what emerging trends or changes do you foresee in the social media landscape, and how do you plan to adapt your social strategy to meet them?
It has become such a buzzword recently but for myself and my clients I’m really focusing on authenticity. Personally, it’s been a case of looking at my content and seeing where I can add unique value and create content that is true to the brand I want to build. It’s also been a case of figuring out what I want to achieve online and the impact I want my personal brand to have. Earlier on this year I started a newsletter aimed at young marketers to share the advice and information I wish I’d had starting out. I’m really passionate about helping those individuals so this newsletter feels really authentic to my brand! I’ve also started to create video content as posts where I’m speaking directly to the camera can let my audience feel a lot more connected to me than they would through a carousel. To me it’s about making sure that community aspect is there and diversifying your content to ensure your audience knows what you stand for and resonate with that message. Authenticity doesn’t need to be complicated but it can play a key role in the decision of someone looking to work with you.
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