Next up in our expert interview series, we chat to who values the work of online content in how it can upskill and support digital audiences across the globe. Check out her vital insight here…
Summarise your role and what Plume stands for
We’re a niche E-Learning design and development agency that serves UK and international clients. Frustrated by the limitations – and the ongoing expense – with off-the-shelf learning management systems (LMS), we’re able to create a fully customised system for organisations.
We also offer other specialist E-Learning services such as tailored marketing packages, conversion rate optimisation and landing page design.
How do you best utilise social media and social selling techniques for Plume?
It’s a great place for us to share our work with other E-Learning developers and course content creators. We use a combination of posting on our channels and into groups to maximise our reach.
For the most part, sharing on social media keeps our profiles active and acts as a digital portfolio to help us handpick content from a range of resources and case studies, so we can share them with our various audiences. We often find that people will check our profiles to reaffirm our trustworthiness and digital marketing skills.
LinkedIn provides us with the best engagement tool – the value of comments and interactions offers us a powerful way of gaining further endorsement, and reaching wider connections.
What do you like/dislike the most about social media?
I fear I’d run the risk of creating an essay about what I like! But if I had to pick one thing, it would be the connectivity. Social media can be an inspiring place – allowing users to connect with thought leaders, family and friends.
It’s extremely challenging for small organisations to make social media work for them. Building a following is more challenging as it requires expertise, time and creativity with a very low ROI. For business owners, unless they see their online networks as a selling channel, they’ll likely deprioritise sharing – leaving behind a scarcely updated profile.
How important is content for the lead generation that Plume does?
It’s essential. We aim to create weekly blogs or case studies to demonstrate our expertise, and they’re proving to be a great way of connecting with more customers and prospects.
Additionally, being able to curate an array of online resources is especially important because it shows how much we care about the industry, and that we truly understand our clients.
Are you a fan of employee advocacy? If so, how do you use it in Plume?
Again, this is vital for our business. As a digital marketing specialist, I know how crucial it is for me to share my clients’ passion for what they do. If I can’t speak to them, it’s often hard to get that ‘spark’, making it harder for me to translate what they do and – most importantly – why they do it.
The same can be said from an in-house perspective too. Believing in the company, and knowing it does the right things for its clients, makes it easier to write blogs and web copy – and shout about it.
We have an incredibly talented and passionate team at Plume and if someone didn’t share that same ethos, it would make their job less rewarding. We’re not given incentives per se (no KPIs), but we do share in the success of the business in a variety of ways.
Who are you a big fan of on social media? And why do you like what they post?
I’m a big fan of YouTube – I learn from narration and visual aids, so it’s a great place to pick up new ideas and buff my digital marketing skills even further. I really enjoy Ahrefs’ and Search Engine Journal’s videos because they both provide a lot of useful content and I love falling down the rabbit hole of SEO.
I’ve also really been getting into The Futur – a YouTube profile that covers topics such as sales and client management that’s specifically aimed at helping creative industry professionals.
How do you think social media has evolved – and what do you expect for the next 12 months?
I think the biggest evolution seen has been across LinkedIn. It’s gone from being a niche, professional platform to becoming more of an interactive sharing network. It’s paving the way for employees to share their business highs and lows and, when considering that we spend 50% of our time at work, this is a great way to post about career lessons and advice.
What I’d like to see next is greater transparency and control over our settings and online data – not because I’m too afraid of how my data is used, but more around the fact that I care about a tailored experience.
I’m perhaps one of a few who does want to see relevant ads, but I also want to know who the people are behind the brands. Additionally, I use social media to read real-time stories and have a pet-hate for fake news and misinformation, so I hope these sites step up their game when it comes to reviewing content – it’s time to stop cutting corners and make digital processes effective and efficient for all.