On September 19, I joined the Philadelphia HubSpot User Group for their technology roundtable event, which brought together experts in SEO, social media, email marketing, and coding to answer the HUG community's most pressing content marketing questions. There, I led a discussion about using social media in conjunction with larger marketing efforts to help brands large and small connect and, ultimately, convert online.

If you missed the event, here are a few of my favorite takeaways!

UNDERSTAND HOW USERS FIND CONTENT

Much of what individual users see in their social feeds is curated by an ever-changing algorithm that aims to show the content with which they're most likely to engage. Facebook's algorithm, for example, is comprised of three different components:

• Affinity: how close a user is to the content creator
• Weight: the importance of the action taken by the content creator or others that a user is connected to
• Time Decay: how long it's been since the post went live

USE ANALYTICS TO ENSURE AUDIENCE ALIGNMENT

Every brand has a target market, but not every channel can ensure that marketers are reaching that select group. Diving into Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics can help marketers determine whom they're reaching across channels, how their content resonates with that audience (Facebook's Ad Relevance Score can help here!), and how to better target content going forward. To test content in the short-term, Instagram Stories can help brands create content to engage quickly and drive action. Check out our best practices for creating impactful Instagram Stories here.

DON'T BE AFRAID OF ADVERTISING 

For brands with small budgets and big hesitation about the value of putting advertising dollars behind social posts, there's no reason to shy away from promoted posts. In fact, brands can test the waters for as little as $5 per day on Facebook! Try it out, experiment a little, and see what you can learn about your audience and your content.

The conversation at Philly HUG's technology roundtables was engaging and fun. If you were there, share your favorite learnings with me. If you want to know more, check out their upcoming events!