As we all know, there are several different types of traffic channels for your site: paid, earned, social, organic, etc.  For a refresher, just check out the Acquisition tab in your Google Analytics account. Too many times we see our clients segment their SocialToaster campaign (as well as their other paid social media and digital marketing efforts), keeping ST as its own channel cloistered away from other marketing initiatives. Not only does this approach weaken a client’s SocialToaster program, it also handicaps their other marketing efforts.

At SocialToaster, we  advocate that marketing strategies are best supported when integrated. To silo off one media from the other is like trying to sit straight on a three legged chair. You can balance on it all you want, but pretty soon you’re going to fall on your a*s.

So what are some ways social advocacy can support paid social media efforts, and vice-versa?

3 Ways to Integrate SocialToaster into your Paid Social Media Efforts

Use Paid Media to Support Recruitment into Your SocialToaster Program

Organic and social recruitment are fantastic ways to build an initial SocialToaster program audience. But how do you get your program in front of individuals that may be disengaged with their alma mater? The answer: paid social media. Don’t be afraid to run paid media campaigns to support your recruitment efforts. After all, the more people in your SocialToaster program, the more powerful the network created and the greater your ROI.

For most paid recruitment efforts, we recommend utilizing the Facebook advertising platform. Facebook offers a ton of targeting choices and is a natural fit for the social nature of your SocialToaster program. We recommend that you begin by targeting individuals that already like and engage with your Facebook and Instagram page, as well as any email marketing lists you can upload as a custom audience.

Once you feel you’ve tapped out on this audience, take it a step further by targeting “Friends of Fans” of your page to drive further engagement – be sure to use interest targeting to better refine this audience even further.

Need even more convincing to run recruitment ads? Keep in mind that that any recruitment ads you run are going to be branded as your association or school. This means that your recruitment ads can also support your paid social media goals in terms of driving branded impressions, frequency and share of voice. Two birds, one stone.

Use SocialToaster Data to Create Custom and Look-a-Like Audiences

More and more digital platforms are allowing brands to create custom audiences. This is a fantastic opportunity for organizations with a SocialToaster program. You ambassadors are individuals that went to your school and like your message enough to share it on their social networks. Not to sound obvious, but this is a pretty clear sign that these same individuals are more likely to also donate time or money, purchase school-branded gear, and attend school athletics, events, and functions. To start advertising to these individuals, export a list of your users from SocialToaster and import that list into your paid social media platform of choice. Presto, you’ve just created an audience of curated individuals ready to engage!

Kick it up even further and use your SocialToaster custom audiences to create look-a-like audiences. Facebook makes this practice simple by searching its user base to find individuals that share similar characteristics with individuals on your master list. Look-a-like audiences are a great place to start in supporting recruitment campaigns (to drive additional members into your Socialtoaster program) and in support of any direct response campaigns, but again, pare down these potential users by school-based interests.

Use SocialToaster to Support Remarketing Efforts

While custom audiences are a great avenue for utilizing your individual ambassadors, don’t forget you can also tap into the SocialToaster page itself to support your paid media campaigns. Remarketing campaigns are a proven tool for driving actions and improving your paid media ROI. Your SocialToaster program can help support your remarketing efforts; all it takes is a bit of code placed on your website and on your SocialToaster program signup page and your remarketing campaign has the ability to tap into this audience.

Compliment Paid Media with Organic Advocacy

There are a myriad of ways that alumni advocacy can lift your paid social media and digital marketing campaigns. Want to learn more? Contact us today to set up a demo and you’ll see why over 75 of the top college and university alumni associations across the country choose SocialToaster to engage their alumni ambassadors and reach more people with their content.