6 Social Media Marketing Case Study Lessons

Here on the HubSpot blog we're big on posting simple how-to content on how to do inbound marketing. But as helpful as how-to information can be, it still helps to read about how marketers are taking these principles and implementing them in their businesses. Below are some of our favorite case studies of companies succeeding with inbound marketing. You can also read more about companies seeing great ROI from inbound marketing here.

Lesson: Tap into your customer community to drive product innovation.

Case Study : Fiskars tapped into their vibrant community of crafters - dubbed " Fiskateers " - to get invaluable product feedback and spot-on ideas for new product innovation. The result: threefold increase in year-over-year sales. >" target="_blank">Read "How Crafters Transformed a Company" >>

Lesson: Listen to what people say about your brand to improve your marketing and sales communications.

Case Study : By monitoring (and responding) to brand mentions in social media, we at HubSpot were able to gain valuable insight into the effectiveness of our communications. The result: improving our sales process to communicate more effectively with prospects. >" target="_blank">Read "How Social Media Can Improve Your Sales Process (A Real Business Case Study)" >>

Lesson: Act fast and get the attention of mainstream media.

Case Study : After the news broke (on Twitter) of Croatia's Prime Minister's sudden resignation, one internet marketer quickly set up a related Facebook group that drew the attention and coverage of mainstream media. The result: coverage from multiple mainstream media outlets, growing the group from 300 to 100,000 (the largest Facebook group in Croatia). >" target="_blank">Read "How to Grab the Attention of Mainstream Media With a Simple Facebook Group" >>

Lesson: Create unique content to drive inbound links and blogger coverage.

Case Study : Technorati's own State of the Blogosphere report attracted the attention of major industry bloggers, without pitching or pushing their story. The result: coverage and links from influential blogs like TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb . >" target="_blank">Read "Looking for Links? Give Bloggers Something to Blog About" >>

Lesson: Use a blog to attract potential customers to your business - even in surprising industries.

Case Study : Fencing supplier Louis E. Page Inc really took off when now-owner Duncan Page added a blog to the business website. Duncan himself was surprised to find an article about how to use woven wire fencing to build a horse paddock attracted more than 1,500 views alone. The result: traffic, media coverage, and an 850% increase in sales leads. >" target="_blank">Read & watch the NECN TV segment "Business finds success through social networking" >>

Lesson: Use multiple inbound marketing techniques together for maximum success.

Case Study : Clinical oncology solutions company Elekta took on their much bigger competitors not with one inbound marketing technique, but many. Creating content, building links, engaging in social media, optimizing landing pages. The result: increased traffic and organic search rankings. >" target="_blank">Read "13 Steps That Transformed One Company From Invisible King to Sought Leader" >>

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