Everyone is busy. We do not have time for nonproductive things during the work hour (or any hour). Though time is sparse, one of the biggest mistakes an organization can make is ignore their social channels. Finding both the time and resources to market via social media can be difficult. Not only do you have to find the content, but you have to decipher what channels to be on and what to post on each. But, it is something that should be a key part of your overall marketing strategy.

With social media integration tools like HubSpot, Hootsuite, etc. there are ways you can implement and manage your social strategy in a less time consuming manner. Inbound marketing tactics like scheduling posts using keywords, building lists and marketing automation and social monitoring can help limit time and be successful.

Below we've broken down the four stages of the inbound methodology to explain why you should be active on your social channels.

Attract - You want to attract the RIGHT people to your site (your buyer personas). Blogging is a simple way to attract your audience by answering their questions using keywords. Your keywords will show up in search leading them, hopefully, to the beginning of their buyer's journey with you.

Convert - The converting stage consists of forms, calls-to-action and landing pages. You can promote your offers (eBooks, checklists, webinar, etc.) on all of your social channels with a strong CTA leading them to your landing page with the offer. Once the user fills out this form to download you content, you have what you have been waiting for - their email address. It may seem insignificant, but you now have a contact record and can continue to market to them.

Close - It's time to close this lead into a customer. Now that you have a contact record and know what they are interested in, you can email market them...wait for it...based on their interests from their tweets. Put each user in a select workflow to continue the conversation. Email marketing automation is key here to send them content based on what pages they are viewing on your site along with their personal Twitter account.

Delight - Congratulations! Your lead has turned into a customer. However, you are not done there. Continue to delight them by keeping track of the social conversations. Social monitor and listen for their questions, likes or dislikes, questions, etc. Also, send surveys in order to make sure you are providing your customers with what they're looking for.