With social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook taking over the world, it is not surprising to see the world of online marketing shift massively. The way you promote your business online has had to change and adapt to make room for social media. But online marketers have a lot to contend with right now.
With Google's algorithm changes - Penguin and Panda - still biting hard, do you really have the time to implement social media marketing? And is it possible to build a meaningful community around your brand? Regardless of any reservations you may have, all B2B company's should be embracing social media marketing.
Here we look at five top tips for building, monitoring, and maintaining an effective B2B social media strategy:
1. Conversation
As the name suggests, social networking is all about communication. In the world of B2B, it is especially important that you have an active online presence to maintain your authority in the community. Use Twitter hashtags and trending topics to join in the conversations your followers are already having. Find out what people in your industry are talking about, and add something of value to the conversation.
Social networking is at its most fruitful when there is a 'human' element behind it; but a great marketer knows how to balance this with professionalism. Users like to see that social media pages aren't just an automated feed. Creating and joining into these conversations is the easiest, but most effective way to boost your following.
2. Vary Your Content
Online marketers often see social media as nothing more than a way of promoting their business, and distributing their content. However, being purely promotional isn't going to work in your favour at all. To get the most out of social media, you need to share articles of note from authority figures, 'real' issues, and much more.
By diversifying the content you promote, you can reach out to more than just your usual customer base. You want to appeal to your target audience, without alienating other users.
3. Managing Your Time
It can be difficult to effectively manage your time, especially when you have multiple social media profiles. Keeping up an active presence is key to success, but it's important to keep on top of all your other marketing jobs as well.
If you struggle to manage your time, dashboards such as Tweetdeck and Hootsuite are ideal for helping you out. All your accounts can be integrated into one online programme, allowing you to post as and when you need to. These dashboards also allow you to schedule posts, which is a great way to save time.
4. Audience Engagement
Previous SEO (search engine optimisation) and link building efforts will have already built you a reader base and online profile. Utilise this by including social sharing buttons on your blog posts. These buttons let people share your posts with their followers, while staying put on your site. Similarly, don't be afraid to ask your readers to share posts in your call-to-action.
Another way to easily encourage engagement is by simply signing off your posts with your name. People will know who they're talking to, and feel like their queries are being dealt with.
5. Achievement Focused
Like with any form of marketing, you need to know what your goals are. Are you looking to increase email sign-ups and sales, or do you just want an increase in engagement? With these goals your main focus, you should be tailoring your social media efforts to help you achieve them.
The social media dashboards we talked about earlier allow you to track the number of times your links have been clicked; a great way to see your most popular posts. If your posts aren't performing as well as you would like, this will help you shift the focus to the things that are proving successful. Like with all forms of marketing, you need to be in a position to grow and adapt to what your audience want.
Social media is still a new concept marketing approach, so marketers are still finding their feet. For B2B marketers, it can be challenging to yield results quickly. What we do know though, is that having an active social media presence is becoming more and more important. Are you really in a position to be missing out?
With Google's algorithm changes - Penguin and Panda - still biting hard, do you really have the time to implement social media marketing? And is it possible to build a meaningful community around your brand? Regardless of any reservations you may have, all B2B company's should be embracing social media marketing.
Here we look at five top tips for building, monitoring, and maintaining an effective B2B social media strategy:
1. Conversation
As the name suggests, social networking is all about communication. In the world of B2B, it is especially important that you have an active online presence to maintain your authority in the community. Use Twitter hashtags and trending topics to join in the conversations your followers are already having. Find out what people in your industry are talking about, and add something of value to the conversation.
Social networking is at its most fruitful when there is a 'human' element behind it; but a great marketer knows how to balance this with professionalism. Users like to see that social media pages aren't just an automated feed. Creating and joining into these conversations is the easiest, but most effective way to boost your following.
2. Vary Your Content
Online marketers often see social media as nothing more than a way of promoting their business, and distributing their content. However, being purely promotional isn't going to work in your favour at all. To get the most out of social media, you need to share articles of note from authority figures, 'real' issues, and much more.
By diversifying the content you promote, you can reach out to more than just your usual customer base. You want to appeal to your target audience, without alienating other users.
3. Managing Your Time
It can be difficult to effectively manage your time, especially when you have multiple social media profiles. Keeping up an active presence is key to success, but it's important to keep on top of all your other marketing jobs as well.
If you struggle to manage your time, dashboards such as Tweetdeck and Hootsuite are ideal for helping you out. All your accounts can be integrated into one online programme, allowing you to post as and when you need to. These dashboards also allow you to schedule posts, which is a great way to save time.
4. Audience Engagement
Previous SEO (search engine optimisation) and link building efforts will have already built you a reader base and online profile. Utilise this by including social sharing buttons on your blog posts. These buttons let people share your posts with their followers, while staying put on your site. Similarly, don't be afraid to ask your readers to share posts in your call-to-action.
Another way to easily encourage engagement is by simply signing off your posts with your name. People will know who they're talking to, and feel like their queries are being dealt with.
5. Achievement Focused
Like with any form of marketing, you need to know what your goals are. Are you looking to increase email sign-ups and sales, or do you just want an increase in engagement? With these goals your main focus, you should be tailoring your social media efforts to help you achieve them.
The social media dashboards we talked about earlier allow you to track the number of times your links have been clicked; a great way to see your most popular posts. If your posts aren't performing as well as you would like, this will help you shift the focus to the things that are proving successful. Like with all forms of marketing, you need to be in a position to grow and adapt to what your audience want.
Social media is still a new concept marketing approach, so marketers are still finding their feet. For B2B marketers, it can be challenging to yield results quickly. What we do know though, is that having an active social media presence is becoming more and more important. Are you really in a position to be missing out?
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