A new study by Sirius Decisions found that only 50% of B2B use social media, and just 10% of those companies see business value from their efforts. But social marketing is crucial for B2B brands, and good strategies can make your organization stand out. Here are some best practices.
Support corporate customers as if they were people
B2B companies sometimes forget the more personal aspect of their marketing efforts. But even if your average customer is a global shipping company, it’s still made up of people who want to be engaged, informed, and entertained. Business-operations brands such as Cisco and Constant Contact all have Twitter accounts dedicated to customer support. Their successful profiles (more than 65,000 followers for Cisco) prove that you don’t have to be a “fun” consumer-facing brand like JetBlue or Tasti D-Lite to reach out to fans and respond to their questions and complaints.
Great content always succeeds.
Even “boring” companies can create great social media content that engages current customers and creates awareness among potential partners. For example, commercial real estate company CBRE rises above what could be boring material to showcase beautiful architecture and skylines on Instagram. General Electric has a board on Pinterest called “Badass Machines.” Hootsuite hosts training videos on YouTube, perhaps in response to IDG Connect B2B’s recent survey that found 89% of IT buyers are looking for educational content. Share behind-the-scenes photos, “leak” upcoming news on Twitter, create a Vine video of your employees wishing everyone a happy Valentine’s Day or Independence Day or Thanksgiving. In most cases, photos and videos and posts don’t have to be perfect — or approved by the CEO — to be shared on social channels.
Business partners make great Facebook friends.
Use your partners’ and vendors’ social media efforts to amplify your own. Tag them in your photos and link to them in your posts. Like and comment on their content. They’ll appreciate your actions and share your content on their own channels. This will strengthen your connection and put your brand in front of new audiences. HP illustrated this when they tweeted about Microsoft and were retweeted 50 times in less than 24 hours. SAP tagged one of its hospital customers on Facebook. Siemens shared a photo from the United Launch Alliance on Instagram. Even if the connections are clear and direct, the simple act of highlighting the work of other organizations makes yours look magnanimous and respectful — and in the company of some major players.
Take it seriously.
Don’t think of social media as an afterthought or a small addition to your overall marketing efforts. Put someone in charge, set goals, and create accounts where you think your audience and your content will most benefit. Then track your progress with online tools, many of which have free options. The aforementioned Hootsuite has a great free version that allows you to schedule posts and monitor up to five accounts, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google Plus. SocialMention adds a “sentiment” feature, to determine whether your response from customers is positive, negative, or neutral. Topsy includes even more analytics and social trend information, also for free. I’d add IceRocket to this list, which seems to improve each time I visit it.
Use these tips to create a social media presence, produce interesting content, and engage your corporate customers.
Let Brandemix apply more than 10 years of success towards helping your company expand its social marketing to make 2015 a productive year. Contact me for details or click here to see what we’ve done for our clients.
Jody Ordioni is President of Brandemix.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
