B2B Social Media Strategy

B2B Social Media Strategy
How many small businesses really value a B2B social media strategy as a channel
to create awareness and drive customer acquisition? As the social media networks
and communities run into millions of business buyers on a journey of discovery the
question has to be asked
Is your business maximising the potential of
social marketing.
I am certainly not the only one who can prove that you can get leads and sales from
social media and track that success; however some marketing and PR people still
are not fully informed on what social media has been able to achieve in the past few
years. If any proof was needed I have many examples of B2B focused businesses
who have implemented a successful social strategy to engage buyers and drive
higher consideration levels for their product or service. Yet many companies still
have a very limited exposure or plan on to use social networks to help scale their
sales. Is it due to a lack of resources, maybe not sure of the value or return, maybe
you think your business or product does not warrant investing in social, uncertain as
to what social media can do or is it just a simple case of unsure as to how to
implement a social media strategy?
If you are a business owner selling into a B2B market then maybe it is time to
challenge some of your beliefs regarding the power of social. Nearly every business

size and type can utilise social networking to boost buyer consideration. As a starting
point let us discuss the various buzzwords and concepts we hear mentioned.
What does it mean to be a social business
The words “social media” can conjure up all types of ideas and meanings. While
most people will identify or even use platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook,
any strategy involving a social element is more than just profiles or getting followers.
Being a social business means defining a whole range of actions and goals that
match a bigger business. At the heart of it all social marketing is a belief, a concept,
and an approach to engaging people for work, pleasure, family, friends or business.
There were the ideals from which all platforms were created and I am sure on which
new ones will be formed. However it is not limited just to the platforms mentioned
above.
Social media allows us to open communication channels, local and global
interactions and instantly share information or news across large networks of people.
If we take a wider or bird’s eye view of how social can impact our business then we
switch from simply seeing B2B marketing as managing our Twitter account or
Facebook page towards really evaluating how much a B2B social media strategy can
help our business as a whole from sales to customer support to recruitment. The use
of social networks can rapidly improve how we communicate both internally and to
the external market which can open up all types of possibilities that go beyond the
traditional view of what social media does for a business.
Let me give you a powerful example as to what social media can achieve.
The Ice Bucket Challenge. Just a few short summers ago, we all were throwing
buckets of ice over ourselves or over someone else. It all started with someone living
with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) to raise awareness for people suffering from it. The

idea quickly spread, so fast that the ALS Association made it an official charity effort.
This fun activity, shared by so many of social media raised over $115 million for the
charity. It resulted in over one million related videos on Facebook videos and got
over two million mentions on Twitter.
Now I’m not suggesting business owner’s start throwing buckets of ice over their
heads but I am using this example as a reason to encourage anyone involved in B2B
sales or marketing to think broader about social. Even a small change in how we
view things can bring big change in what we prioritise.
There are many ways to extract value from
the social networks
There are many ways in which the networks can help those in a B2B market to
achieve their goals. A common issue I still find is that many B2B businesses still do
not fully understand how social media can help them.
Most social media strategy plans are centred on using social to engage directly with
a target audience. As a business network, LinkedIn is proving to be really effective
for B2B sales and for social selling. As how sales teams prospect for new customers
evolve then LinkedIn will increase in value for how sales people research and
engage potential customers.

Now I hear you say, “OK apart from LinkedIn where else can I use social media in a
B2B sales environment?” Well, it may surprise you but a business can use Twitter,
Facebook, Owler, Crunchbase, Medium, Google+, Pinterest, Wordpress and Blogger
to drive buyer engagement. This list is not exhaustive. The value in B2B social media
can be found in SEO, in readership, in views, in reviews, in referrals, in content
found and shared, for data in social conversations, in buyer’s profiles, in social data
and in potential buyer contact details.
There are tens if not hundreds of industry forums, interest groups and social
business groups which can be tapped into to increase awareness for your business.
Also think about what you can get out not just about what you have to put in
(content, articles, information news). Does your strategy involve using the networks
to source emails, telephone numbers, conference attendees, competitor analysis,
event details, buyer likes and interactions?
Social Media Strategy is not an option
It is a must have. The world and buyers are changing how we source vendors. The
average life expectancy of a company is now approx. fifteen years. Due to the
impact the internet has on all our lives whether consumer or business means the
world is moving fast and faster. As social media becomes more and more accessible
on mobile, TV and devices while time poor buyers turn to it to self discover for
purchasing decisions, then not engaging with it can leave you at a disadvantage.
Now is the time for B2B companies to really make social a key part of not only their
digital strategy but their overall business strategy.

B2B Social Media Strategy

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B2B Social Media Strategy