There are countless examples of how social media can drive brand awareness, reputation and ultimately sales in the B2C space. What about in B2B marketing?
We all know we should engage with this new channel, but how do we make it work? Here are my thoughts on the subject:
- Get up to date advice – the online world is constantly changing, it’s easy to be out of date quickly.
- Understand the channels and tools available – LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, blogs the list is endless…
- Identify where your audience is engaged – is Facebook relevant?
- Define your objectives and strategy for this new channel – how will you measure success?
- Get corporate buy-in – the Board and your product/service experts will be critical in developing your social media strategy.
- Create a social media policy – whether it’s war and peace or a one pager, guidelines are important to provide employees with parameters.
- Integrate social media into your marketing mix – like any marketing technique, it cannot stand alone and be highly effective.
- Cross-promote your channels – give your audience choice in how they can interact with your business, but ake sure they know abou the choices available.
- Review and analyse – what’s working, what isn’t? Don’t switch off a channel without taking time to tweak and test.
- Plan for the long term – ensure you can continue to service the social media channel. Little and often is more effective than a burst then nothing.
Ultimately, following these steps and building a quality network, with quality content, using a strong personality will delier you profitable relationships through social media.
