Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Recently we have worked closely with many B2B companies and helped them understand where social media sits within their organisation or for specific projects. Based on some of the biggest challenges they faced, here are four areas for B2B marketers to focus on right now:
Have more appropriate content online
Content is the lifeblood of social media. Without content it is difficult to have a digital strategy linked to your business objectives. It is important to identify:
• What content resonates with your potential customers and objectives
• What content works with particular sites that you want to use
A common mistake is concentrating on one site and then trying to make the content fit within the parameters of that site. The focus should be content first and then deciding which main sites are relevant for that particular content.
Ensure a strong focus on the ‘context’ behind content
One of our clients had an interesting fact: there is as much content uploaded to the Internet in one day now than in the whole of 2003. If this is the case then you need to ensure people can find your content. A common mistake marketers make is to upload a lot of content with no understanding of the importance of context. Before, or during, your content creation you need to ask yourself:
• How are people going to find this via search?
• Would my potential customers share this content with their other contacts?
• If I am using a site (LinkedIn), how can someone discover my content if they are looking at something similar?
We believe context is as important, if not more important, than content creation in 2013.
Ensure buy-in from senior management
Marketers this year should spend a portion of their time persuading senior management about the correct and most efficient use of applying social media. This year it is all about answering this question: So What?
Senior management wants to know how it can help improve objectives like retention, sales and customer service. Justifying with numbers is only a small part of the equation. Once you define your goal, tested your strategy and proven it works then it is an easier conversation to have with senior management and get their buy-in. Most senior managers now understand social media can help their organisation but still struggle to see the ROI. It is your job to prove that.
Yes – you need a mobile strategy!
Right now mobile is where SEO was in 1999 and social media in 2007. Many business leaders/marketers have said that they wish they had a SEO/social media strategy earlier. This is where mobile is and we need to avoid that conversation in a few years time. Make sure you have a mobile strategy that combines other elements of marketing. This is essential in the B2B world as most employees have a mobile phone with them at all times. And it is safe to assume that some type of business is done on the phone whether it is researching or emailing. Mobile is essentially putting your business in your client’s pocket so why would you not want to grab that opportunity.
So there you have it. Some of the biggest problems from last year and early this year that we believe need to be addressed. If you are interested in further information or knowing how we can help your organisation then please do not hesitate to contact us.
The post 4 Focal Points for B2B Social Media Marketing appeared first on The Worst Kept Secret - Bespoke Training in Social Media.