• 29Jan

  The Progression of B2B in Social Media

  SociaLNK No Comments

  Social media can work for B2B companies just as well as for B2C companies. So why aren’t more B2B marketers jumping on board? There are a few misconceptions people may have about the use of B2B social media marketing. First, you may think no one uses social media for B2B interactions. Blogger Rebecca Kelley at 10e20 says this is false: “Businesspeople are using multiple resources and investing aggressively in different media channels,” she writes. Also, the investment you make in social media will depend upon your industry. Not every business should place as much emphasis on social media as every other business. A second misunderstanding is the role of community in social media. It should not be an obligation, according to Kelley, but rather, an opportunity. A third myth about social media in B2B is that results are hard to measure. This, again, is not true. Kelley says, “Social media is very measurable… as long as you’re clear about business goals and make measurement a priority.” Blogger John Stauffer adds that “everything can be traced back to the number of leads generated and converted,” and this is where your return of investment (ROI) becomes real. The results will be there.

  After dispelling these myths of B2B social media, what is the truth about it? Sometimes it may seem that a connection through social media is not worth the effort, but for B2B marketers, this is the norm. Building a relationship leads to trust. The more your potential customer knows about you, the greater a chance for a big sale in the end. The difference between B2B and B2C is very often time. So do not be afraid to take the time and put in the effort to build trust.

  What are other myths you have believed about B2B? How is your marketing proving them false?

  • 
• 29Jan

  Ten Steps to Success in Content Marketing

  SociaLNK No Comments

  In social media, quality content is vital. A blog can be a very powerful tool in your social media strategy. In fact, a recent survey on Technorati showed the following results:

  • 15% of bloggers say they are paid to give speeches on the topics they blog about
  • 71% of all respondents who maintain blogs for a business – their own or one they work for – report that they have increased their visibility within their industries through their blogs
  • 56% say that their blog has helped their company establish a positioning as a thought leader within the industry
  • 58% say that they are better-known in their industry because of their blog

  Blogger Adam Singer asserts that, “continually sharpening your content creation skills is core to being an effective digital marketing or PR professional.” Singer expounds on this point by naming ten ways to improve your content, and “make your… marketing efforts succeed”:

  1)      Be Certain Your Content Matters. “The goal of content marketing,” says Singer, “is… to inspire trust, grow your reputation and influence your market.” Only content that matters can accomplish this.

  2)      Stand Out From the Crowd. There are over 900,000 blog posts published every 24 hours. To make yours remarkable, think outside the box and don’t be afraid to shake things up. Just because you may be the only one doing things a certain way, doesn’t mean it is a bad thing. Draw attention to your blog and company by taking a chance with your content.

  3)      Produce Content in a Timely Manner. Avoid micromanagement and long approval processes of content, says Singer.

  4)      Have a Personality! Especially when reading blog posts, readers expect a certain tone of comradery, not business-ese.

  5)      Build Connections Through Your Content. The more visibility you have, the better.

  6)      Be Genuine. Singer advises not to worry about perfection as much as setting the right tone with your content.

  7)      Be Creative With Formatting. Making your content more attractive will increase the liklihood of more visibility on your site.

  8)      That Goes For Headlines, Too. Create a title that will make readers want to get to your blog.

  9)      Provide Quality Content on a Consistent Basis. It cannot be said enough: be consistent, and make sure your content is relevant!

  10)  Don’t Force Promotion of Bad Content. Instead, says Singer, think of content marketing as an “organic process.”

  How can you improve your content using Singer’s steps?

  • 
• 29Jan

  The Five C’s of Social Media Marketing

  SociaLNK No Comments

  Earlier this week, I talked about the Four C’s of Marketing. Apparently, this term means different things to different people in the marketing industry. Roy McClean said: Customer, Cost, Convenience, and Communication. His focus was on the customer (B2C Marketing), while Paul Dunay scribed a different set of C’s for B2B companies. Dunay’s C’s are: Content, Connection, Communication, and Conversion. With the rise of social media marketing (SMM), Dunay’s set seems to be more accurate. However, I recently came across an article by Erin Ryan in which she talked about the FIVE C’s of Social Media. (Not surprisingly, some of Dunay’s C’s overlap with Ryan’s.)

  According to Ryan, the Five C’s of Social Media (and, SMM, we can assume) are:

  1)      Connect: Keep in mind that who you connect with matters. You should be seeking quality followers, not just a large quantity of followers.

  2)      Communicate: “Don’t wait for people to talk to you,” advises Ryan. And when starting a conversation, “ask open ended questions” in order to get to know your connections that much better.

  3)      Consistent: Remain active on your social media sites. A customer will quickly move on if they don’t see responses from you. Ryan suggests “promoting, sharing photos or videos, giving tips and lists or… leaving comments.”

  4)      Constructive: Deal with negative feedback well, says Ryan. You may not always receive a favorable review or poll result, but the way you handle it can still reflect well on your company.

  5)      Care: Take care of your customers, and care about the quality of your content as well. What you do in social media matters; it is not good enough to interact on a social level unless you truly care about what you are doing. It will show if you don’t.

  Ryan adds that all of these together will generate Community (a sixth C), for your business, which will improve your status in the social media world.

  How do you respond to Ryan’s (or Dunay’s, or McClean’s) C’s? What tips keep your business in the social media loop?

  • 
• 28Jan

  Five R’s of Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses

  SociaLNK No Comments

  In case you were wondering, yes, social media is right for your small business. The important thing to remember when launching a social media marketing (SMM) strategy is simply to nail down a great plan, and don’t be overwhelmed by the process. SMM may seem like something your business should not invest in, but in today’s market it is becoming more of a necessity to reach out to consumers in this way.

  Recognize who your target audience is first. This will take a lot of the guesswork out of SMM. When you have narrowed down who you are reaching out to, then you can decide where that audience is (mostly on Facebook, for example) and focus your SMM energy there.

  Remember your plan. Do not let the vastness of the social media sphere scare you away from marketing there before you have begun to see progress. Keep your main goals for SMM in mind, along with your general marketing goals. Plug away and know that you are building long-term relationships with your customers.

  Remain an online presence. You must be willing to stay active with your chosen social media channels. If this is a problem for you, consider outsourcing to an individual or agency specializing in social media.

  See Results. Monitoring your progress can also be something a social media agency will handle for you. It is important to set up measurable goals so you can see your results and go on from there.

  Rebound. Change your plan, if need be. This will be a time of experimenting with where your greatest target audience is online, so if the results you see are not satisfactory, try something else.

  How do you use SMM for your small business? What fears do you have about doing so? Join the conversation by leaving a comment below.

  • 
• 28Jan

  Clarify Your Social Media Strategy

  SociaLNK No Comments

  According to a recent poll on “SmartBrief on Social Media,” about 46 percent of companies have social media strategies in place. Of those, half have seen measurable results from using social media marketing (SMM). Paul Chaney sees these poll results as proof that “many companies are well on their way to meaningful social media engagement.” He gave some tips for creating a social media strategy for those who have not yet implemented one:

  • Social media is a mindset. Remember your goals and keep social media at the forefront when considering general marketing objectives.
  • Social media is more a function than a role. Social media can be used in marketing, in HR, and in PR. There is no specific role that social media plays; it is a tool to be used how your business will best see fit.
  • Social media does NOT replace other forms of marketing. Instead, it is to be used as part of an overall marketing strategy. However, hiring out the social media marketing may be the best bet for your company, since SMM tends to be a full-time job in itself.
  • Not everything in social media can be easily measured. A human element has to be factored into the equation before attempting to measure success in social media. Make sure you have a goal in mind that can be measured to monitor your success with social media. Often, a social media agency is helpful in determining your return of investment (ROI).

  Have you seen results with your SMM strategy? Why or why not?

  • 
• 28Jan

  How Social Media Influences Employee Communication

  SociaLNK No Comments

  Social Media can be effective as a marketing tool, but it is also quite useful within companies for employee communication. Engaging employees in changing times is a struggle for some companies. How can a boring business meeting compare with checking one’s Facebook page, for instance? Maybe your business should not have to compete. Instead, you should utilize social media and become a part of the conversation. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

  With the new ways we can communicate using social media comes a new attitude—especially among your employees. Rather than trying to restrict online social communities at the workplace, should you be engage with employees using these venues? It may be the wave of the office future. Instead of fighting it, harness this power for your benefit. Allowing your workers time on the social networks could benefit you if you monitor correctly. In fact, it could mean more positive word of mouth (WOM) for your business. Employees are also potential customers with friends who they talk to about you, their company. Earning their loyalty is valuable beyond measure. Since they are on “the inside” they also have a greater power of WOM; their opinions carry more weight among other potential clients, since they have seen how your operation works.

  “Most employers realize it’s time to join this revolution, but they don’t know where to begin,” says Ron Shewchuk (Ron Shewchuk Seminars). He ensures us, however, that “employee communication can be improved in ways that increase engagement, minimize risks and drive business results.”

  Is your business part of this so-called revolution of utilizing social media in the workplace?

  • 
• 27Jan

  Build Your (New) Business with Social Media

  SociaLNK No Comments

  Social media can be a valuable marketing tool for any business, even a new business. You do not have to be a large or established company before employing social media tools in your marketing. With any business launch, a first step is to strategize about marketing and advertising. If no one knows you exist, you will be hard-pressed to find customers. Because of social networking, it is now important for your business to have an online presence as well. Some customers may not ever visit your brick-and-mortar store, but if they want a product from you and can easily order it online, they will choose to do that. For this reason, broadcasting yourself with social media marketing (SMM) is worth the effort!

  Anthony Caruana of Netbook Mojo says SMM can work for you, but should only be one part of your marketing strategy. Relying on social media alone would be foolish, but forgetting about would be equally detrimental to your business goals. It is no longer an option for a new business to try to launch without some type of internet representation, even if it is as simple as a company website and blog. Remember that with all SMM, it is crucial not only to create but also to maintain your internet presence. Keep your data current and your content relevant.

  How has SMM improved your business, and how can it work best for new ventures?

  • 
• 27Jan

  Social Media Marketing as a Two-Way Street

  SociaLNK No Comments

  Using social media is one way to gain insight into what the public has to say about your business. In fact, marketers can gauge a wide range of opinions this way. Scott Gurvey, of PBS’s Nightly Business Report (NBR) Blog, says that the ever-growing popularity of online social networks has changed the focus for many in business marketing. Yet Gurvey sees no definitive “best way” to use them. His advice is that businesses monitor word of mouth (WOM) by acting as a “fly on the wall.” By looking at Social Media Marketing (SMM) as a two-way informational street, businesses will more fully understand the concerns of their target audience.

  The most popular major social networks are Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn, Ning, Bebo, Hi5, Orkut, Classmates, and Friendster. Gurvey says each has a “distinct personality,” and this leads many people to gravitate toward one or two “which they find most comfortable,” leaving the others alone. The same principle should be applied in SMM. Finding where your business is most comfortable in social media and focusing your attention there will be of greater value to you than trying to be everywhere on the internet and spreading your resources too thin. Employing the use of social media experts can help you avoid this pitfall.

  With which social network is your business most “comfortable”?

  • 
• 27Jan

  The Social Media Bandwagon

  SociaLNK No Comments

  Is Social Media nothing more than hype? How can you know whether it will be useful for your company to jump on what Lawrence Perry at OfficialWire calls “the social media bandwagon”? Is it too late for your business to reap any benefits from social media? Perry says, not at all. Jump in where you are, but keep a few tips in mind.

  To take full advantage of the benefits of social media for your company, hire a virtual assistant or social media agency specializing in online marketing. Allocating someone to represent your business online will save you time and energy in the end. Just like in any new business venture, letting the experts do what they do best will be better for you than trying to do everything yourself. Let someone else handle the tedious tasks of Social Media Marketing (SMM), and you will be successful. Consistency counts in social media circles. If you are considering social media, think about all the costs and benefits. Creating online profiles that are inactive would be a worse decision than not interacting with social media at all.

  When following people, choosing friends, and allowing others to become your followers, keep in mind that it is quality you want, not just quantity. If you have 10,000 followers on Twitter, for instance, but half of them are either trying to scam you or have nothing of value to add to your site, it may be better to block them. This type of bad following will make you look bad to quality followers, so be selective.

  Use social media for B2B interactions. Following your competitors, and other businesses, can be beneficial to you in many ways. You can learn information about your industry, and build community, which will assist you in future endeavors or collaborations.

  Gain knowledge from word of mouth (WOM). Listening to what is being said about your company, your industry, or just businesses in general will be of great advantage to you in the future. Using what you have learned, you can rethink a marketing strategy, for example. Alternatively, you may be able to use information gleaned to improve things within your own company by referring to negative WOM about others in your industry.

  What will you gain from becoming a part of the social media world?

  • 
• 26Jan

  Use Monitoring to Benefit B2B

  SociaLNK No Comments

  In B2B marketing, it is important to monitor social media. This is the only way to know what is being said across social networks and communities. Shellie Foriska suggests four tips on using social media monitoring to benefit B2B.

  Use social media tools

  According to Foriska, there are special “social monitoring tools” to help in tracking conversations. These can also be helpful in locating keyword tags or sorting demographics.

  Analyze keyword tags

  “Understand the types of keyword tags people actually apply to social mentions, like blog posts or social bookmarks,” says Foriska. Locate specific words and phrases that your audience uses and then incorporate them into blog posts, page titles, and other web content.

  Gain insight from the consumer

  Customers are telling you what they need, even if they aren’t telling you. How? They discuss things on message boards and forums. Listen and respond appropriately. Take advantage of your ability to interact within the community.

  Better focus local and regional search programs

  Foriska believes that analyzing the geographic data will help you “refine your search marketing targeting strategy. This can be accomplished at the country, state, metro, city, or even the neighborhood level.”

  Knowing your customer is imperative, especially in B2B. So take Foriska’s advice and monitor the data for your company; then, improve on the things your customer needs.

  What social media monitoring tools do you currently utilize?

  • 

  Tags: B2B, customer needs, keyword tags, monitoring, social media

« Previous Entries