Have to admit, I do not know much about B2B marketing, but I do know that B2B companies have got quite a lot to do with social media.
The quickest place to know more about a business is online. That’s why B2B companies spend lots of time improving their search rankings.
A simple search on Google would return their website, social media profiles, blog and related buzz.
If these companies don’t supervise what customers are going to see when they search for them, they are losing out on potential leads.
The main difference between B2B and B2C marketing is that the latter usually deals with a bigger mass. We don’t see B2B companies on print ads and TV commercials. Hence, the channels used to reach customers are very different and limited. SEM is till today, the most effective channel to generate leads.
Real Time Search
What’s cool this season is real time search. Both Google and Bing are integrating social into their search results. That means, users can now search for status updates related to the keywords they typed into the search engine. If B2B companies do not have presence on Facebook and Twitter, they would not be found.
How’s that for getting more search traffic?
Network, Network, Network
Building networks is important for B2B companies. And this is made easier and more convenient with social networking sites, such as LinkedIn. Social media profiles make you accessible to customers and offer a place for you to connect.
Information, videos, and updates can be shared outside of the website to help customers understand your company better. Just make sure to keep profiles active and regularly updated – you want them to reflect well on you, not the other way around.
Closet Thought Leader?
If you have the expertise to solve your customers’ problems, you got to show and share it. This can build both credibility and goodwill.
But what is the best channel to share your knowledge and solutions?
A blog makes a good candidate – it’s easy to create and can have a very good reach. You just have to be able to do what you preach.
What’s more, the product/service provided by B2B companies are usually more complex, a blog can help to flatten the learning curve. Use videos and images to help customers understand better.
Link your website, social media profiles and other contact points to the blog. This makes everything more integrated and keeps customers engaged across all platforms.
If you are afraid that customers would read the blog and totally miss your site (unlikely to happen), you can build your blog within the site.
The point here is to establish presence and credibility. Get out of the closet, and let the customers know what you can do for them.
Blogger Relations
B2B companies sometimes have to rely on bloggers to spread their word. To establish relationships with them, we cannot use the traditional approach.
Read their blogs and understand them before approaching. Do not Email an essay about what you want them to do for you. Comment on their blogs, engage in a conversation and be personal.
If you have a blog, you might not even need to go to them, bloggers might be inspired by your posts and write about your company.
These are just some of the things B2B companies have got to do with social media. Quite a relationship, huh?
