social media for b2b - madhouse associates seminar
TRANSCRIPT
The myth of social media’s irrelevance in the business to
business arena
#MHsemMadhouse Associates Seminar
21 October 2010
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10 seconds on us
What we’ll cover today
Is social media relevant for your business?
Setting strategy
How to make the most of Twitter
How to make the most of LinkedIn
How will you measure success?
Next steps for you
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Why bother?Do you strive for:
greater share of voice in your industry
platform to show expertise
Another route to media relations
Reputation management
SEO - what does google say about you
Brand loyalty
Attract and retain customers and staff
Find business partners
Drive web traffic
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95% of new media users believe
companies should have a presence
on Twitter (Tealeaf&Cone)
Social media is a waste of time
36% of B2B execs surveyed said there was low executive interest in social media in their company, compared with 9% of B2C marketers who said the same.
46% of B2B respondents said social media was perceived as irrelevant to their company, while only 12% of consumer-oriented marketers had the same problem.
(emarketer.com)
Oh really...More than half (53.5%) of marketers surveyed said they currently use social media as part of their marketing strategy. This is up from 2009, when 45.0% of marketers said they used social media for marketing. (btobonline.com)
86% of B2B companies using social v 82% of B2C (bizreport.com)
According to an eMarketer study, B2B online marketers focus on lead generation (38%), retention (34%) and awareness (28%). (emarketer.com)
The top applications for the use of social media for b2b marketers are thought leadership (59.8%), lead generation (48.9%), customer feedback (45.7%) and advertising on sites (34.7%). (btobonline.com)
It’s not an islandnew research shows 70% of US journalists use social media to assist in their reporting - up from 41% in 09 (journalistics.com)
B2B advertisers see cross-media marketing as most effective; 78% combine three or more major marketing methods. (outsellinc.com)
Creating your content and sparking conversations
Microsite news page / your blog
Social media:Twitter/Linkedin - text
Tubemogul - videoFlickr - imagesConsumer
media:local
regionalnational
on and offline
social book marking:Digg etc
Supplier & partner websites / blogs
Trade media
Your stories/thoughts/insights/products
listening
StrategyWhats your business objectives?
How does your marketing and comms plan support this?
How do you want SM to integrate?
Think beyond marketing
customer service
sales
Secure exec buy in
Create your social media policy
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formulate strategy
Who will own it?
60% of B2B firms have no staff dedicated to social media compared with 54% of B2C players(bizreport)
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Use a social media dashboard to control, collaborate and listen
Twitter’s for celebrities
Wrong!
Editors & writers from the FT, Building magazine, EN magazine, NW Businesses Insider, Thebusinessdesk.com, MEN business, The Architect's Journal, Building Design, New Civil Engineer and Construction News, PCmag.com
Quality NOt quantity
Deeper, more meaningful relations
Drive web/blog visits
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All ears (as well as eyes and mobiles)
Listen and you will find reward!
People share links to research/blog posts/podcasts etc
Use Twitter search to find relevant people
Attending a conference/exhibition - chances are there will be a # tag (official or otherwise) so join in the action remotely
Twitter feed drives trade media coverage
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Monitoring Twitter creates sales conversations
Monitoring Twitter and responding to customer service issues
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Why use it?open doors for new business
avoid email fatigue
SEO benefit
increase company profile
enhance reputation
conduct research
position yourselves as thought leaders
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What’s new?
enhanced inbox inc ability to delete and carry out bulk actions
start discussions in Groups
receive email updates from your Groups
see the ‘top influencers’ in each group
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Do the basicsyour profile is highly visible on Google
complete your profile
use the same key words you optimise your site for
have a credible business like picture
personalise your URL (edit public settings)
give recommendations
seek recommendations
create a company profile
remember - people on there WANT TO CONNECT
make your updates relevant to your potential clients
Add to your smart phone
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10 top tips1. join relevant groups &
discussions
2. enhance SEO by editing web links in ‘Other’ section (NB Public profile setting on Full)
3. give information /expertise freely
4. run searches by job title - connect
5. control what, if anything, others see when you view their profile
6. check who’s following the company profile/your profile regularly
7. Look up clients before pitches or making new business calls - get the inside track
8. add apps ie presentations via Slideshare (B2B specifically)
9. check your connections own connections
10.check your rivals connections
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advertising
The rules
network online as you would offline
be genuine
don’t sell
be helpful
follow up with connections
do whatever you promise to do
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Measuring success34% of B2B marketers said they were not measuring social success at all versus just 10% of B2C respondents.
Set KPI’s v objectives like any other medium
Online data is highly measurable and accountable
Think beyond value - reach, tone, engagement, quality, followers, retweets, @ conversations, number of recommendations etc
Use listening tools to help you evaluate
Next stepsreview your business objectives and how SM can help you achieve them
consider what you’re already doing and what more you could do
set objectives, timescales and budgets (even just time allowance)
try -don’t be afraid of making mistakes or asking for help
share your learnings with colleagues
post a comment/feedback on Twitter using #MHsem - one will be chosen at random to win
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Where can I learn more?
http://learn.linkedin.com
http://mashable.com
http://econsultancy.com
http://socialmediab2b.com
Evidence based communications
Multi-award winning PR consultants
Contact:Rick Guttridge
0161 839 1986
07887 942 926
twitter.com/smokinggunpr
www.smokinggunpr.co.uk
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