In last week’s blog post,
I discussed how you can use Google+
and Blogger help you engage your B2B
audience with social media. This week, I’m covering Facebook and Twitter.
 |
| Facebook for B2B |
As in previous posts about the use of
social media in B2B, I’ll cover what works and what doesn't.
In
this post, you’ll find information to help you assess the value of using these
two platforms.
Both have
advantages and disadvantages. Let’s get
into it.
What Facebook Can Do for B2B Marketers
For
starters, Facebook is the 800-lb.
gorilla in social media. Let me qualify that – for B2C. For B2B, Facebook ranks behind LinkedIn. If you
recall, Facebook got its start as a
consumer platform. Meanwhile, LinkedIn’s
focus began and remains business-focused.
But
as Facebook evolves, it’s developing
more features that cater to B2B marketers.
Facebook – What
Works and What Needs Improvement
More and more B2B companies use Facebook as part of
their social media mix. That supports the fact that Facebook does some things better than others. Here are some things B2Ccompanies
use Facebook for:
- Branding
- Building Relationships
- Creating Conversations
- Cross-promoting Content
- Developing Communities
- Nurturing Leads
You may have
noticed all of these reflect a social influence at which Facebook excels. Using Facebook
helps humanize your company.
Noticeably
absent is lead generation. I’m not saying
you can’t generate leads with Facebook.
You can and some B2B companies focus on
generating leads with Facebook.
It’s interesting
to note 3B2B companies are among the Top
10 Facebook pages: of them are
B2B companies: (1) Honeywell at #1; (2) Ingram Micro at #7; and (3) Oracle at
#9.
B2B
Companies Successfully Using Facebook
Again,
no one doubts the value of Facebook in
the B2C world. But many B2B companies seem to have successfully adapted Facebook to their business. One
stand-out I wrote about in a previous post is Maersk.
The
interesting point about Maersk is
that it explicitly decided not to generate leads with Facebook. As a result they’ve developed an extremely social-friendly
community.
It
has a variety of content, including print, photos, video and audio. Their
number of likes as well as their high-level of engagement prove the success of
their strategy.
Other
prominent B2B business that have excellent Facebook
pages are:
Cisco
|
Caterpillar
|
DHL
|
FEDEX
|
Google
|
Hubspot
|
Intel
|
HP
|
Maersk
|
Old Dominion Freight Line
|
SAP
|
UPS
|
When
looking at these B2B company pages, you’ll find, vivid colors, photos, videos,
and interesting, informative and entertaining content. All of this fosters engagement.
Facebook recognizes its strengths and weaknesses in B2B. One
example of this is Facebook’s blog, Facebook for Business,
focused on helping the small business grow.
All
in all, Facebook offers B2B
businesses a compelling reason to use Facebook
as part of their social media mix. Its size, its premier status as a social network,
and its growing emphasis on B2B make Facebook
a media platform B2B marketers can’t ignore.
Next,
we’ll explore a popular micro social media site, and assess its value to B2B
businesses.
Twitter - the Microblogging Social Media Platform
 |
| Twitter for B2B |
Twitter is a different kind of social media
site. It’s ca microblogging site because it limits “tweets” to 140 characters. Anything
you have to say has to be short and to the point!
It
also limits what you can do – at last on Twitter.
This
site is great for getting the word out quickly. And, if you have a sizable following,
your reach is wide.
Here
are some of Twitter’s strengths. Its
versatility makes this a powerful tool to consider.
·
Branding
·
Customer
Service
·
Promotional
Announcements
·
Researching
Competitors
·
Social
Networking
As
with all social media, Twitter’s success
depends on quality content. And consistency in tweeting is more important than
quantity of tweets.
The
content of your tweets can run the gamut from sharing native content to curated
content, offering discounts, and creating # chats. The latter is an easy way to
develop a following behind an issue. Use of keywords will help widen your audience
and build your community.
Use Twitter to Drive Traffic
Using
Twitter is also a good way to
complement your website, blog and other social media sites. With a brief tweet
you can drive traffic to your other online sites where prospects and customer can
find more detailed content.
To
inform businesses about the value of its microblog, Twitter cites a number of compelling statistics. This infographic
shows small business owners that socially engaged customers tend to drive sales
and buy more.
Do
B2B companies use Twitter?
YES! The 12 B2B companies listed above that use Facebook also use Twitter.
Of
course more than twelve B2B companies use Twitter.
In viewing these 12 sites, you can see the power of Twitter in driving traffic and engaging followers with useful
content.
If
you want to grow your business, then you would be advised to think about adding
Twitter to your social media marketing
mix.
B2B
Social Media Trends for Facebook and
Twitter
Both
have sizable followings geared mainly towards consumer-oriented social
networking. That market is relatively saturated. Future growth depends on
making efforts to expand by offering more to B2B marketers.
Both
social media sites are strong in social networking, two-way communication, and
branding. Although some companies do employ lead generation tactics, this is an
area for future growth.
As
technology matures, more easy-to-use tools for lead generation will likely be
developed. Clearly, LinkedIn is the
leader among social media sites, but Facebook
and Twitter won’t concede the future.
Conclusion
Choices,
choices, and more choices. What’s a B2B
marketer to do?
It
really comes down to one thing: identify
your purpose for using social media.
Some
B2B businesses use all social media available. Some use a select few. And others don’t engage socially at all.
[Although those numbers are declining.]
It
seems the best approach entails selecting a mix of social media because no one
site does everything. So, peel back the onion and determine “why” you need to
use social media. Then, and only then, choose the appropriate mix that best suits
your needs.
By
the way… they should closely match your customers’ needs.
That
wraps up another post. I'd like to hear from you about how your company uses Facebook or Twitter. If you have any questions, let me know.
Enjoy
the week ahead!
Alex Milo
B2B Copywriter and Consultant
“Helping Transportation and Logistics
Companies Generate Leads with Compelling Content”
Phone:
256-886-4684
Email: amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com
Email: amilo@b2bcopywriting-alexmilo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment