Social marketing is becoming more relevant for B2B brands. Here’s what some of the speakers at the Business Marketing Association’s BMA2014 conference had to say about B2B social marketing.
- Context matters as much as content. Linda Boff, executive director, global brand director, GE, noted that her brand rarely just posts in social media about themselves. Rather, they choose to share information about science and technology, to create personality and dialogue around the brand’s ideals. “You can’t just create content and forget about it,” she said, noting that brands must thing about the particular social channel when crafting their message. “When we’re on a platform like Vine, we need to think about what we can do with 6 seconds.”
2. Speak like a normal human being. Engage your users in social and speak like you actually have a familiarity with the English language. “Comment in natural words that buyers actually use,” said Karen Walker, senior vice president of marketing, Cisco Systems. “Clean up your language—marketers can create great stuff but you need to go back and see if it is actually readable.”
3. Remember, everyone else can do it too. Digital media is in a reactive period, noted Paul Miller, CEO of UBM Tech. In today’s marketing world, anyone can start a blog, Twitter account or Facebook page in minutes. “Publishers face the challenge that everyone is a publisher now,” he said, and that means working harder than ever to make your content unique and relevant.
4. Make “mobile moments.” Many social interactions happen on the go, and marketers need to consider how to make their engagements useful and memorable to consumers, said Josh Bernoff, vice president/principal analyst, Forrester Research. “A ‘mobile moment’ is where someone pulls out a mobile device to get what they want, immediately, in context.” As examples, he cited USAA, which was the first financial services company to offer customers the ability to photograph a check for deposit, and Krispy Kreme, which create an app to let hungry consumers know when a nearby store had hot donuts.
5. Create a connection. If you’re trying to sell via social, remember that in this medium, your mantra should not be “always be closing.” Instead, says social selling evangelist Jill Rowley, “always be connecting.” Share other things socially besides your own content—think of what would be the B2B equivalent of cat pictures for your audience. And if you’re a B2B marketer, keep that connection professional—don’t post your wedding pictures on LinkedIn, and when you do try to connect with someone, don’t be generic. Take the time to write why you want to connect with them.
6. Consider your audience when going global. Anol Bhattacharya, CEO of Singapore-based GetIT, noted that he’s seen European and American brands trying to replicate their domestic content internationally without considering cultural differences. “You need to understand the platforms and nuances of different countries,” he said. Remember that while English language content may work in some countries, it won’t be welcomed by audiences universally. And consider that the lines between business and professional lives are blurred in Asia. “People don’t want to buy from people they don’t know.”
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