Content that engages and an active presence where your prospects and customers live in social media are essential for B2B digital marketing success.
Chief Marketer recently talked with Shashi Bellamkonda, vice president, digital marketing for The Bozzuto Group, to get his thoughts on ways B2B companies can maximize their engagement online.
Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area, The Bozzuto Group is a diversified residential real estate company consisting of several integrated companies— Construction, Development, Homebuilding and Property Management—that together provide a broad range of real estate services throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The company’s target audiences include residential home and apartment buyers/renters, as well as contractors and developers.
Part of Bellamkonda’s role is to help manage about 150 different websites, ranging from the company’s main portal Bozzuto.com to sites representing individual apartment communities. Over the last 25 years, Bozzuto has developed, acquired and built more than 35,000 homes and apartments and currently manages approximately 34,000 apartment units spread along the Atlantic Coast between northern Virginia and Boston
Bellamkonda is on the advisory board of B2B LeadsCon , Aug. 14-14 in New York.
Developing Relationships
In the construction side of its business, Bozzuto deals with developers and financial institutions that either own land they want to develop, or are interested in purchasing land for that purpose in the future. “The challenge is to reach them and hopefully connect for a face-to-face interaction and network,” Bellamkonda says. “And the brand being on top of everyone’s mind is important.”
Content marketing plays a huge role in this. “It gives us a change to tell our own story, so maybe the next time [a prospect has] a project they’ll give us a call.”
On the consumer side, Bellamkonda notes that he recently visited a Bozzuto property that was collecting rainwater to use for other purposes. “You hear a lot of [properties] talk about things like views or swimming pools, but this is a great opportunity to talk about sustainability. We want to tell more stories like that.”
Have a Plan
When considering what content to share, consider what are the trends in your market, and what your audience needs. What does your audience think about when they are submitting RFPs, and what vendors/competitors are offering the best brand value in your market, says Bellamkonda.
The places you distribute that content depend, of course, on where your audience spends their time online. Forums and websites for organizations in your vertical market can be good places to start. LinkedIn works well for many B2B marketers, but you have to put in the effort.
“To have a community or group that thrives on LinkedIn, it must be managed well,” he says. “You need to dedicate resources to this effort.”
A content calendar can be very helpful, even if you aren’t that used to predicting out that far ahead what you want to promote. This is good for not only social content, but email marketing and newsletter promotions as well, Bellamkonda notes. “It gives you a structure and a bit of discipline as to what topics you want to talk about.”
What Works
Photos and video can be just as effective in engaging prospects on the B2B side as they are on the B2C side, he says. “We use a lot of pictures in all our web marketing programs, and we continue to test video campaign strategies.”
Blogs can also be an excellent way to show thought leadership. “Again, blogs allow you to tell your own story,” Bellamkonda says. “Just remember that you can’t just cut and paste a press release into your blog. You need to put things into our own words.”
Click here for more information on B2B LeadsCon, Aug 14-14 at the Hilton New York Hotel.
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