360DigitalInfluence

In my 7+ years working with professional services firms and B2B brands, I’ve experienced first-hand, the conservative nature of these companies and their marketing practices. So imagine my surprise in 2009, when these generally risk-averse companies began flooding my inbox with requests for counsel on the implementation of social media programs.

B2B marketers, long considered by some to be two-steps behind their B2C counterparts, are beginning to dip their toes in the unfamiliar waters of social media, as they quickly realize how they can pinpoint buyers, generate leads, and provide more accurate program measurement.

Even as social media use in B2B marketing continues to grow—57% of B2B marketers are currently using some form of social media in their business, up from 15% in 2007¹–many in the C-suite continue to have their doubts. For the past two years I’ve heard from clients, “social media is only for young people,” “my customers aren’t reading blogs,” “my clients aren’t engaging in social media,” “it’s not worth the risk,” “I can’t measure it,” and my personal favorite, “social media doesn’t apply to B2B.”

Of course social media applies to B2B, and in fact, it can be even more critical to the success of a B2B brand that is already operating against a smaller customer pool than a B2C brand. Couple that with the fact that most B2B brands are selling products and services at an exponentially higher price to customers who base the majority of the buying decisions on the advice of peers and colleagues—Forrester Research reports 84% of respondents to a recent survey listed Peers and Colleagues (WOM) as the main source for purchasing decisions, compared to 69% from Vendor Web sites and 66% from traditional media.

The benefits of social media far outweigh the perceived risks. Current and prospective customers are already talking about your brand online…everyday. The greater risk to your brand is in becoming a sideline spectator, allowing misperceptions, falsehoods and potential brand ambassadors and champions engage in conversations around your brand, without your participation or recognition.

So where do you start? Unfortunately, I have witnessed a number of B2B marketers rush to launch social media programs by quickly throwing up a blog, Twitter handle and Facebook page, usually with the same result—zero visibility, zero engagement and zero conversion. It’s not that their efforts shouldn’t be applauded; I am all for taking a big plunge as opposed to the toe-dipping approach that most B2B brands take to social media implementation. But there needs to be a cohesive social strategy put in place BEFORE that first “Tweet” is sent out.

Here is some guidance on getting started:

Set REALISTIC Goals and Objectives – Incorporating social media into your marketing mix goes well beyond identifying the channels and tactics you want to use. The most successful programs begin by identifying your target audience and tying them to the businesses objectives (lead gen, brand awareness) and expected outcomes.

Listen – Monitoring your brand—and competitor brand—mentions across the social web, allows brands to quickly identify target audiences, potential influencers and brand ambassadors, and even more importantly, brand detractors and misperceptions. A good first step in any program is incorporating listening to help identify your audience, solidify objectives, and uncover potential channels that may not have been readily apparent. There are a number of social media monitoring platforms out there to get you started such as Radian6 and Sysomos.

Do Your Homework – In my experience, B2B marketers, and the C-level execs signing the checks, need a lot of evidence and backup—case studies, measureable results from previous campaigns—before signing off on any social media program. Start by taking a look at what other B2B brands and competitors have done in the space to get an idea of what has worked, and more importantly, what hasn’t. Of course, it’s never a good idea to simply duplicate what others are doing, but it’s important to know the social media footprint of your biggest competitors and aspirational brands.

Content Strategy - Content is the fuel that drives any successful social media engagement. The instant gratification mindset and digital proficiency of B2B content consumers means they’re demanding more and more content, faster. And not just any content, but ideas, information, best practices, advice and expertise they find relevant and helpful for answering questions they have about problems they’re trying to solve. While starting a blog, Facebook page or Twitter handle may require little time and effort, maintaining those sites with regular and relevant content can prove to be difficult. For time and resource strapped marketers, a good first step in the development of a content strategy is to conduct a content audit—identifying internal resources (white papers, bylines, case studies, videos, customer testimonials, etc…) that can be repurposed into social content. Another key step is to identify the thought leaders or subject matter experts from within the company that are willing to make the time and resource investment in the program.

Measure – No different from any other marketing activity, creating effective program measurement and calculating ROI can be a challenge. Effective measurement models generally assess the impact of social media engagements in three key ways, focusing on brand awareness, preference, and action. As important as it is to set benchmarks at the beginning of any engagement, it’s equally, if not more important, to continue to evaluate metrics throughout the program to not only assess how far the campaign has moved the needle, but to also allow you to course-correct and make adjustments if certain tactics may not be working as well as others.

Take the Plunge – As I mentioned at the top, current and prospective customers are already engaging in conversations about your brand. The importance of meeting and engaging with your audience where they are gathering has never been more important. But remember, building an effective social media program can take some time to really develop and grow.

What are some challenges you have faced in developing a B2B social media campaign?

¹ Source: Association of National Advertisers, July 2009