B2B Social Media – is your audience actively 'listening' anymore? And the common traits of those who make sure you do!.
When I first dived into social media a few years ago, the advice I got was first to "listen" - which means, of course, to browse and learn. So I did. And what did I learn from all that time "listening"?. Well, I can barely remember!. It all became a big haze of empty words and vague images, with no beginning, middle or end.
I waded through blog posts, discussion boards, videos, webinars, linkedin updates and slideshares, to the point that I began to sleep read. I still hardly recall the key points of what I read within hours of reading it, even stuff that I 'like'!. I have become a passive 'listener' most of the time, like most people I bet!.
So what is the problem?. Well, passive listening is worrying for us B2B marketers who know that to generate action, relevance, recall and reward are essential. And B2B social media communication is no different to any other business tool. Why do it otherwise?.
Our mad addiction to social media and finding things to share and 'like', often provides us with no answer to the questions of 'so what?, why is that important to me? why now?'. You know.. those simple demands we make on all other forms of communication!. Social content producers on the other side are caught in this need-to-feed conveyor belt, worried that out-of-sight is out-of-mind.
So is anyone doing it right? - engaging an audience who is actively listening?. Some are. Those who are, seem to share some common traits. Without mentioning any particular company, let me share what I have observed about them.
1. They create targetted and segmented content. They avoid the one-size-fits-all approach to their communication, talking to an audience of mostly 'tyre-kickers' half-reading updates while they kill a few minutes before lunch. The best social media communication aims higher than that. They identified a clear audience and address them with very specific content. Yes, the best ones are typically technical and support related but we can all learn from them. Ask yourself – who is reading this and why?. Are they just tyre-kickers or have they got a real need here? How can I genuinely help them?.
2. They ask their readers what they want. Think about putting out a questionnaire every so often, throw in a free product or tickets to an event, ask them to tell you what content they value most in helping them ( not you!) to do their job.
3. They create specific content that addresses an issue... today!. That's why support sites and news feeds on specialist areas work so well on social media. Learn from this and deal with the hard stuff, the real things that affect your customers today. What helps them right now?. Limit generalised content such as 5 tips for a successful implementation of X, 10 things to do before you invest in Y, has become so rehashed and the recall of such content tends to be very low. Better ideas would be ; how-to videos, product road testing, publish your latest research. If you want to go general, keep it fresh and newsworthy such as explaining new legislation or technology or a government strategy.
4. They reward contributors. So think about what you can offer those who spent time on your sites. Give them a free something. Make them feel that the time they spent with you, was worth it for them. Encourage them along the sales journey.
5. They believe in SMART objectives. What surprises me most about B2B social media communications is the lack of clear business objectives and targets. "Isn't it enough just to be doing it", "200 people viewed the video – isn't that success? "It's supposed to be social, so you can't measure social activity right?". Wrong. Unless your social media activity is helping to achieve your business and/or marketing objectives, then it is a waste of your valuable time and money. And trust me. It can take up a lot of both. So set targets, agree goals, continually research the impact on your customer base. Treat it like you would all other communication tools.
6. They have a clear agenda. Build the value of your communication by connecting all your updates to a single, bigger picture. Random jumping around from one generalised topic to the other can seem rehashed. An example of this being done effectively is where you are told in advance that the next few posts will deal with a,b,c. They stick to a particular theme and look at a different aspects or a deep dive. It all then connects into something more detailed and valuable than a series of random updates.
7. They bring in the experts to draw in the audience!. Industry leaders, specialists, celebrities are given space on their sites – so give a known expert a relevant or even off the wall topic to chew on. It always gets attention.
8. Quality of content matters. I remember a social media discussion in a previous organisation about a respected technical expert. This guy knew a lot about his subject but communicated in a very long-winded, disorganised way. The idea that you partly 'ghost write'/edit his blog posts was seen by other marketers around the table as a cardinal sin. IT'S NOT!. It is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Like all experts out there, some need a helping hand to shape and articulate their thoughts in a digestible way. Others don't.
9. Novelty matters to them. Like all marketing tools, something new makes people take notice. So change things around. Change the format, the tone. Surprise people!.
10. They like to entertain!. Yes, they are all in serious businesses but they know that social media is about people and interaction. We all like to be entertained now and then. So throw in something whimsical from time to time. Fun and likeability are important.
Relevance, Recall and Reward are important factors in the success of any B2B business tool. Social media communication is no different. With a focus on clear objectives, targeted content that addresses specific needs and reward, businesses can squeeze a lot more value out of the time and money they spend on social media.
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Lisa O' Callaghan is a B2B marketing manager, copywriter and published author with Liberties Press.