When transitioning from a traditional marketing plan to an online social media marketing plan, a B2B company will both need to alter minor and major changes. Major changes include alterations to your CRM software, Lead generation systems and retargeting of old clients. Consider integrating social media into your systems as you make your way down the list.
1) Marketing Collateral – When approaching a new client or interacting with current clients it is likely that you are using marketing collateral such as a sales brochure or one page flyer. In an afternoon you can transfer that valuable information onto a more social platform such as SlideShare or Scribd where you can easily access it online and share it with potential clients.
2) Online Branding – Claim your business name on each social media channel. The uniformity of your username on all social media channels will brand your company as well as lock down your company’s name from being taken by someone else. It is also recommended that you use a similar or the same profile photo throughout the social media channels whether that be a mascot or your logo.
3) Integrate Quick Link Icons – One of our best tools for social media marketing are our emails. These days it’s common that people are more comfortable asking a quick question via email rather than picking up the phone. It is easy to add quick social media icons to the bottom of your email signature where your clients and potential clients can become more actively involved in your company.
4) Start Blogging – The Internet is a way of easily sharing information. Information comes in many formats including video and audio as well as written. Blogging on your company’s website will give your company a reason to share information with your clients and potential clients by giving them a reason to go to your website and read more about industry news or insider advice.
5) Setup Tracking – Being able to track and learn from your website is essential to your marketing and advertising development. Growing your website traffic is contingent on knowing where your online traffic is being generating.
6) Start Actively Monitoring – To start gaining a following on social media channels you must actively be listening. Start monitoring conversations in your industry with free online tools such as Twitter Search, Alerts Grader and Boardreader.
7) Train your staff – Your staff must be included in your goals of creating a more social company. Hiring a social media trainer to come into the office and walk your staff through the do’s and don’ts of using social media as a company may be the best way to train your employees and avoid learning lessons the hard way.
8. Liven up company culture – Clients like to see the culture of your workplace. People like to do business with people that they like. If you can show an atmosphere of support and enthusiasm in the workplace then the client’s will be more at ease when dealing with your company and your employees. Companies that have successfully embraced this philosophy include eBay, Zappos and Amazon.
9) Set up a Company LinkedIn Profile – LinkedIn is a business to business focused social network. It allows a business to setup a company profile and maintain this profile page with company updates. Setting up a company profile is a good first step to becoming an active member of the LinkedIn community.
10) Know when to share information – There are specific times of the day when sharing on social media will gain a larger response than others. For example if you have a large industry update that you want to share with professionals the best time to do that is on a Tuesday at 8:30am, while for more client based fun “FYI” sharing is best shared on a Thursday at 4:00pm.
Joel Goldstein is an Internet marketing expert. The founder of Peer Marketing Group, an internet marketing agency that specializes in SEO, web design and lead generation, Joel has won numerous awards for his work.
