Your Social Media Cheat Sheet for B2B Marketing
by MGB2B
Gone are the days where you can say: “We’re a B2B company, we don’t need social media.” It’s now 2018, and to say you have no social presence, is to incur doubt from your clients, both present, and future. With that in mind, starting out, or revamping your social presence can seem like a daunting task. That’s why we’ve put together a helpful Social Media cheat sheet designed to get you and your B2B brand off and running.
First Thing’s First...
- Pick Your Poison(s). There are no social media platforms that are truly off-limits for B2B brands these days. From Facebook to LinkedIn to Instagram, there’s no end to where you can post and who you can reach. What truly matters is finding the right content for the right platform.
- Key Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to experiment with social platforms, but don’t spread yourself too thin.
- Do Your Research. Yes, there is a “sweet spot” for every single social outlet out there. Typically, posting 3-5 times on Twitter per day is optimal, whereas posting any more than 2 times on Facebook on a given day could be seen as overkill. Decide how often you’re planning on posting to your given social platform(s), then build your plan out from there.
- Key Takeaway: Sometimes, less is more. The quality (see: value) of your content will be held in higher regard by your audience, versus the sheer quantity of times you post.
Now You’re Getting Somewhere…
- Make a Plan. It seems like a given, but many businesses skip this important step. Planning out your content on a calendar will save you a lot of time and effort. Using tools like Hootsuite, HeyOrca, or HubSpot will not only allow you to schedule your posts days, weeks, and even months in advance, you’ll also be able to tweak your plan along the way. If a certain type of post isn’t resonating with your audience, delete and try again. Trust us, this will come in handy for Step 2.
- Key Takeaway: Getting through each month on social is much easier when you plan it out. Don’t miss this!
- Get Creative. Just because you’re a B2B brand, does not mean you cannot have fun. Is there a national day, week, or month that is relevant to your audience? Let your audience know you’re celebrating! Are you working on a project that could show the more “human” side of your brand? Show it off. Your audience wants to know there are real people behind these social accounts. Let them know you’re there.
- Key Takeaway: The people who drive your revenue are real people and want to be treated as such. If you give a little, you’ll get a lot back in return.
The beautiful thing about social media is that it’s always changing. What works one day, may not work the next. What your audience responds to one week, may not hold true the following week. So be sure to experiment, don’t be afraid to fail, and remember why you’re running these social platforms in the first place: to make meaningful connections with your audience.
Continue ReadingB2B Myth of the Week: Content Marketing Is Overcrowded, Oversaturated, and Useless
by Emily Swet
The Myth: Content Marketing is Overcrowded, Oversaturated and Useless
The Fact: Content Shock Can Be Your Strategy, Not Your Roadblock
White papers. Emails. Ebooks. Long Form. Blogs. Infographics. Videos. Influencers. Vlogs. It’s official. We have finally reached Content Shock status. The exponentially increasing volume of content is exceeding our human capacity to consume it. As a result, we are becoming far more selective about what we want to see and engage in.
Before you throw up your hands over another fleeting marketing trend, take a pause. Content isn’t going anywhere. (If it was, why would big brands like Unilever be investing in in-house content creation studios?) Content saturation isn’t your white flag, it’s your call to arms. You’d be sorely remiss to think it was time to give it up.
Your customers still engage in content 100%. And your competitors utilize it full-tilt. According to Forbes, 89% of B2B marketers report they use content to increase leads and drive their brands forward. Fine-tune your content program now, or get left behind. To stay in the game, you need a focused, aggressive strategy based on human experience.
From now on, your content strategy needs to:
- Be written directly for each of your customer personas
- Create an immersive experience
- Determine when it makes sense to pay-to-play
- Have a clear-cut customer payoff
- Include video
- Use data to gain a competitive advantage
If you think content marketing is overcrowded, you’re right. But have a look at these false predictions of the past, then ask yourself: can your brand afford to stand this one out?
Continue ReadingB2B Myth of the Week: All Your Salespeople Need Is the Gift of Gab
by MGB2B
The Myth: A Smooth-Talking Salesperson Needs No Tool
The Truth: Even the Best in the Business Should Have Some Tools Up Their Sleeves
In the words of Ben Affleck in the movie Boiler Room, “In every business interaction, a sale is made. Either you sell the client or they sell you on a reason they can’t use you.” It’s a Hollywood notion that the best salespeople can sell anything to anyone with nothing but the art of persuasion.
While there are some salespeople who fit this mold, in this day and age, the more tools they have in their arsenal, the better. B2B brands are seeing a higher demand for content, especially visual content, than ever before. Now is a crucial time for businesses to provide tools and train their sales teams on how to use them. You might think that visual content is a B2C tactic, but as Gary Vaynerchuk says, “behind every B is a C.”
It’s important for salespeople to acknowledge the art of the sale is not just about the pitch, but about how you get them to hear your pitch in the first place.
Here Are 3 Types of Content All B2B Salespeople Should Consider Including in Their Toolbelts:
- Infographics – A Creative Way to Present the Facts. B2B doesn’t have to be all about lists and spreadsheets. Infographics will have a lot more impact on prospects. Start off by creating a few of them (you can do this with a tool like PiktoChart, use an in-house designer, or hire a B2B marketing agency to create them) so that your salespeople have them ready to go. While infographics are often used on social media or email marketing programs, salespeople can also present them to lukewarm prospects as a door-opener. “I thought you might find this infographic on _________ helpful as you go into the New Year.”
- White Papers – Persuading from a Different Angle. White papers can be used in multiple ways. Primarily, they serve an educational purpose. But they also provide salespeople with an interactive and engaging way to provide a counter-rebuttal to the challenges you receive from prospects. White papers should be as colorful, well-designed, and engaging as infographics. Perhaps the most important thing that a white paper can do is give your brand authority and credibility. They might be just the right push to give your prospect reason enough to choose your brand over a competitor’s.
- Video Marketing – The Most Memorable Sales Tool. Marketers everywhere know how important video is heading into 2018. It is one of the most effective and memorable ways to get a point across to sales prospects. Try incorporating video into your sales pitch instead of talking about how great your product/service is. A video can accomplish this in many different ways: from How-To Guides to Live Video Chats to Engaging Case Studies. The level of video production doesn’t have to be on par with a Hollywood movie. Research has proven that content and creativity are important, but the value of the video is what most people remember.
Natural sales talent is important, but it should be complemented by something more substantial. With your competition likely jumping into the content marketing game, it’s important to do it right. Make sure your marketing team and your sales team are working together to create and distribute content in ways that propel the brand forward. Each member of the team should have the tools they need to drive prospects along the sales funnel. The goal is the same for everyone in your organization: conversion.
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