What do you want from social media?
As 2011 draws to a close, we're left to reflect on another year in which the importance of social media in B2B marketing has grown rapidly.
We've previously discussed the four things to remember with B2B social media marketing and the overall importance of utilising social media to stay one step ahead.
But, as we get set to end another year, one thing I'd like to ask directly is:
What do you want to get out of Social Media?
Recent research has shown that, for most marketers, the primary priority of utilising social media is to increase traffic to the company website. This was narrowly followed by the desire to improve/create brand awareness.
This falls in-line with these Lead Nurturing times. Due to the internet enabling prospects to research businesses, they meet the vendor earlier than ever before in the sales process. And this makes the buying process now a slower affair.
Can marketers expect to counteract the slow sales cycle with social media?
Will social media be able to deliver direct results instead of just raising brand awareness?
As more of us become more accustomed with how to use social media, retail and e-commerce businesses in particular are frequently seeing connections, followers and contacts being converted into paying customers.
But for many of us B2B marketers, it is unrealistic to expect a wealth of customers to arrive directly from social media. Instead, we use social media to raise awareness which, as we've discussed recently, is the first step towards any sale.
The important thing to consider though, is what you want to gain from social media. Too many smaller businesses fall into one of two traps when it comes to utilising social media marketing.
- Expecting too much too soon:- By its very concept, social media is just that. It is an advertising tool, but it is one that needs to be used carefully. The recommended amount of 'sales' tweets to be sent out via Twitter, for example, is 25% of your overall messages. If you're expecting instant customers from social media, the messages you're sending out will reflect that and, ultimately, will have the exact opposite effect to the one you wanted.
- Not utilising it enough:- Yes, we're all busy. And time is limited. But I've seen far too many corporate Twitter accounts set-up that haven't been used for the best part of a year. If you're going to try social media marketing, set aside 15 minutes a day and actually utilise it. An unused company account will only reflect badly on your business.
Ultimately though, to get the most out of social media, you need to set definite goals and you need to have a rough idea of how you're going to reach them.
Want to see ROI? Use a tool such as Microsoft CRM and see if you're getting it. Then adapt your strategy accordingly.
With the birth of Google+, it looks like the importance of social media is only going to grow in 2012.
Which means if you've not already done so, now's the time to fully embrace it. And, most importantly, it's time to decide just what it is you actually want from it.
At Contact Edge CRM, we specialise in Microsoft CRM, which helps businesses find creative ways to engage with customers. And by accurately tracking how the first engagement was initiated, it is easy to determine which elements of your marketing strategy are working.
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