If you are B2C company then the answer to whether you need a facebook page is most probably yes. If you are a B2B company then the answer is most probably no.
The first question, however, is do you need a social media strategy?
Many owners of SMEs worry that they don’t really understand social media and that their lack of a social media presence is hurting their business. In addressing this concern the thing to ask is – are your target customers discussing and sharing information connected to your product via social media channels?
If the answer is yes, then you need a social media strategy – if the answer is no then focus your marketing efforts elsewhere.
Then the question is to what degree do you want to engage in social media?
Some B2C companies now run their entire customer service operation through social media channels. They will employ teams of people to listen to online forums and conversations and interject where suitable. This might be appropriate if you are a retailer of ladies clothing, but not if you are a supplier of steel fixtures to the nuclear energy industry.
For most SME B2B companies the best way to use social media is to use it as the mouthpiece of your online content marketing in order to boost your search engine rankings, realize more website traffic and generate more leads.
As discussed in a previous blog online content marketing is the best form of promotion because it is less about selling and more about building a relationship with potential customers who are interested in what you have to say and willing to share it with their followers.
For B2B companies Linkedin is a good social media channel because it is made up of people who want to learn, engage and enhance their professional standing in a social but professional capacity. By regularly publishing your own information and by re-publishing the information of others, you will steadily build a following including both buyers and intermediaries.
Google Plus is another good social media channel for B2B customers. It is not nearly as well used as its main competitor Facebook, but it does have a couple of strong advantages. Firstly, it enables you to group your followers into circles so you can differentiate who receives what communications and secondly, and most importantly, it is owned by Google and therefore will help improve your Google search engine ranking – which is ultimately the main objective.
Waypoint is a Winchester marketing company specialising in delivering marketing strategy, content development and lead generation. For more information please get in touch at [email protected] or call 01962 862760.
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