Business to business (B2B) sales have gone social. Social media platforms are not just for business to consumer (B2C) companies anymore. Businesses know that social media is a valuable tool for learning about businesses and their products. Social media also makes Internet sales more personal because businesses no longer have to deal with an invisible sales force. They instead can get to know key staff at a company through social media interaction.
Social media networks are good sales intelligence tools that can help increase your sales productivity and assist with lead prospecting, but only if you target the right social media networks. Before deciding which social media networks to target, it is a good idea to do a keyword search of terms relevant to your business to see where your consumers are visiting. Another factor to consider is what you are trying to achieve for your business. Once you know where your target market is at and what your social media goals are, you can effectively target the right social media platforms. The following four tips will help you decide which social media platforms to target.
1. Do You Want to Increase Brand Exposure?
If you want to increase brand exposure for your business on a social media platform, Facebook may be your best bet, according to Elissa Kline in B2B Social Media Marketing Social’s Mean Business. Kline shows that 51 percent of B2B marketers found Facebook to be the most effective social media platform. Facebook is most likely the first social media platform businesses will look for you on, making it an important place to focus on.
2. Do You Want to Promote Customer Interaction?
One of the most effective marketing tools is to get people talking about your business, and an effective way to do this is to promote customer interaction. Discussion boards and open forums on your website are other great ways to promote conversations with your customers.
3. Do You Want to Establish Yourself as an Authority?
Establishing yourself as an authority tells other businesses that you are a resource that can be trusted and that you have the knowledge to provide the solutions they need. The right social media platforms to establish yourself as an authority on are blogs and places like YouTube where you can post informative articles and videos.
4. Do You Want to Promote Sales or Provide Businesses With Updates on Your Company?
If you want to promote sales or provide your customers with valuable updates about your products or services, email campaigns and Twitter are valuable tools.
Social relationship management (social CRM) is only effective if you put the work into it. You have to regularly update your social media pages and most importantly participate in conversations. Remember, social media is not about you talking to your customers, it is about you talking with your customers and allowing them an opportunity to voice their opinions.
