Driving Word-of-Mouth with Social Media Marketing
Just a couple of years ago, b2b marketers could rely on key words and metatags for SEO, sprinkled with some pay-per-click campaigns to ensure a grand web presence and page-one search results. To get those kinds of results these days, marketers must venture into a new frontier: social media.
Once merely a playground for youth, sites like Facebook and Twitter are rapidly maturing, and serious B-to-B marketers have burgeoning options to explore within this formerly college-oriented arena.
LinkedIn has more than 13 million baby boomers actively networking, and is growing by thousands daily. Facebook claims a 178% increase in users over 55 in the last six months. And Twitter, poised to be the next big thing, is thriving thanks to a recent omnipresence among politicos, pundits, and celebrities.
Social media is gaining traction on the more affluent professional channels. These are the targets for B-to-B marketers. Savvy professionals read publications, listen to the radio, and watch TV. Then they go to the Internet for verification. These sources are often found in social media entries. Marketers can either take advantage of all available options for branding on social media, or risk being left in the dust.
Although the economy may be fueling alternative low-cost online marketing, social media is positioned as a marketing mainstay. While boosting web traffic remains the primary objective for most marketers, the routes to this destination have multiplied, creating a secondary objective: direct, ongoing communication with consumers.
Driving word-of-mouth with social media tactics includes regular content updates to the top destinations. Each of these is designed to facilitate some aspect of a business transaction, a sales contact, referral, or similar business purpose.
LinkedIn maintain your personal professional profile, forge contacts with other professionals in your industry, link up with everyone you meet professionally, join groups, submit discussion questions or polls.
YouTube post instructional videos, tours, interviews, and commercials.
Twitter post regular updates on your companys activities, seek followers, follow other industry tweets, and research competition.
Blogs – maintain dynamic content, showcase your expertise, be a news source, make announcements of developments within your industry, share observations.
These basic touchpoints can launch your social media journey. Options are increasing regularly, so keep abreast of new opportunities for exposure.
If you are interested in how your company can drive a social media campaign to help improve your B-to-B brands identity, contact MLT Creative for direction.
