Reasons to Adopt Social Media Marketing

In recent weeks I met with a B2B company to discuss marketing options. The topic of community and social media came up and I was reminded of how difficult it has been for the B2B segment of businesses to grasp a hold of the power in social media when one business is marketing to another. The value has still not been understood. They still view this type of marketing as not relating to them, when in actuality social marketing is becoming one of the most effective ways to market online.

in today’s economy B2B companies are decreasing their marketing dollars and spending more online. A recent survey by B2B Magazine revealed that over 48% of those surveyed were increasing their online marketing spend.

Why is there such an effectiveness in social media?

Truth is, so many people are tired of “marketing speak.” Social media allows companies to relate to one another and bypass the fluff.

Let’s take a look at what the online definition of social media, I’ve chosen to use the definition from wikipedia since it is user generated.

Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other. Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. Popular social mediums include blogs, message boards, podcasts, wikis, and vlogs.

The definition alone should reveal to you how important it is that B2B companies explore social media marketing channels.

In a recent study done by KnowledgeStorm of B2B technology decision makers the following statistics were revealed:

• 90% Participate in Video
• 80% Participate in Blogs
• 80% Participate in Wikis
• 69% Participate in Social Networks
• 53% Participate in Podcasts

In the same study it was shared that of 69% of B2B buyers use social networks “primarily for business networking and development.”

At a minimum B2B businesses should at least be involved in communities and social network where there customers already are. Explore the opportunity to reach out to key influencers in your target market and optimize your content and social media applications for syndication.

I know that stepping out into social media can feel somewhat daunting for more traditional marketing team, but it doesn’t have to be difficult to be successful. Chose a few initiatives that will work well for your company and gain you incremental success until you are more comfortable in really delving into the social media and applications.

Social media enables you to :

• Share your expertise and knowledge
• Tap into the wisdom of your consumers
• Enables customers helping customers
• Engages prospects through customer evangelism

Can you really afford to continue to dismiss social media has a marketing vehicle?

Contact Chris Treece at CLT Marketing today.  615-415-0161 or email at chris@cltmarketing.com

Understanding the Role of Social Media in Marketing

There are some that think “social media marketing” is just the latest buzz phrase in marketing, but the truth is it is a new venue that you can use to market and promote your products and services. Social media centers around interaction with colleagues, potential customers as well as current customers.
I’ve found that when companies begin to dig into social media, they are not sure where to start. The information in this series will help you understand why social media marketing is important and how to begin to put it to work for you and your business.

What the heck is social media and what role does it play in my marketing? This is probably a question I wouldn’t have received two years ago, but yet today it’s the most common question that enters my inbox.
First off, let’s talk about what social media is. Social media represents low-cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. These tools are typically internet or mobile based. A few that you have probably heard of include Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.
Social media gives marketers a voice and a way to communicate with peers, customers and potential consumers. It personalizes the “brand” and helps you to spread your message in a relaxed and conversational way.
The downfall to social media, if you could call it that is that it must be a part of your everyday life in order to keep the momentum and attention you need for it to be successful.
If you think that social media is only for the small business owners that are trying out an experiment, I have to correct you.

Success stories are abundant when it comes using social media from headhunters that find job applicants to new businesses that want to introduce a new product as well as already established Fortune 500 companies that want to strengthen their brand. The role of social media in your marketing is to use it as a communication tool that makes you accessible to those interested in your product and makes you visible to those that don’t know your product. Use it as a tool that creates a personality behind your brand and creates relationships that you otherwise may never gain. This creates not only repeat-buyers, but customer loyalty. Fact is social media is so diversified that it can be used in whatever way best suits the interest and the needs of your business.