‘We don’t do social media.’

We hear this from many of our clients who do business with other businesses.  Seeing the possibility in using platforms that are continually in the news for banning this or allowing that can be too much for many B2B businesses, so they just put that marketing tool on the shelf.

Regardless of your business, there are three common uses for social media that are too big to ignore:

1. Social media doesn’t really impact SEO rankings. It helps with discovery of content but doesn’t directly impact discoverability with Google. We should be careful how we talk about this. It’s changing, but right now it’s my understanding that you can post all you want to social, it won’t impact your rankings directly. If it drives traffic to your site, that helps indirectly. A strong social feed can create a community around your brand.  When your customers feel involved with your brand, they may feel more loyal or invested in your success.  Social feeds can connect like-minded customers together.
2. Social media can drive traffic to your website. Along with SEO efforts, social media can be a way for people to find your content or find your company then visit your website for more information.
3. The return on investment (ROI) of social media advertising is something every business should consider. I am seeing proof time and time again that the cost vs. return of social media advertising shouldn’t be ignored for any business regardless of how specialized or niche your market is.

With that said, here are a few things to consider when someone brings up the possibility of building your presence on a social media platform.

The Platform is Critical

Many of us have abandoned our accounts on social media platforms because they are not interesting, too toxic, full of junk, etc.  These are all valid reasons to stop wasting our valuable personal time scrolling.  I have been surprised more than once by social platforms that host small groups of target customers for our clients – entomologists on Twitter, grader operators on Facebook, dairy farmers on Instagram.  Always consider that, just like you, your customers may have given up personally on social media platforms but they may use social media to connect with professional peers.  Don’t discount the value of a platform to reach potential customers just because it is not your personal playground.  Find out where your customers are and how they use a platform to know if that social channel is right for you.

You Are Not Your Customer

Far too often, we begin working with a client and find that they are on a platform that they enjoy and are familiar with only to find that their customers aren’t actually there.  Just yesterday, we were talking to a client’s new marketing hire who was super excited to get the company on Instagram because she and her friends were on ‘Insta’.  The innovators and researchers in that industry are not on Instagram.  The majority of the company’s customers are not on Instagram.  The company doesn’t have the collection of photos and video necessary to sustain an active feed on Instagram.  Just because you like a platform and are familiar with it doesn’t mean it’s the right place to connect with current and potential customers.  Just because the person running your social media rides the bus to work doesn’t mean that ads in the bus are reaching your customers.

Why are You Going Social?

“If your friend told you to jump off a bridge would you?”  The old parental argument against peer pressure is a weighty question for businesses considering their social media presence.  Just because someone says you ‘should be on social media’ doesn’t mean you should be.  Consider that you wouldn’t just call up a potential customer to meet them then show them a brochure or ad – you’d have a reason like getting to know their business or understanding their problems. Until you’re clear about that ‘why’, starting a social feed will not bear fruit and may even be abandoned before it can be useful.  Our clients use social media for a number of reasons and they’re all specific to the people they want to reach and the messages they want to send:

• Finding industry leaders to talk about their product or service with
• Source leads for sales
• Build a community of service technicians and provide them with tips to make equipment maintenance easy
• Tell the story of their product or service and customers who have found success because of their investment (sampling, brand building, risk reduction)
• Create a community of users for after-sale support
• Build excitement about new products coming to market
• Find research that validates your product or service and researchers whose work could involve your company

‘We should be on social media’ is not enough to ensure that you receive good value for your investments in social media.  Have a specific purpose to your social presence that justifies building a community.  Not only will your social audience be more engaged in your feed but your team will find more value in supporting it, too.