[whitepaper] b2b social media monetization

2013

WHITEPAPER: B2B Social Media Monetization

www.thesocialpeople.net | @thesocialppl f/thesocialpeople

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There has been an explosion in B2B social media of late. In fact, 87%

of all B2B marketers use social media to generate leads and engage

prospects1, and 56% increased social media spending in 20132.

What’s driving this eager adoption? In large part, B2B buyers.

Increasingly, they want to use social media to research prospective

purchases and connect with vendors—33% do now and 75% plan to

in the future3.

Savvy companies recognize the power of social media to transform their business and are using it to give their

customers a seat at the decision-making table. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to take your

efforts to the next level, the following 5 steps can help you make your social media marketing a success.

STEP 1: START WITH A STRATEGY

With the recent explosion in the use of social media, it’s easy to fall into the trap of just wanting to get out

there, start a Facebook page, tweet a little, and see what happens. But social media is like every other aspect

of your business: it will be more successful when the goals, objectives and strategies are clearly outlined.

The way B2B companies use social media tends to be similar to B2C companies. Some of the common uses

include:

Increasing awareness

Gathering and responding to customer feedback

Customer service

Crisis management

Generating leads

Market research

Monitoring the competition

For most companies, it ultimately comes down to generating

revenue.

B2B buyers have a lot in common with consumers, but there

are some key differences as well. To make sure your social

media campaigns hit the mark and achieve your goals, it’s

important to keep these differences in mind.

The ultimate customer – B2B buyers are making purchases not

just for their company but with their own customers in mind,

and this shapes their decisions.

Big investment – B2B purchases tend to be pricey, so business

buyers are more cautious and hungry for information that can

help them make the right choices.

77% of B2B buyers are

more likely to purchase

from a company if the CEO

uses social media4.

SOCIAL MEDIA RESULTS

B2B marketers have seen even greater success than

B2C marketers in achieving some kinds of social

media goals5.

GOAL B2B B2C Acquired new business partnerships 56% 45% Improved search ranking 60% 50% Gathered marketplace insights 69% 60%


Value of relationships – Typically there is a long sales cycle with B2B purchases, so buyers want to work with

a company they view as a trusted, responsive partner.

Peers matter – The B2B marketplace is very much peer-influenced with the opinions, recommendations and

referrals of fellow B2B buyers carrying a lot of weight.

STEP 2: PICK THE RIGHT PLATFORMS

The platforms you choose will obviously have a big impact on your success. You need to be where you can

engage with your customers and prospects. Social media monitoring is a great way to find this out.

Explic8, powered by Germinate, gives you a constantly updated look at how and where customers seek out

information and how they engage with your company—insight that can help you decide which platforms are

best for your effort.

Keep in mind that different social media platforms offer different benefits:

Blogs – 77% of B2B social media companies use blogs to share content, which is great for

establishing credibility with buyers and becoming a go-to resource for insight on current issues6

LinkedIn – The most popular platform with B2B marketers7, it’s 4x better at generating leads than

Facebook or Twitter8.

Google+ – Second most users behind Facebook9, it gives you the ability to target content using

circles.

Twitter – Good for building and sustaining relationships, which is key to B2B selling.

Facebook – largest network10 and it offers ad retargeting with Facebook Exchange.

The smart move is to develop a plan that uses multiple, complementary platforms, then measure

performance and adjust as needed.

TOP 5 B2B PLATFORMS (Percentage of all B2B companies who use each platform11)


STEP 3: CONNECT WITH CONTENT

More and more B2B companies are using social media to

distribute content. This makes perfect sense given the

nature of B2B buying, which involves a significant

investment and lots of research. B2B buyers are eager for

content that will help them understand industry trends and

make smart decisions.

Using content as the cornerstone of your B2B social media

effort accomplishes 3 very valuable things:

Helps prospects with research – B2B purchases are typically complex and involve many different variables.

With white papers, state-of-the-industry pieces and other informative content, you can help your prospects

find the insight they need, speed along the research phase of the buying decision, keep your company top of

mind, and frame issues in a way that will naturally lead to your products and services.

Establishes your company as a thought leader – B2B customers are buying your expertise as much as your

products and services. Driving content with social media gives you the perfect opportunity to show off how

well your company understands the most pressing issues facing your customers today.

Starts building a relationship – Since B2B purchases typically have big price tags and long sales cycles,

finding the right vendor relationship is crucial to business customers. Start making a connection by delivering

valuable content that demonstrates you understand customers’ goals and challenges.

STEP 4: GENERATE LEADS

If generating leads isn’t a key goal of your social media strategy, you’re missing out on an opportunity. There

are many ways you can use social media to generate leads, including:

Forging relationships – This is especially important when you consider that 57% of the buying process is

complete before a B2B buyer ever contacts a salesperson and can be as high as 70%12. Business buyers are

increasingly looking to social media for the information they need. By connecting with them online, you start

building the relationship before they ever pick up the phone.

Offering gated content – Gated content is a great way to reach prospects. B2B buyers will happily give you

their contact information in exchange for a white paper they really want to read. It’s a three-birds-one stone

strategy: not only do you get a lead, but you also get the opportunity to show off your company’s expertise

and demonstrate that you are a good partner who delivers real value.

Consider visual platforms for your

social media effort – video,

demos, slide presentations and

product photos are all good

source of content.

65% of B2B companies are acquiring new customers from Linkedin13.


Using social media advertising – This can be a very effective way to generate leads, especially in conjunction

with content marketing. Use social media ads to drive traffic to a landing page where prospects can

download a white paper or other useful information. Of course, you’ll want to test to find the best

performing messages and the best ways to reach your prospects.

STEP 5: LEARN AND THRIVE

As with other marketing tactics, you’re not going to put your

social media campaign out there and forget about it.

Measurement is key to achieving your goals and getting the

most out of your social media investment. Take advantage of

the analytics capabilities that a comprehensive social media

monitoring tool like Explic8 offers. Explic8 helps you

understand who is talking about your campaign, what they’re

saying, and how they’re responding.

To make sure you get the insight you need, it’s important to

choose the right metrics, ones that match up against your

goals. For instance, if you’re trying to raise awareness, then

tracking shares and re-tweets is an effective metric. If your

goal is to generate leads…not so much. With the right metrics

in place, you can accurately gauge your campaign’s performance and make adjustments as needed.

Social media itself is always changing and evolving—with new platforms, new strategies, and new

possibilities. Staying on top of these developments can open up new opportunities that will help you more

effectively reach customers and prospects, drive revenue, and gain an advantage over your competition.

BUZZGRAPH: “LOOKING FOR” AND (SERVICE OR

VENDOR)

The Buzz Graph shows a visual summary of buzz

around the searched query by listing words that

appear frequently along with the search query.

Association between different keywords is represented

by edges [lines] between them—which can be bold,

simple, or dashed—based on the strength of

association. Strongly related words, i.e., those which

frequently appear together, have darker edges

between them. The position of a word is not indicative

to its relevance or frequency of mention.

COMMON SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS

Reach based on impressions

Buzz

Share of Voice

Mention v/s Competition

Number of fans, followers or friends

Sharing / Retweeting

Downloads

Video views

Comments

Registrations for Webinars

Traffic to website from social media sites


SOCIAL MEDIA AS A STRONG PR CHANNEL

(Detailed research report in our next whitepaper release)


TheSocialPeople is a hardcore Social Media Strategy firm that builds customized solutions for businesses to unleash the

power of Social Media across all their business verticals. Our clients can range from large corporations and national

news publications to local businesses and niche blogs. Honestly to us, Size is not nearly as important as the ambition

and the drive to succeed.

Some have called us a Social Media Public Relations firm. Others perceive our abilities to run a Marketing campaign on

the social networks. Fact is that we do much more than just marketing which is just one aspect of a business. Our

company identity has never been as important to us as results we can bring to your business and its dynamics. To be

simply put – We’re TheSocialPeople and we make your business into a Social Entity; we call it a Social Business.

1 Content Marketing Institute, B2B Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budget, and Trends—North America

2 BtoB Magazine, “Outlook 2013: Marketing Priorities and Plans” study

3 Pick, Tom, “72 Fascinating Social Media Marketing Facts and Statistics for 2012”, Business2community.com


5 Mershon, Phil, “How B2B Marketers Use Social Media: New Research,” socialmediaexaminer.com



8 Scott, David Meerman, “LinkedIn 4x Better for B2B Leads Than Facebook or Twitter,” socialmediatoday.com

9 Gow, Glenn, “4 Reasons Why Google+ is a Killer B2B Social Media Platform,” socialmediab2b.com

10 Gow, Glenn, “4 Reasons Why Google+ is a Killer B2B Social Media Platform,” socialmediab2b.com


12 Marketing Leadership Council and Google, The Digital Evolution in B2B Marketing


Looking Ahead The potential for social media—whether it’s in the B2B or B2C world—is only just beginning to be tapped. The

most forward-looking companies are starting to use it to change how they do business: connecting more

deeply with customers and becoming truly collaborative, so they can deliver the products and services that

their customers really need and want. There’s no better formula for profitability than that.