Why B2B Should Embrace Social Media

While the more traditional marketing mix is still important, there’s currently nothing that even gets close to social media in the level of loyalty it can instil. It’s a powerful tool that can be harnessed to engage people. And what happens when people are engaged? They’re more likely to think of you when they need a service you provide, which means more customers and higher profits.

If a competitor is more engaging to a buyer than you are they’ll go to the competitor, and you won’t even know you missed an opportunity because 70% of a buyer’s journey is completed before they even think about contacting a sales person.

75% of B2B purchase decisions are influenced by social media because buyers are able to see who you are, what you say, how helpful you are to them, and what other people say about you – B2B brands no longer have the option to not use social media to be part of the conversation.

WHO DOES IT WELL?

Just so you have an idea of how to use social media properly, here are a few examples of brands that really get it:

• Amazon: They’re known for quickly resolving any customer problems or complaints made on social media, offering timely voucher codes, highlighting interesting products, and notifying users when products are back in stock.
• Intel: They showed that they have their eye on the ball when they used the viral #ILookLikeAnEngineer movement (which highlighted sexism in the tech industry) to promote the diversity within their own organisation.
• Oracle: We won a B2B marketing award for a campaign for Oracle, so I know they get digital, but they get social media too. As well as sharing news about their industry and products, they use social media to share their personality and charitable work with the world too.
  

A FEW QUICK TIPS

• Content: B2B brands have specialised knowledge not found anywhere else. It can be used to create very useful resources for potential customers.
• Social selling: Use social media to make genuine, human connections with customers.
• Social Listening: Find out who your customers are, where they are, and what they’re talking about so you can be part of the conversation.

SOCIAL MEDIA IN B2B IS HERE TO STAY

Social media is where your customers spend much of their time, and every time a customer uses social media to complain about you without a response, every time a B2B buyer consumes a piece of content produced by a competitor, every time you fail to treat your customers as individuals, you’re damaging your reputation and your profits.

Is your B2B brand embracing social media? Get in touch it if you want to talk about how you can harness the power of social media to engage customers and increase profits.

Posted by David Haward, Director at MOI Global

Laura Nolan