There is a myth circulating that if you have a Facebook page for your business then that is all you to need to succeed at social media.
If that is your paradigm then you need to rethink your social media strategy.
The reality is that this is only one piece of the puzzle and you are starting from the wrong end. This misconception is especially paramount if you are operating in a B2B business (business to business).
If you are just publishing short updates to Facebook, then your business is going to look a little cheap and fluffy and not that substantial. If you playing with Twitter and just tweeting 140 character little nothings with no links to content of substance then you will look just a tad adolescent.
So it is time to grow up and get serious with your social media marketing.
The Center of the Social Media Universe
This is the blog where you reveal your exceptional understanding of your industry and stakeout your claim as a thought leader.
The blog should have so much content with gravitas that it attracts other planets to your business as close members of your orbit and solar system. Other phrases that are synonymous with this are:
- Inbound marketing (the content is so good that people are drawn and attracted to your blog. They want to download it, link to it, talk about it and share this content on social media networks)
- Content Marketing (same idea really, just a different way of phrasing it)
So get serious and build this hub for your business universe.
The Who, How and the What
This content needs to be in the mother tongue of the inhabitants. This also requires asking yourself three questions
- Who are you targeting with your social media?
- How can you deploy social media marketing tactics for measurable success?
- What goals are your wanting to accomplish?
Answer these correctly and you are on your way to rocketing to success through the social media marketing universe.
The Three Big Planets
In your B2B business social media strategy you should not ignore building outposts on these planets.
Facebook – 34.6% of business in B2B participating here displays its importance as a social media planet of importance.
Twitter – Twitter has really started to gain traction in the last 12 months in a broad range of demographics from younger to older generations (being embedded in Apple’s mobile operating system that resides on the iPhones and iPads has been a big win for Twitters growth and acceptance here. 25.3 percent of businesses are now “Tweeters”.
LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a serious planet, so if you are visiting make sure that you are looking a bit more formal and have your best space suit on. 25.3 percent of B2B business is living and breathing here.
There are some other planets emerging that you should also consider such as Google+ that you should keep your eye on and at least secure with your brand name.
The Visually Attractive Planets
The social media universe has become much more visually attractive in the last year. Twelve months ago hanging out in the social media universe was a bit drab really. It used to be like attending a tech conference where all the attendees were men, a bit geeky and talked in alien acronyms.
Now the ladies have turned up to make it much more fun and visually and emotionally attractive.
These visually attractive planets are
- Pinterest (approaching 100 million users with a majority of them being women)
- Instagram (A mobile photo app that makes yourimages as good as a National Geographic photographer and can be posted to Facebook and Twitter in seconds
- Infographics (see below)
Some of the other visual planets have been around a while and these include YouTube, Flickr and Slideshare.
Infographic from Marketo
So What About You?
Have you started your social media marketing campaign from the wrong end? Is a blog part of your plans?
How do you find the challenge of creating meaningful and attractive content? Does it take too much time?
Why don’t you consider crowd sourcing content from your tribe and community.
Look forward to hearing your stories, challenges and successes.