#TwitterSmarter: Tips to Rock Your B2B Social Media Marketing

My recap of the 1/19/2017 #TwitterSmarter hosted by @MadalynSklar & @BrowerKDnB  Join the conversation every Thursday at 1pm EST.

#Icebreaker: If you could have anyone in the world mentor you, who would it be?

• #Icebreaker Answer: @Gladwell @ThisIsSethsBlog @gah650 – my mentoring hat trick

Q1: How can B2B companies benefit from incorporating social media in their marketing strategy?

• Social not only gives B2B reach, but allows companies to show how they are different from their competition
• It increases knowledge share and creates educated customers
• Social increases interaction, interaction builds trust, trust = relationships & SALES

Q2: How can social media help B2B companies with their global presence and outreach?

• Social provide reach that enables you to connect with potential customers
• Social allows you to easily tailor your message to your customer (no matter culture or platform)

Q3: How can you create memorable content on social media to help your brand visibility?

• Create content that help your customer use your product better – tips & tricks – best practices
• Create content that helps your customer before speaking about your brand

Q4: How can social media help you craft your unique brand messaging?

• Social allows you to listen to what your target (and existing) customers are talking about
• After listening to and learning from your customers, create content that fills that need
• Listen to what your customer’s pain points are
• Social allows your customers to complain to you (think community), rather than rant on a 3rd party platform
• Social gives your salespeople content to open discussions – rather than: “I’m calling to check in”

Q5: How can you measure the success of your social media marketing for B2B companies?

• Measure with utm codes within links and track via Google Analytics
• Measure traffic to your site or electronic storefront – Discussions within your community – Blog subscriptions

Q6: How can social media be a competitive advantage for B2B companies?

• Many use Social, few use it well
• Just as you need to prove your brand / product is different – you need to do the same with your Social efforts
• Don’t use Social because “everyone does,” find and utilize the platforms your customers are using

Thank you for reading – hope to see you at #TwitterSmarter soon and I look forward to your comments.  When embarking on your Social campaign, ensure you have the right lines in the water to balance reach with engagement.  This blog sums up this chat topic.

Best,

Toby

#Bufferchat: Building an Emergent Organization

My recap of the 1/18/2017 #Bufferchat hosted by @buffer & @theready.  Join the conversation every Wednesday at 12pm EST.

Icebreaker: If you could pick any workplace perk, what would it be?

• Onsite dry cleaning would be an awesome workplace perk
• Tasty snacks & really awesome coffee

Q1: In these constantly changing times, what does it look like for a company to embrace a forward-thinking, emergent mindset?

• Judging and rewarding employees by meeting goals and not simply face-time.
• It’s not the hours you put in, but what you put in the hours
• Providing your employees with the best technology to help them be productive: @msonenote @JiveSoftware @trello

Q2: How have the needs of organizations changed as technology has evolved?

• Customers EXPECT acknowledgement and answers quicker
• Employees to be always available
• Technology saavy employees who are willing to open to change

Q3: What are signs that a company needs to make a change in how it functions?

• When leadership says: “We’ve ALWAYS done it that way”
• If Employee turnover rockets
• If you still use a fax machine

Q4: What are ways for a company to begin to make positive shifts in how it operates?

• Talk to your front lines: they are in touch with your customers
• Executive participation with your company’s community
• Executives living their philosophies and not just preach them – your employees want to follow your lead

Q5: In your opinion, what’s the most important change an organization can make to help them thrive in the future?

• Tear down silos – make your organization as horizontal as possible – we all have the same company on our badge
• Connect with your employees – make them owners and show how they contribute to success
• Communicate and be transparent to your employees and customers
• If you take employee surveys: give feedback and actually implement some of their suggestions

Q6: How can organizations support modern career growth?

• Training and seminars
• Send employees to industry specific shows
• Encourage employees participate in tweetchats

Q7: What are your favorite resources about the future of work, organizational transformation, and/or emergent companies?

• Communities and Tweetchats

Bonus! How would you summarize today’s #bufferchat discussion in one tweet?

• Listen, learn, change, adapt – There is always a better way; find it.

Thanks for reading! Please join me @buffer @ariellemargot and a host of fine folks at the next chat.

Cheers,

Toby