Truth in Advertising: Don't Drink the Kool-Aid Kids
Before we go on I want to make it perfectly clear that statistically, for B2B, the leads that are generated are predominately soft leads (the tire kickers). It doesn't mean that the business won't come, but consistently producing interesting and valuable content while honing your call to action and tracking takes time but will eventually generate revenue. The approach and use of social media for each industry is a different. If you sell wholesale coffee then the approach you take is quite different from that of an ad agency, engineering firm or bulk crafts. The key is testing, altering your message against a "control ad" and implementing tracking with drip campaigns set-up to do the leg work (planned responses over time).
We're a believer (and trust me we weren't until about three years ago) and continue to market knowing that for every $1.00 we'll receive $1.20 - $1.30 in the long run. So... off of the pedestal and onto the advice.
For most companies that are B2B, we recommend implementing campaigns primarily on three social media platforms:
Facts: LinkedIn is an ideal platform to increase your online presence. With more than two professionals signing up on LinkedIn every second, businesses have the opportunity to network with an increasing number of interesting contacts. Using the different personal and group features in LinkedIn, companies and the people representing them can all improve their visibility and credibility, both as individuals and (thus) as a brand.
Specific Suggestions:
Facts: Everyday there are over 1.5 billion searches, over 3 billion videos watched and over 7 billion likes on separate Facebook pages. The statistics don’t lie and your customers are there.
With a dedicated Facebook representative, 92 West we has daily access to help resolve campaign strategy questions, stay current with changes, get help with reporting for improvement.
Specific Suggestions:
Facts: With over 540 million active users, Google+ is larger than LinkedIn and Twitter. And while it cannot currently match the networking strengths of LinkedIn, from a search engine ranking standpoint, you really can’t afford not to have a Google+ presence.
It’s sometimes easier to think of Google+ not as a social network, but as a social layer. Google loves it and gives you credit when you use it. Enough said.
Note: We also leverage Pinterest, Instragram, Tumblr and a number of others for B2C and SEO purposes... but in general... these are the one's that have been successful for our clients and our strategies in the past for B2B. If you want to hear more on those give us a shout and we'll research it for a later post!
If you want help in crafting your own campaign, or even would like an experts opinion on what platforms you should pursue, give us a call at 402.620.2633 or fill out our contact form and we'll set-up a time to meet in person.
Troy Kadavy
Creative Director
92 West
Suite D
Omaha, Nebraska 68131
t. 402.620.2633
http://www.92west.com
Strategically Creative.
branding + design + web + apps + seo
Additional Works:
https://slate.adobe.com/cp/u52ZN/
Demo Reel for 2016:
https://youtu.be/eJbxtX6jxJY