Social Media Will Change Social Media Will Change Your BusinessYour Business

Your customers and rivals are figuring out social media. Catch up…or catch you later!

Things have happened quickly… like it or not, social media is already a permanent part of the B2B marketing landscape.

In particular, public relations, marketing and customer expectations have undergone enormous changes.

How prescient is this 2008 headline from BusinessWeek magazine?

What has changed?What has changed?Social media are having a greater impact on B2B marketing than did the Internet

• The Net was a watershed in how people could access information… social media is a paradigmatic shift in the nature of information itself: the look, feel, style, tone and content

• Social media became popular because consumer expectations changed and old media could not adapt… immediacy and personlisation

• Social media is not a better way to disseminate the same message, in fact… failure comes from offering ‘old style’ information

“Opportunity exists for building loyalty and relationships in the new marketing landscape that's based on progressive relationships, not just sales funnels”

What hasn’t changed?What hasn’t changed?Social media are digital platforms that disseminate information, just as trade magazines did (and still do) on the analog level

• The very basics of PR and marketing have not changed… the need to stand out, the need to inform customers, the need to capture a market’s attention, the need for an integrated strategy

• Public relations are still critical, maybe more so today, with emphasis on ‘relations’ and interactions

• PR and marketing have always been about content generation and that hasn’t changed

• As marketers, we still use an intelligent, cost-effective combination of all available tools (traditional and digital) and tactics to drive awareness and sales

“You still need a good story to tell… people buy ‘different’. It’s stand out or fade away, just as it has always been”

We’re here because we have to beWe’re here because we have to be• Traditional B2B marketing platforms have lost clout and effectiveness

• Customers want mobile information… now

• Online search and information access mean customers find you almost 80% of the time

• Customers come to you with preconceived notions about your company and brand

• Social media allows you to influence these preconceived ideas that lead to sales, other platforms do not

“Only 10% of site visitors are ready to engage; but over time (12 months) with the right value-added content the number skyrockets to 87%” (BtoB magazine)

We’re here because we have to beWe’re here because we have to beAs of early 2011, worldwide almost 50% of B2B technology professionals use either Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube or Twitter weekly, almost 30% daily

Social media platformsSocial media platformsOver 750 million registered users72% of B2B companies use Facebook for marketing, according to IBM

“… when you stop to think about it, what’s more social than doing business?”

Over 120 million professionals worldwide2 million companies have LinkedIn pages

Over 200 million registered users

88% of the 100 Fortune Global Companies post daily news and updates

2nd largest search engine, 4th largest site on web

YouTube is localized in 25 countries and 43 languages

How B2B uses social mediaHow B2B uses social media- Shorten procurement cycle

- Improve customer relationships

- Convey broader corporate personality

- Find skilled employees

- Protect brand from online ‘slander’

- Help customers… respond to problems, resolve issues quickly

- Reach remote, emerging markets

“For B2B marketers, social media are a godsend… now you can interact with customers and partners in ‘immediate’ ways and in places that were never possible with slower, less vibrant media”

- Manage core message

B2B goals for FacebookB2B goals for Facebook- Get found by people searching for your products and services

- Connect and engage with current and potential customers

- Generate leads

- Promote the personality of Rebound to potential employees

“In many emerging countries, social media are the preferred method of communication and the only way to talk with customers”

- Promote other content you create: webinars, white papers

Obstacles to getting startedObstacles to getting started

Getting started… some basicsGetting started… some basicsEstablish editorial calendar: topics, dates, responsibilities!

• Begin with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter pages• Create blog(s)• Determine applicable LinkedIn groups• Gather information… previously published articles, etc. are first place to begin• Prepare graphics for eventual YouTube and Flickr channels, prepare articles for SlideShare• Decide who will be the social media advocate(s) in your company

“Social media are not perfect: neither are adverts, exhibitions or direct mail; but participation is inexpensive… mistakes aren’t nearly as costly”

First step essentialsFirst step essentialsBegin socisa media participation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and company blogs, then include YouTube, SlideShare, Flickr and beyond

• Identify personae on each platform, identify goals, establish ROI metrics

• Employ SEO to establish and lockdown current ranking

• Lockdown site names, channel names etc. for each platform… then begin creating pages

• Identify contacts within company… who can help, who will help… Vertical will train to ‘hand over’ tasks

• Create ‘editorial calendar’

• Vertical will handle all initial content seeding (blogging, Twitter, etc.)

“Social media plans develop in real time… consistency of participation is important… what’s most important is getting started”

Step-by-step with VerticalStep-by-step with VerticalWe will act as community manager and ROI monitor

• Actively monitor all platforms and participate in and engage online communities…

• Establish and monitor ROI metrics… adjust strategy and content as data dictate

• Seek to identify and train community manager(s) within Rebound

We will act as content manager and creator, when needed

• Develop editorial calendar, timing and consistency within each platform

• Monitor all content, applicable platforms, online ‘chatter’

• Create integrated look within each platform

“Yes, your efforts need a cohesive direction but they don’t have to be perfect… too many use perfection as a reason not to start at all”

At all times… At all times… intelligentintelligent marketing marketing• We will continue to pursue every method available to help our

clients stand out, capture markets and pursue industry leadership

• We will continue to use the best, the most intelligent combination of traditional and digital, print and online, video, trade shows, ebooks, the lot, to achieve results quickly and cost-effectively

• We will embrace any technologies that help us better achieve the above goals… and abandon those that do not

• Today’s economic realities dictate that ‘good enough’ is no longer an option… not for us and not for our clients

“The quality and value of content has never, never been more important for B2B marketing… social media are driven by content in ways old marketing tactics never were”