Not all social media is the same just as no two markets are the same. Unfortunately, this all-important term has been hijacked, or at the very least, misrepresented.
Ultimately, any digital media platform that simplifies sharing can be called social media. Understanding this will make it easier to match your social media strategy to your market, your customers, and your industry.
Business-to-business (B2B), business-to-government (B2G), and business-to-consumer (B2C) markets are all different. As such, no single social media platform can properly service all three the same way. What works well for one won’t necessarily work well for the other.
A perfect example might include an engineer coming up with a new customized design for a finished good. Now, is that engineer going to get a bunch of Facebook likes on that new design, or is he or she more likely to get feedback on a professional social media site like LinkedIn? The answer is obvious.
Facebook is an ideal social media platform for B2C markets, but there is little benefit to having a Facebook page for B2B or B2G markets. Your efforts are best spent working on social platforms that cater specifically to your customers and market. So, what are some of the things to consider when looking for the right social strategy?
1. Expand Your Horizons
First, understand that social media is expansive and constantly evolving. There are thousands of social media websites, online forums, and internet chat rooms all devoted to helping people create and share content, videos, and information. Don’t limit yourself to the most obvious of social media websites. Instead, understand that there are multiple unique social sites your customers might peruse.
2. Focus on Your Market
If you operate in a B2C market, one where you rely upon consumers liking and sharing information about your product and services, then platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and Tumblr are definite forums to consider. However, if you sell industrial finished goods, or highly-engineered technical products, then LinkedIn and industry-specific forums are ideal. Focus on your market and customers and everything should flow from there.
3. Become an Expert on the Platform
Become an active participant. Don’t just open up a Facebook page and include a bunch of social media buttons on your website or blog and expect everything to build upon itself. Instead, come up with a plan and stick with it. For instance, LinkedIn is a fantastic social site for professionals. The companies that best use this platform make it a point to work on their network for at least 20-30 minutes each day.
4. Measure Success
The only way to know if what you’re doing is working is if you measure your progress or lack thereof. How many leads have you generated weekly, monthly, and quarterly? What strategy works best and why? Which social platform or website is the best lead generator for your business? Make it a point to answer each of these questions and be sure to truly define what success means for your business.
5. Leverage Your Network
Finally, how can you leverage your network for additional business? This doesn’t merely involve asking for references – although that is a fine strategy to use. Instead, it means understanding what your customers want and giving them more. If you’re using content and posts on LinkedIn to drive traffic to your website, then surely you must know the type of content that produces the most inbound leads.
Leveraging your network involves understanding what your customers want, how they want it, and then cultivating that success by giving them exactly what they need.
Again, expand your horizons. Social media is much more than just Facebook. You need a platform that caters to your customers and market. Focus on becoming an expert on your platform of choice. Measure success and identify why when and how success happens. Finally, leverage your growth by understanding what your customers want, like, and need and then produce more.
If you’re looking for ideas on how to increase leads generated by LinkedIn, then this article will provide you with several low-cost solutions. For those of you looking to grow by using consumer-related social platforms, then this article about Facebook will help.