Growing need to increase B2B social media presence
It’s all the rage at the moment, getting coverage for brands on social media sites. Many of the PR companies we work with are increasingly tasked with growing coverage for their clients on the likes of blogs, tweets and forums. As a research organisation we get involved with tracking conversations, judging sentiment and monitoring activity among clients and competitors, but what is the value for B2B brands in increasing their activity in social media?
But why if it’s the domain of ‘social circles’?
We have a feeling that digital media is the way to go, but surely we ought to base this decision on evidence rather than hunches, as sometimes it feels that the effort expended on seeding conversations is disproportionate to the affect it has. Indeed, just this month (July 2009) Terry Goins, Executive Vice President, WorkPlace Media, commented on his organization’s recent US survey saying “it’s clear that the social media is just that, it’s social”. His comments were probably prompted by the fact that 96% of respondents reported that the absence of a brand on social media did not change their opinion. However, 33% said they had received a recommendation for a brand on social networks, and 25% had recommended a brand using this approach. This, surely represents a sizable part of a potential market not to be ignored?
We can also argue that a good company should have a reasonable level of customer engagement anyway, so twitter, forums or communities are in effect a bonus tool in generating sales leads, rather than the key generator. However, the extent to which a B2B brand crosses over into the consumer space must have an effect on its ability to generate communities, given that larger consumer marketplaces are more likely to have emotive, interesting purchases, so more readily lend themselves to social media interactions.
New light on the relationship between social media and business return
In my search to answer all things ‘social media monitoring’ I was pleased to stumble upon a new report by the Wetpaint and the Altimeter Group. It found that there is a direct correlation between strong company financial performance and deep social media engagement. Encouragingly, their study was extensive and covered the attitudes of employees as well as activities posted in various channels and financial data (it also used a number of statistical regression analysis models to prove its point). It seems that companies who have taken it a stage further than traditional communications and early corporate blog experimentation (which typically emphasize messaging and talking points), and have gone on to be almost evangelistic in their approach to social media across the entire organization have experienced the most success financially. [See Altimeter Group article]
But you need a plan
It also found that a ‘one size fits all’ approach isn’t appropriate, as being active in multiple channels doesn’t necessarily increase engagement for niche markets. This of course reminds us that a good understanding of the target audience and their valued channels is key to successful campaign execution. So pick your channels, as well as your messages carefully.
After customer and market insights comes the fight for resources. The report again has a number of observations on this with examples of central coordination and local champions as well as execution activities undertaken beyond the social media team.
And of course check how effective it is
What’s the use of having a great plan and getting everyone involved if it’s a little short of the mark? Social media is an evolving, iterative process that needs to change and react quickly. Without a finger on the pulse or ‘buzz’ this can be difficult to do. So, by keeping an eye on both your activities and those of the wider market you’ll be able to tell;
• whether your content is synchronized across channels
• if you are engaging with the most influential audience
• if you are being viewed in a favourable light
• whether you are falling behind competitors
With the right information you can change things for the better, improve relationships, increase engagement and consequently have a positive impact on financial performance. And that bit leads you back to the skills of professional research practitioners ......