There are too many rules for social media marketing out there. We’ve read, skimmed rather, so many articles stating the 10 laws or the 20 rules for effective social media marketing. But how many of these ‘rules’ do you actually follow? I’m guessing no more than 20 – 30%.
Opinions around the best time to post updates on social networks are rampant. Some believe it’s best to update Twitter just after lunchtime, whereas some believe that LinkedIn posts bring the most success when they’re posted right before 9am. Not only do they preach about times to post, some advocate for quantity of social profiles believing more profiles would lead to more leads.
I’m not saying these rules are incorrect, I’m simply advising business owners to stop focusing on the technicalities of social media execution and instead, place greater emphasis on social media strategy planning. I’d like to cut down the rules from 20 to 3. Yes, just 3 simple rules that you must follow to enjoy social media marketing effectiveness.
Rule no. 1: You must know your buyers
Get one thing right: even with the most comprehensive social media strategy, and the best social media tools, your efforts are worthless if you are not aiming them at the right audience. Take the time to work out the best group of people to target your product or service to, at a company level as well as the individual level.
Once you know the type of companies and the roles you target, identify the problem they have that you solve with your product or service. This will help you work out the messaging in your channels, social or otherwise. Then gather their behavioural information to determine the type of channels you can engage to talk to this audience.
This will lead you to your buyer-centric strategy, which should guide you throughout your marketing endeavours.
Rule no. 2: Social must be a part of your overall marketing strategy, not the strategy itself
The hype with social media has been unstoppable that some organisations choose to prioritise it over other channels. Social media is effective, but make no mistake, social media on its own is not sufficient to lead a B2B business to its sales objectives. Simply put, consider social media as the amplifier of your marketing.
With a thorough understanding of your buyers, their problems and their behaviour, you will be able to work out the different marketing tactics you can leverage. This may include blogging, websites, SEO and email marketing. Work out how each tactic leads your buyers to the next stage of their buying journey, and how each tactic leads to another. For instance, your buyers may find your blog promoted on a LinkedIn group and then click on to your website to read the full post, they might then choose to download an eBook and fill out a form. This enables you to contact them at a later stage to offer them other relevant materials, and opens the door to a potential one-on-one discussion when they are ready to engage.
Overall, social media should be part of a bigger strategy, if you want to successfully achieve your sales and growth objectives.
Rule no. 3: If you can’t do it properly, don’t do it at all
You may think Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are easy to manage, but social networking for businesses is a whole other realm compared to personal social networking.
The key to success with social media marketing is consistency and relevant content. Ad-hoc posting on social networks forfeits the purpose of social media marketing. You must have someone in your organisation dedicated to social media marketing, as there’s a lot to do to manage social profiles and engage your audience effectively. This includes:
- Promoting content at the agreed schedule based on the amount of leads you expect to achieve from social media
- Responding to social interactions immediately, or at least within 48 hours
- Monitoring what people are saying about your organisation and / or your product. Be ready to handle customer complaints, Brand Chemistry says
- Researching for influencers in your field within each social network, and engage with them through tags or retweets
- Reviewing the number of leads generated from social media
- Gathering insight on brand perception to understand how you can improve your brand, product or service
To learn more about effective social media marketing, download our eBook below.
