How to use social media B2B strategies

With so many social media B2B strategies for your business, the options can sometimes get a bit overwhelming.

That is why it is important to state this disclosure. The strategies we discuss below are not nearly as important as your understanding of your target market. You have to know your target market. Are they hip, technology-savvy entrepreneurs who read blog posts in the morning while downing coffee like an IV infusion? Or, are your clients busy professionals who have no time for this gosh-darn new technology? Maybe you have a mix.

Do not make a decision based on which strategy looks easiest. Instead, choose a strategy that resonates with your target market. Below are some social media B2B strategies that will simplify the process for your online marketing.

LinkedIn

You might have heard recently that LinkedIn surpassed 200 Million members on their site. What you probably are not aware of is that close to 30% of those members are in the United States.

More impressive is that every Fortune 500 company has an executive using the site for everything from hiring to networking to re-connecting with past colleagues and associates. If you want a way to connect with the some of the top executives in the country, this is a great in.

So, how do you tap into this social network?

Be active on the site. Start using the group feature to connect with targeted professionals in your niche.

Participate in the group discussions, so you can start building a name for yourself on the groups. You can join up to 50 groups, but most professionals will see that there is no reason to join more than a dozen or so groups when they start.

Finally, do something that is utter nonsense to some. Stay in touch with your contacts. I know right, crazy! However, LinkedIn works similar to offline networking. The more you keep your name in front of someone and deliver value, the greater the likelihood of you building your business.

If you need some additional help with your LinkedIn lead generation, check out this post: http://growmap.com/linkedin-lead-generation/

Blogging

If LinkedIn is not enough then you might want to consider blogging. With the right mix you can tap search and social media traffic for large, long-term success.

I am a big fan of blogging. It is a huge traffic and lead generator. However, it is also a huge time suck. Most blogs do not start gaining traction until they have been around for at least 6 months or longer.

Keeping this in mind, we need a strategy to increase your chances of success without wasting your time.

The most important aspect of blogging is that you need to be consistent. Google wants to see you are posting regularly before they send traffic your way. The more content you provide, the more opportunities for readers to see your call to action, see the value you provide them with, and give them ideas of the services you provide.

Writing great content is only half the battle. Once you write a great blog post, you need to let people know about your content. This means sharing your content on social media, and when possible emailing your post to your list. Over time, you will start getting search traffic, however, this should not be a part of your initial traffic. If it happens, call it a bonus.

One of the best tools you can use for blogging is WordPress. They have convenient social media sharing buttons, plus SEO plugins to make your job a lot easier.

Webinars

When done right, webinars can be an extremely powerful tool to drive qualified prospects to your business. Also, unlike blogs and LinkedIn where you have a limited time to entice your audience to act, webinars are remarkable for their ability to provide quality content, and sell to your clients.

The best way to rock your webinar is to provide quality information that knocks the socks off your attendees. The more the attendees, the more clients you will see rolling your way.

The easiest way to drive traffic to a webinar is to offer a free webinar to your new LinkedIn connections, and post the information on your blog for all of your readers to see how they can attend your next webinar. The more you spread the word about your webinar, the more opportunities you will have.

A cool new resource for finding webinar attendees is Dabble.Co. While they max out your price for classes at $20, they can help you easily bring new attendees to events on a regular basis.

In addition, webinars are a great way to integrate your offline efforts. If you do a lot of sales calls or networking, asking people to go to your free webinar is a much better sales funnel than selling people immediately.

The social media strategies listed above are just a few that you can use to connect with your target market. Do not get tied up on the platform. Instead, focus on what is best for connecting with your clients.

Which social media B2B strategies do you use? Which have you found most effective? Let us know in the comments.

Featured image/thumbnail, social media image via Shutterstock.

Andy Nathan

Andy Nathan is a social networking trainer who helps businesses develop their lead generation systems. Learn more at: AndyNathan.Net.