Eighty-six per cent of b2b companies now have a Social Media Presence, but I wonder what percentage of the time is spent on the good old hard-sell, and how much really listening, advising and cultivating their social media presence. Just selling is like being at a party where you just talk about yourself over everyone else… pretty quickly, they stop listening.
Whilst a quick-fix social media blitz might deliver a short term sales boost, b2b organisations need to consider it strategically within the context of long-term work to develop and grow their reputation.
Businesses also need to be wary of falling into the social spam trap. We’ve all been on the receiving end of a blanket message through a LinkedIn group or a random direct message on Twitter from a business you’ve never even heard of, let alone done business with. I never have and never will respond to one of these messages… they’re just annoying – and who likes the annoying guy at a party?
The key for b2b is to spend far more time actually listening to customers and prospects in the social media space in order to really understand what it is they are saying and what their needs are. Only then will they be able to engage them in meaningful and frequent online conversations using carefully crafted content marketing campaigns.
The variety of tools available to listen is endless, as is the creativity required to create original content, but the skill and the opportunity lies in understanding in the first place.
We’re listening and we’re ready to have a conversation. Are you?
