B2B Marketing On Social Media The Dos Donts

B2B Marketing On Social Media The Dos Donts We all know that social media is an invaluable tool for marketing and communicating with potential customers and actual customers but in addition to being crucial for B2C marketing, it can also be an extremely effective platform for B2B marketing too. As with B2C marketing, B2B marketing on social media allows you to get your company directly in front of a potential client or partner,  enabling you to make that valuable first connection and potentially make your company stand out from the crowd. When it comes to B2B marketing on social media, as with B2C marketing, the world is watching so its important to get it right first time because with this kind of marketing, you dont get a second chance to make a good first impression. With that in mind, Ive come up with a list of the top Dos and Donts for B2B marketing  on social media. DO:   Get The Details Right: Whatever kind of publication or company youre approaching, its imperative that you get  key details like the company name right in any tweets or messages you send out. Why? Because in addition to  making a bad impression on the company youre approaching, if you make a major mistake like calling the company Build A Relationship:   As with most  marketing, when it comes to B2B marketing on social media, taking the time to build a relationship with the companies youre trying to target first before you make that initial sales pitch can really make a difference. If you do this, youll start to make yourselves known to the company youre trying to target so when they do get that sales message, it wont be coming completely out of the blue from a company theyve never head of before. You never know, if you start to build a relationship, they could even be the ones approaching you to find out more about what your business has to offer Choose Your Platform Wisely:   Chosen Twitter as your main platform for B2B marketing? Thats great but theres a chance that Twitters not the preferred social media channel for the companies youre trying to target. Before you start firing messages off, check out the companys account on that channel and see when the last time they not only posted an update but also interacted with someone on it was. Why? Because some companies only use platforms like Twitter to broadcast messages, rather than interact. If the company hasnt posted anything in months or hasnt replied to recent messages, it suggests theyre not active on the platform so you could be wasting your time trying to contact them on this platform. DONT:   Stalk Anyone:   Theres no harm in following up messages if you dont get a reply but you need to be careful not to go too OTT and end up resembling some kind of stalker. Remember, the world really is watching and you risk coming across as a bit desperate if you keep messaging the same company again and again without any reply a trait which is definitely not attractive to potential new clients. Churn Out The Same Message:   OK, so you might be targeting the same kind of companies and the message might essentially be the same (eg. introducing your new tool) but you need to be careful not to just relentlessly churn out the same message. Why? Because if youre using a platform like Twitter, the company youve contacted can click on your profile and view all your most recent tweets and if they see that youve been sending the same message to all of their competitors it isnt going to give them the impression that you actually care about their business. In this scenario, taking a bit of time to write a bespoke message really can make all the difference. Miss The Mark: All companies have their own brand, tone and personality so its always worth bearing this in mind before you approach them. Why? Because if  you approach them in completely the wrong way and your messaging is way off, theres no way youre going to strike a chord with that company and theyre just going to think youre another company that doesnt really get their brand. Instead, look at the kind of messaging theyre putting out across their social channels and try and create a message which is just up their street. For example, if the company youre approaching is really relaxed and their messaging is fun, going in with a really corporate, formal message isnt going to hit the mark. So there you go; a few key Dos and Donts for B2B marketing on social media. Of course there are a lot of factors which will affect your B2B social media marketing strategy, such as industry and the products/services youre marketing, but hopefully this post should act as a starting point when trying to create your B2B marketing strategy for social media. Think Ive missed something out? Share the love and leave comment below