Digital media platforms are now becoming more and more common in marketing strategies. And why shouldn’t they be. They are now being used by everyone to connect, share and like updates with their friends and peers. But brands that are looking to leverage the power of social media for B2B marketing need to create an elaborate eco-system to ensure they get leads, and that those leads turn into conversion.
Common rationale is to use LinkedIn. It is the top place where professionals converge and interact with each other. For B2B branding and networking, it is the perfect place to be. With so many professionals and brands on it, you can reach other professionals in your field and build your business network to make your business grow. It’s more than reaching your customers; it’s about expanding within your field and gaining a reputation.
However LinkedIn alone shouldn’t be used. There are a few other things you need to use to supplement your networking efforts on LinkedIn, and you must use them to learn how to build your network online and offline.
Find forums for your field: Â There are forums for everything out there. Social media extends far beyond Facebook and Twitter. If you need expert advice, or novices to influence, you need to find a forum and a message board that specializes in your field and benefit by becoming a giver and receiver of wisdom.
Let’s talk about online communities where you can get in touch with customers, growth hackers, and even customer acquisition specialists. Consider places like GrowthHackers.com or Inbound.org where you can share your content with the community you want to become a reliable part of. Build your reputation as an expert while you get information and tips from other experts in the field.
Remember that it’s imperative that you interact with others and their content as well. The key to success here is interaction not just posting your content. Sharing ideas, taking part in discussions and bringing your thoughts to the table will all help. What we want you to accomplish here is thought leadership.
Go beyond online communities: Alright now you have to think about where you are going to post your content apart from these online communities. Consider having a blog on your business website. This is where you can post your short or long blogs, info graphs, embed videos and what not. Here, you can share whatever is on your mind. What you need now is to post your content through your blog to other platforms – not only on your social media pages but also through newsletter, email blasts and the online communities we talked about before.
Go Offline, too: Offline events are also a great way to interact with people and potential customers. Every year, business hubs of your country will host different events that are related to your business. Take part in them. But most of these events have online promotions, and when you make the deal, see if you can leverage this for visibility. You get to meet so many people, so you improve your network the old-fashioned way, but get their emails, as well. Email marketing is remarkably useful. Create a group and stay in touch with other professionals.
PR professionals in India, for instance, have a very widely used email network, which is just a Gmail group. Don’t be too diffident to start discussions or simply make sure that people in your field know that you exist and they can get in touch with you.
B2B Marketing is not all about meeting clients. It’s about leveraging your presence in the market to ensure that everyone knows who you are and respects your presence.