There are some who still view social media as unnecessary or irrelevant for B2B organisations; but as a recent Econsultancy article highlights, creating a positive social media experience for your followers can be an effective way to establish your voice and presence within the industry.
While it can help to take inspiration from how some B2C companies use social media, there are also a number of B2B companies doing this well. The key, the article notes, lies in adopting the right tone of voice for your company.
Essentially, this means that it’s not necessarily important to be the funniest business on Twitter or to always jump on the latest ‘meme’. Instead, clients will appreciate businesses that use their social platforms to communicate with them - and who listen just as much as they talk.
In fact, the article advises that the best way to deliver service via social media is to ‘be human’. Rather than worrying about being funny, keep communications natural and personal to show customers that your company is an approachable one.
You can also use social media to help with any after-care issues or enquiries that your clients might have.
For example, if a client purchases a product or service from you, follow them on Twitter and/or send them a LinkedIn connection request to deepen the relationship. After a while, contact them in a mention (@username) to see how they are getting on with their purchase. Just avoid being too pushy or you risk putting them off.
The same applies to business development. Connecting on social media can often prove a vital source of intelligence. And, whether or not you’re in a competitive pitch situation, prospective clients will increasingly expect vendors and agencies to demonstrate that they have done their social media ‘due diligence’.
Similarly, it’s a good idea to regularly monitor sites such as Twitter to see what’s being said about your company – and whether it’s good news or bad, make sure that you respond in an appropriate way. Remember that even if you can’t deal with something right away, letting customers know that you are looking into it will show that you care.
Content marketing is an increasingly important way of building and maintaining engagement. As increasingly savvy customers switch off from anything that is too sales-focused, consider ways to get their attention by sharing engaging, informative content.
Whether it’s through news articles, blog posts, videos, infographics or images, you will improve your client experience while also presenting your business as a far more attractive and welcoming proposition to prospective customers.