LinkedIn

social media

How to do Social Media the Right Way

Leave a Comment / Fun Stuff, Marketing, Small Business / By / / , , , , , , , , , ,

When you think about posting on your business social media pages, do you start to panic, feel overwhelmed, and just feel all around uncertainty about what the heck you are even doing? Don’t worry, you aren’t alone. The funny thing is, social media for personal use can be fun, informative, and doesn’t require much effort or deep thought – for the most part. See a lost dog post, share it. See a post looking for recommendations for a plumber – put the info for Joe’s Plumbing because you wouldn’t think of calling anyone else.

When it comes to using social media for business, it seems like there are so many rules and the information can be conflicting. But doing social media the right way can be very simple, straightforward, and dare I say – rewarding and fun. When you start to get more followers and increased engagement, you’ll agree on the last two!

Here’s some simple and easy tips to help you get your business social off on the right foot or to improve what you are doing now:

  1. Pick the right channels. The easiest way to get overwhelmed is to try to post on every single social media channel out there. And yes, I purposely used the word try. Because unless posting on social is your full-time job, it’s almost impossible to keep up with every platform. Choose the platforms that your ideal clients are on. For example, if you cater to women in the 35-55 range, yes you should be on Facebook, Pinterest, and even Instagram.
  2. Be consistent. Posting 2x a day for 2 weeks is great, but it’s not going to help you if you come to a screeching halt and stop posting for 6 months. Find a cadence that you can keep up with. 3x a week – great, start there. If you can increase to 1x a day, even better. But start small and work your way up as you get more comfortable.
  3. Plan ahead. If you post daily at 1 pm, don’t wait until 12:45 to figure out what you want to post. Use a spreadsheet and create your content in advance. Use Hootsuite or other scheduling platforms to set up all your content at least a week ahead so that you don’t have to panic at the last minute.
  4. Engage. Social is meant to be social. Engage with other people, pages, and groups. If you are a florist and you see a post in a group asking about the best plant food for roses, feel free to chime in and share your knowledge and how you know so much (because you are a local florist) and if they have any other questions, here’s how to reach you. You are being helpful, but also noting your business. If you want people to engage with you, you have to engage with them. If people comment on your posts, make sure you engage back with them. Serve not Sell.
  5. Follow others. A little quid pro quo is par for the course when it comes to social media. Want to increase your follows, start following others. If you want to keep an eye on the competition, don’t follow them from your business page, use your personal. But otherwise, follow any associations, chambers, and complementary businesses that make sense. If you are a florist, following a bridal boutique, wedding venue, and catering companies just makes sense.
  6. Always look at your metrics. I know, I get it. The metrics can be confusing and well, boring for many to look at, but trust me, you won’t know if you are successful unless you look at your metrics. How many new followers did you get? What topics got the best engagement? What timing got the best engagement? You get the idea. Does video or pictures or text get more engagement? You can look at so much data!

Hopefully, you made it this far and didn’t get stressed out. These rules are meant as a guideline. Start small and take them one at a time. Rome wasn’t built in a day so don’t expect to get 500k followers in a week. And don’t forget to have fun with it!

How to do Social Media the Right Way Read More »

Social Media – Quality vs. Quantity

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Marketing, Must Read Blogs, Sales, Small Business, Tips / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Does even thinking about posting to social media stress you out? How many times to post, what to post, when to post, etc.? Are you putting content out just for the sake of putting content out on social media? Are your followers just not engaging and your audience isn’t growing? When it comes to social media posts, quality beats quantity every time.

The norm has always been that consumers expect companies to have content readily available to consume – blogs, social media, enewsletters, downloadable ebooks, white papers, etc. They still look for this type of content, however just having a large library of stuff isn’t enough – consumers want quality of resources from companies they do business with – not just fluff.

First, we need to back up and define what quality means to consumers – it’s targeted, more personalized, highly creative messaging. Content that is focused on better understanding and interacting with your clients. Even small brands can easily produce content that looks just as good as the big dogs.

When a prospect is looking to learn more about your company, yes, they will Google you and visit your website, but they will also look to see what social media channels you are on, the type of content that you post, and how long ago you posted. Just throwing posts up that your customers and prospects don’t care about is not going to help you engage with them. However, one good quality post on Facebook can do way better than five poor quality posts.

Some tips to posting high quality content are:

  • Photos – they don’t need to be done professionally, but make sure they are well lit, not blurred or grainy.
  • Videos – also need good lighting and good sound.
  • Sharing Blogs – need to be interesting and relevant topics but also have good spelling, punctuation and grammar. It should be around 500 words or more to keep readers on your website for longer which is a good SEO signal to Google.
  • Sharing 3rd Party Content – share content from reputable sources that don’t require signing up for memberships. Articles from newspapers, magazines, etc. are usually good sources
  • Your content – only 20% of your content should be around your business – if you are constantly pushing a sale people will unfollow you

I get asked a lot about the best times to post on social media. There is no concrete answer to this. You need to post when and where your audience is going to see your posts. Why post on Twitter if your audience is on Facebook? If your audience primarily engages in the mornings, don’t wait to post until the afternoon.

Don’t get hung up on the numbers. Many people will engage in campaigns to buy likes or followers. This might seem great in the short term, but these people are most likely not your ideal clients and will never engage with you. At the end of the day, your goal is to be seen as an expert, a trusted advisor, and of course to get traffic to your website as that is where the sale is. If your engagement is low, then ask yourself if it is the quality of the post or is that the content isn’t resonating with your audience.

When it comes to social media posts quality will always beat quantity. You aren’t Gary V or Jenna Kutcher – you don’t need to keep up with the quantity of posts that they put out daily – they have teams of people who do this for them. For the DIYers – just focus on the quality. That’s all you need to do.

Social Media – Quality vs. Quantity Read More »

Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Featured, Must Read Blogs, Operations, Small Business, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We work with a lot of small business owners – some have been in business for decades and others we’ve helped recently launch – and one of the questions we ALWAYS get asked is, “Do I really need to be on social media and what platforms should I use?” We get it, Social Media is a monster to try to understand. From figuring out the different platforms, to creating profiles, to figuring out what to post and when, it can be so overwhelming and confusing for those just starting to dabble in it or who haven’t expanded much beyond either Facebook or LinkedIn.

To answer the question above – YES, you absolutely should be on social media. BUT you don’t have to be on every platform. The key is to be on the platform that your potential buyers and current clients are on. If you market to teens and younger generations, they aren’t going to go looking for your company on LinkedIn, but they will look for you on Instagram or Snap Chat. Just like someone looking for a Realtor or CPA wouldn’t try to find someone on Twitter or Snap Chat – they would look for you on Facebook or LinkedIn. To help you out, here’s a list of the most popular social media channels and who is using them. Demographics sourced from Spredfast.

Facebook: It’s still the most popular social media network in use with over 2 Billion users and regardless of your industry, your business should have a Facebook page. You can use it to share photos, Facebook Live video, company updates, and content that your followers would find useful. You can also list what your company does, the hours you are open, your phone number, website, etc. Facebook also has some of the best analytics and advertising tools. Users range from 18 to 65+, are equally men and women, and cover all income ranges. There are 179 million users on mobile and 90 million users on desktop per month.

Instagram: Now owned by Facebook, Instagram is becoming more popular with over 800 million users. Instagram is a visual platform that’s based entirely on photo and video posts. You can’t share articles or other content easily, and no URL’s are allowed in posts. Depending on your industry, this may not be a great fit. Brands that do well are often photographers, health and fitness, real estate, clothing, shoes, beauty products, etc. The person running your account have a good eye for detail and at least basic photography skills, so the photos and videos posted to your account are high-quality. Users are primarily 18- 49 years old, more women than men, and include all income levels. This is primarily a mobile based platform.  At Red Barn we’ve recently decided to re-engage our Insta Life!  Check us out @redbarnct.  W

Twitter: This seems to be the platform that many people either love or hate – with over 317 million users. It’s great for posting quick updates, videos, photos, and links to blogs or other articles, but it certainly isn’t for everyone. You are limited to 240 characters per tweet. It’s a great tool to easily interact with other users and many companies use it to handle customer service. This may not be the best platform if you prefer more visual posts or don’t have a lot of your own content to share. If you have interesting content, Twitter is a great tool for quickly spreading the word and if a user with a lot of followers retweets you, your content could go viral. Twitter is very quid pro quo – in order to be successful, you need a mix of your own content and sharing and retweeting other interesting content. Users range in age but are skewed more to the 18-29 audience, with slightly more males using the platform than females. Users range across all incomes and surprisingly more people use Twitter on desktop vs. mobile.

Pinterest: This is another very visual platform that allows users, over 200 million, to save and share content by “pinning” them to digital bulletin boards. You can organize your content and boards by different categories. From the business perspective, the platform has special pins called Rich Pins which brands can use to add specific information to their pins, like product details and even location maps. Every pin includes an image or video. This is another platform that isn’t for everyone. Brands that work in DIY projects, fashion, exercise, beauty, photography and food usually do very well here. There are 20% more women on the platform than men, users range from 18 – 64 years old, and cover a range of income levels. There are over 70 million mobile user’s vs only 27 million desktop users per month. Like Insta – we are playing around with building up our Pinterest game – it’s a work in progress.  The goal is to drive more people back to our website.  We will keep you posted!

Snapchat: This is another mobile only platform with over 300 million users. It’s a visual platform that is known for its disappearing content. Users can send video or photos to other users or post to their public Stories (which disappear after 24 hours). Content can be saved and uploaded to other platforms, and users can now chat, message, create events, and share media content within the platform – something that previously wasn’t available. Snapchat has a ton of filter options for photos, and since the content isn’t forever, many people find less pressure to post more polished content. Only followers can see your stories, so building an audience is key to getting engagement on your content. 70% of the users are women, and users range from 13 – 34 years old. This is a mobile only app with no desktop option.

YouTube: Now owned by Google, YouTube is a video-sharing platform with over 1 Billion users where people can view, upload, rate, share and comment on content. Business often use YouTube to host their creative, visual or educational component. Your videos should be polished, although they don’t have to be professionally produced, but they shouldn’t be done with a shaky cell phone camera. You don’t even need to have your own channel to take advantage of advertising. Many businesses partner with popular YouTubers  for product placement, because these users already have engaged audiences. Users are primarily between the ages of 25 and 44. There are slightly more males using the platform than females, and traffic is evenly split between mobile and desktop.

LinkedIn: This is a much more business centric platform with over 106 million monthly users. It is hands down the best platform for professional networking. It’s a great place to promote your business, find top talent, and showcase yourself as an industry expert in your field. Posts should be much more conservative than you would share on other platforms. Many people create personal profiles to act as a digital resume since businesses will post jobs and research candidates using the platform. LinkedIn also has very specific industry groups that users can join – this is a great place for you to be since you can answer questions, share content, and be an expert and draw people to your company\’s page and website. Most users range from 18 to 64 years old, are in the $50k a year and up income range and are split almost even between men and women. People prefer to use this platform on desktop vs mobile.

If you aren’t sure if you should be on a platform, spend some time exploring it. See what other businesses are on there, if your competition is on there, and if your target clients are on there. It’s far better to be good at 2 platforms than to be mediocre or poor at 4. It’s important to stay consistent and post content that is going to bring your followers value. Wanna follow Red Barn on social media? You can find us here:

Facebook: @RedBarnConsulting

Twitter: @RedBarnCT

LinkedIn: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Instagram: @redbarnct

Pinterest: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms Read More »

Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Featured, Must Read Blogs, Operations, Small Business, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We work with a lot of small business owners – some have been in business for decades and others we’ve helped recently launch – and one of the questions we ALWAYS get asked is, “Do I really need to be on social media and what platforms should I use?” We get it, Social Media is a monster to try to understand. From figuring out the different platforms, to creating profiles, to figuring out what to post and when, it can be so overwhelming and confusing for those just starting to dabble in it or who haven’t expanded much beyond either Facebook or LinkedIn.

To answer the question above – YES, you absolutely should be on social media. BUT you don’t have to be on every platform. The key is to be on the platform that your potential buyers and current clients are on. If you market to teens and younger generations, they aren’t going to go looking for your company on LinkedIn, but they will look for you on Instagram or Snap Chat. Just like someone looking for a Realtor or CPA wouldn’t try to find someone on Twitter or Snap Chat – they would look for you on Facebook or LinkedIn. To help you out, here’s a list of the most popular social media channels and who is using them. Demographics sourced from Spredfast.

Facebook: It’s still the most popular social media network in use with over 2 Billion users and regardless of your industry, your business should have a Facebook page. You can use it to share photos, Facebook Live video, company updates, and content that your followers would find useful. You can also list what your company does, the hours you are open, your phone number, website, etc. Facebook also has some of the best analytics and advertising tools. Users range from 18 to 65+, are equally men and women, and cover all income ranges. There are 179 million users on mobile and 90 million users on desktop per month.

Instagram: Now owned by Facebook, Instagram is becoming more popular with over 800 million users. Instagram is a visual platform that’s based entirely on photo and video posts. You can’t share articles or other content easily, and no URL’s are allowed in posts. Depending on your industry, this may not be a great fit. Brands that do well are often photographers, health and fitness, real estate, clothing, shoes, beauty products, etc. The person running your account have a good eye for detail and at least basic photography skills, so the photos and videos posted to your account are high-quality. Users are primarily 18- 49 years old, more women than men, and include all income levels. This is primarily a mobile based platform.  At Red Barn we’ve recently decided to re-engage our Insta Life!  Check us out @redbarnct.  W

Twitter: This seems to be the platform that many people either love or hate – with over 317 million users. It’s great for posting quick updates, videos, photos, and links to blogs or other articles, but it certainly isn’t for everyone. You are limited to 240 characters per tweet. It’s a great tool to easily interact with other users and many companies use it to handle customer service. This may not be the best platform if you prefer more visual posts or don’t have a lot of your own content to share. If you have interesting content, Twitter is a great tool for quickly spreading the word and if a user with a lot of followers retweets you, your content could go viral. Twitter is very quid pro quo – in order to be successful, you need a mix of your own content and sharing and retweeting other interesting content. Users range in age but are skewed more to the 18-29 audience, with slightly more males using the platform than females. Users range across all incomes and surprisingly more people use Twitter on desktop vs. mobile.

Pinterest: This is another very visual platform that allows users, over 200 million, to save and share content by “pinning” them to digital bulletin boards. You can organize your content and boards by different categories. From the business perspective, the platform has special pins called Rich Pins which brands can use to add specific information to their pins, like product details and even location maps. Every pin includes an image or video. This is another platform that isn’t for everyone. Brands that work in DIY projects, fashion, exercise, beauty, photography and food usually do very well here. There are 20% more women on the platform than men, users range from 18 – 64 years old, and cover a range of income levels. There are over 70 million mobile user’s vs only 27 million desktop users per month. Like Insta – we are playing around with building up our Pinterest game – it’s a work in progress.  The goal is to drive more people back to our website.  We will keep you posted!

Snapchat: This is another mobile only platform with over 300 million users. It’s a visual platform that is known for its disappearing content. Users can send video or photos to other users or post to their public Stories (which disappear after 24 hours). Content can be saved and uploaded to other platforms, and users can now chat, message, create events, and share media content within the platform – something that previously wasn’t available. Snapchat has a ton of filter options for photos, and since the content isn’t forever, many people find less pressure to post more polished content. Only followers can see your stories, so building an audience is key to getting engagement on your content. 70% of the users are women, and users range from 13 – 34 years old. This is a mobile only app with no desktop option.

YouTube: Now owned by Google, YouTube is a video-sharing platform with over 1 Billion users where people can view, upload, rate, share and comment on content. Business often use YouTube to host their creative, visual or educational component. Your videos should be polished, although they don’t have to be professionally produced, but they shouldn’t be done with a shaky cell phone camera. You don’t even need to have your own channel to take advantage of advertising. Many businesses partner with popular YouTubers  for product placement, because these users already have engaged audiences. Users are primarily between the ages of 25 and 44. There are slightly more males using the platform than females, and traffic is evenly split between mobile and desktop.

LinkedIn: This is a much more business centric platform with over 106 million monthly users. It is hands down the best platform for professional networking. It’s a great place to promote your business, find top talent, and showcase yourself as an industry expert in your field. Posts should be much more conservative than you would share on other platforms. Many people create personal profiles to act as a digital resume since businesses will post jobs and research candidates using the platform. LinkedIn also has very specific industry groups that users can join – this is a great place for you to be since you can answer questions, share content, and be an expert and draw people to your company\’s page and website. Most users range from 18 to 64 years old, are in the $50k a year and up income range and are split almost even between men and women. People prefer to use this platform on desktop vs mobile.

If you aren’t sure if you should be on a platform, spend some time exploring it. See what other businesses are on there, if your competition is on there, and if your target clients are on there. It’s far better to be good at 2 platforms than to be mediocre or poor at 4. It’s important to stay consistent and post content that is going to bring your followers value. Wanna follow Red Barn on social media? You can find us here:

Facebook: @RedBarnConsulting

Twitter: @RedBarnCT

LinkedIn: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Instagram: @redbarnct

Pinterest: Red Barn Consulting LLC

Social Media – How to Manage the Different Platforms Read More »

It’s never too late to….

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Featured, Fun Stuff, Must Read Blogs, Small Business, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So many of you know I’m a runner. Proudly I’ve completed a couple half-marathons and numerous other races. I’m a back of the pack girl, it’s never about winning it’s always about finishing and for me…not being last!

You see I never considered myself an athlete. In fact, back in the 70’s high school gym class was brutal. There were always team captains (not me) and they got to choose their teams. You guessed it, this girl was always chosen last. Team sports – not my thing.

Fast forward a couple decades and I’m 45. I find out I have high blood pressure, like everyone else in my family. The doc told me if I didn’t reduce it I would likely have a stroke. My options – meds or exercise. For some reason, I decided that running is what I should do. I signed up for my first road race. A five miler on my 45th Birthday – in August, in the heat. Oy Vey!

First “training run” I couldn’t even make it 1/8th of a mile. But slowly I built up and I finished that race. I wasn’t last – but close to it. The rest, shall we say is history. So, what does this have to do with business? Everything. You see, you are never too late to do anything in life.

Change careers, launch a business or hell move to an island and sell shell necklaces if that’s what brings you joy!

Here are some examples:

Leo Goodwin, founder of Geico did so at the age of 50 – it’s no longer a family business and in fact it’s a household name.

Harlan David Sanders – AKA The Colonel, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken launched that franchise at the age of 62. Most of his peers, I would guess, were retiring, not the Colonel.

Robert Noyce with a PhD from MIT in hand founded Intel at the age of 41 – a youngster compared to the above two!

And then there is Reid Hoffman who founded LinkedIn at the ripe age 35, quite old for a tech start up. That company went public when Hoffman was 43.

So when I hear, I’m too old to launch a business, or I’m too old to do this or do that, or I’m too old to run a marathon…I simply shake my head and smile. Because I know better – you are never too old to try ANYTHING!

What’s on your list that you haven’t done because you thought you might be past your prime? Inquiring minds do want to know!

It’s never too late to…. Read More »

Never have I EVER…. Automation!

Leave a Comment / Featured, Fun Stuff, Marketing, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It seems like lately technology has gone into hyper drive when it comes to marketing and sales – even life itself. 

Chatbots, Artificial intelligence, Alexa, Drones…and even in the world of marketing: Automation. 

I’m old school and tend to not be an early adopter of automation.  I had a paper calendar up until 3 years ago when I finally started using my iPhone calendar.  (I know – right?)  I still read the Sunday paper – as a paper and not on my phone, I still get magazines…the list goes on. 

One thing I have adopted though is automation for our marketing and sales processes. Why?   

Self-serving mostly.  I guess the same reason I still read real magazines – I like to. 

I’ve never liked cold calling – EVER.  I would find any way around it. 

Email Marketing – WIN 

LinkedIn – WIN 

Networking – WIN 

Lately – I’m all about Facebook ads, webinars, lead magnets, landing pages, funnels, CRM tagging, automated workflows – can you say flow charts on steroids? 

The point is – it makes my life easier and I close more deals.  More importantly I get to be super and I mean SUPER targeted where my message goes and who sees it.  I’m not wasting time on someone who doesn’t fit my target client profile. 

Automation using tools such as Active Campaign or Infusionsoft. Creating courses in Thinkific and using tools such as Zoom, Click Funnel, and Zapier.  (ps – not getting paid for those plugs).  It’s all about tapping into the genius of automation – stuff other people have already thought out and I don’t have to! 

Do I still do email marketing – of course!  But I’m far smarter about it now. 

LinkedIn – you bet!  But it’s not just my resume. 

Networking – Oh yea. But I’m more about the mastermind groups than the big ole networking by tossing a fishing net.  

Times are changing.  Embrace the technology that WORKS for YOU! If you still like to curl up in your jammies and read the REAL Sunday Times vs. reading on your iPad – then do it.  No harm, no foul.   

What’s your favorite automation tool or technology hack? 

Cindy 

Never have I EVER…. Automation! Read More »

Managing Social Media — Why Can’t It Be A Little.. Easier?

Leave a Comment / Fun Stuff, Marketing, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , , ,

Many businesses see social media as a “necessary evil” — Something you have to do because everyone else is doing it. After all, if you’re not using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc., you’re missing out. While that’s true, it gives us a sad face every time we think about businesses seeing social media as a chore, because, done right, it can be easy, and powerful.

It’s all about having a plan — Now, before you click away in disgust at having to plan something else, it’s not a big plan. We’re not talking a high-fallutin’ plan for a Rube Goldberg-esque style machine, just a simple, common sense approach to make things easy, and, perhaps, a little more joyful.

Don’t believe us? Read on…

Who’s going to have the responsibility for social media? First things first, who do you want to handle your social media accounts? Now, that could be one of your people who have a great understanding of the right approach, tools, and techniques to use — Or, you could outsource it to a creative marketing agency who has your brand\’s best interests at heart. Like… Us, for example? (we aren’t always subtle)

Anyway, you need to have someone who is going to have responsibility for your social media, who can review and post everything you need, and who can speak with your company’s voice. They need to understand and love your customers.

Where do you post? Different types of business will get the most advantage from different social platforms. You probably won’t find much of an audience for your recipes on LinkedIn, and folks on Pinterest probably aren’t going to be thrilled by your course on chartered accountancy. But, once you can match your message to your social media, that’s when things get real interesting.

  • Facebook — Pretty much everyone uses Facebook — Over 20% of all pages seen on the web are on Facebook. You need to be there, simple as that.
  • Twitter — With millions of people using Twitter, and the opportunity to easily go viral with the right message, Twitter is also pretty much essential.
  • Pinterest — Do you have a visually appealing product, service, or brand? If so, Pinterest is a great place to get traction.
    Instagram — Like Pinterest, Instagram is perfect for pretty products.
  • LinkedIn — Marketing more to professionals and business people? This is your natural choice.
  • YouTube — Although not seen as a “traditional” social network, YouTube gets billions of hits every month. Make an amazing video and watch your views skyrocket.
  • Google Plus — Yes, there are still people and businesses using Google Plus, don’t disregard it and ps. it could help with your Google ranking.

When should you post? You know where to post, but do you know when to post? Once you understand when your customers are likely to be using social media, you can take advantage of that, and share delicious bits of information, just when they need it. They’ll be wowed by your ideas, share them on themselves, and suddenly you’ve got a viral social media presence. Nice!

Get to scheduling. One of the main pains businesses have with social media is having to send out all their posts manually, to all the different platforms. Well, good news, friends. There are some great scheduling tools out there to make posting and sharing a breeze. Two that we love are Hootsuite and Buffer. Both are awesome at letting you queue up posts, then setting things off and letting them post on your behalf.

Be careful though, lots of social media is about reacting, responding, and posting in real time — That’s what gets you engagement. So, don’t just rely on scheduling tools, build them into your overall social media approach.

And there you have it, the basics you need to get in place for easier social media success — That wasn’t so bad now, was it?

Managing Social Media — Why Can’t It Be A Little.. Easier? Read More »

Do B2B Companies Need Social Media?

Leave a Comment / Marketing, Sales, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , , ,

Everyone is using social media these days. In fact, so many people are using it that businesses have dived into the fray. You can connect and interact with some of your favorite brands – even the biggest companies in the world. Social media is so prevalent, in fact, that it’s changing the way big and small businesses think of marketing. But what if you work in a business-to-business (B2B) environment? You don’t sell consumer commodities or anything suitable for mass-market consumption. Your target is actually quite specific. Your product is definitely not sexy.

You may think social media isn’t suitable for your B2B company, but you would be wrong. B2B companies are run by people. And those people are using social media like everyone else. They are looking for new ideas, solutions to their problems, and content that inspires and entertains them.

Build trust with a strong B2B presence. If you were cold emailed by another company, you would probably look them up before committing to their offer, wouldn’t you? You would Google their name, check out their website, and exam their social profiles if they have any.

Undoubtedly, you would be reassured if that company had a robust online presence. If they are investing in content publication, community engagement, and customer support through social media, you could assume they aren’t a fly-by-night operation looking to grab your cash. You would even use that online presence to learn more about the company before you responded to their pitch.

By making yourself present on the Internet, you build trust and authority that supports everything else you do.

Move short term sales to long term value. Keeping your brand in front of the customer is an important part of securing future sales. If the customer forgets you exist after the sale, they’ll seek a similar solution when the problem arises again, instead of returning straight to you.

Many salespeople make the mistake of only approaching a customer when they want a sale. That creates an antagonist relationship, where the salesperson is always looking to take and the customer is always trying to avoid giving.

Instead of ignoring the customer until it’s time to buy again, social media can be used to delight the customer over and over. Solve their problems, offer resources and education, and make yourself available for their questions – even if it doesn’t entirely relate to your specialty.

This keeps your brand in their face between sales. When it’s time to buy anew, the customer knows right where to go.

LinkedIn is your Holy Grail. LinkedIn was designed for professionals. It’s a natural place to begin your B2B marketing because it’s tremendously effective for collecting leads. Companies regularly use LinkedIn to make connections, hire new talent, arrange deals, and even convert big sales.

Create a profile for yourself as well as a business page. Publish content related to your business for other users to find. If you’re looking to create a business opportunity, use the advanced searching feature to find other professionals who meet your specific needs. You can drill down by location, industry, title, etc.

Other social media networks are valuable too. It all depends on your industry. Check where your competitors are spending their resources.

\"B2B

Expand your reach. The Internet has made the world a lot smaller. Suddenly people and businesses on the other side of the globe are just as accessible as the company next door. You just have make yourself present in the digital world and give your brand a voice – even B2Bs.

Don\’t forget to share your most engaging posts with us. We love getting feedback on what types of posts work best for different industries.

Do B2B Companies Need Social Media? Read More »

5 Tips for Using LinkedIn to Help Grow Your Business

Leave a Comment / Finance, Marketing, Sales, Uncategorized / By / / , , , , , , ,

The beauty of social media is that it allows us to extend our network far beyond our physical location. We’re no longer limited to the people nearby.

As a business-to-business tool, LinkedIn is unmatched. 450 million of the world’s professionals and business leaders use it to connect, share ideas, and develop business opportunities. According to Content Marketing Institute, LinkedIn is the most effective social network for sales (63% of marketers report positive results).

Fill out your profile, adopt a professional demeanor, and then use these smart LinkedIn strategies to grow your business.

Speak with decision makers. If you have ever cold called a business, you know how frustrating that process can be. You get transferred around a bit, dropped into voicemail, and you’re never sure if you’ve reached someone who can make actual decisions.

Use LinkedIn to find the decision makers of a business. Many people publically display their contact information. If they don’t, ask for them by name when you call the business. This has a much higher chance of putting you in touch with someone who matters to you. If this still doesn’t work, you can always connect with them on LinkedIn itself.

LinkedIn’s search capabilities are more sophisticated than any other social network. You can add filters to your searches such as job role, industry, and company size. This allows you to put together a list of targeted potential business opportunities.

For instance, let’s say you sell payroll software designed for small businesses with less than ten employees, but only in your own state. You only want to speak to the owners of those companies, because there usually isn’t much middle-management at that size. With proper filters, you can search for those people exactly.

Become active on the network. Having a quality profile isn’t enough- although it’s EXTREMELY important! You have to be present on the social network if you expect to derive any value from it. If other users see that you haven’t posted, commented, or shared in a while, they won’t bother making a connection. This could cost you valuable opportunities.

The solution is take your social media presence seriously. Facebook and Pinterest are fun, but make LinkedIn part of your job. Set aside a little bit of time every day (not much, just five or ten minutes) to look for connections, share articles, images and videos you like, and comment on other people’s submissions.

Use groups to meet new people. A group is a collection of people around a common theme. You’ll find groups for just about everything, and multiple groups for each topic. Some are broad; others are specific. Some are public; others require permission. You don’t have be connected with anyone in the group.

Find three to five quality groups with lots of members. It should be a subject that relates to your business and something you know well. Contribute to this group often. Provide as much value as you can without selling. This will establish you as a thought-leader and expert in your field. Eventually people will clamor to connect with you.

Jump on those new leads. People connect on LinkedIn because they know one another professionally or they want to. If you are extended a connection from someone you don’t know, consider it a lead. This new person is seeking to create a relationship, so don’t waste the opportunity.

After accepting the connection, immediately send a private message – or InMail introducing yourself. If you receive a lot of connections, you can use a copy/paste response, but tailor it a bit so you don’t seem aloof. Ask some questions about the connection to find ways they could help grow your business.
Once you put these strategies in place, always remember to provide as much value as you can. Be a helpful person who’s generous with information. Eventually the connections and opportunities will come to you.

Interested in some one-on-one LinkedIn training – Give us a call!

5 Tips for Using LinkedIn to Help Grow Your Business Read More »