Once it became clear that there was real business ROI to be had, we’ve done our share to encourage B2Bs’ use of social media. We’ve always tried to temper that, though, with some judicious cautionary advice to “start smart”: by having a sound plan and provisioning the required resources.
So it was good to see another recent post along those lines, in which Marketo’s Maria Pergolino explores that vein a bit further, providing a handy 6-point checklist for determining your B2B’s readiness for social media…
- Clear goals – Make ’em as specific as possible: increase traffic/leads/conversions, decrease time to resolve customer service issues, etc.
- Resources – Social media is about real-time response and continuously updated information; it simply can’t happen without dedicated people time.
- Content – As Maria says, “Content feeds the beast.” Be sure you have enough quality educational content around, and/or can develop what else will be needed.
- Media knowledge – Know which vehicles are popular with your customers and prospects, and what their conventions are; focus only on these at the outset.
- Website ready – Be sure your company website is in good enough shape to handle the increased utilization; i.e., you’re happy with the way it looks and performs. And of course, do have a plan in place to market to the leads generated.
- Revenue-cycle integration – It’s not only a top-of-the-funnel issue; you’ll need a plan to integrate social-media use into all stages of the buying cycle.
If you had positive responses to all six points, fantastic! …you’re now ready to leverage social media marketing for your B2B. And be sure to click over to Maria’s full post, wherein you’ll find a link to her Definitive Guide to B2B Social Media.
