Which social network is the best for B2B marketing? Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and YouTube each offer B2B marketers value. Let's review these top sites from a B2B social marketing perspective so we can crown an undisputed champion.
The Keys to Social B2B Victory
When it comes to using social
media as a marketing tool for B2B organizations, which have an end goal of
qualified lead generation, the underlying key to success is to drive
thought-leadership and credibility around a desired market position that will
yield target engagement. To do so, a B2B organization must first have a solid social media plan that defines the market position and a
review of the online competition.
The online brand that will be delivered in social must align with a B2B
organization's brand promise, mission, and value proposition. Choosing the
appropriate channel(s) depends on a number of factors including:- Audience breakdown of network.
- Target audience types.
- Content types by audience.
- Purpose of social network.
- Tone of network.
- Engagement levels of network.
Google+
Google+ is becoming the next big social network for
business. As of March 2013, Google+ had 350 million active users. That is more
than on LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.When your content is placed on Google+ it has the chance to rank higher because the content is fed into the personal search results of your Google+ circles. And content that is feature-rich, like online video (YouTube – a Google product) and images supported with text gains ultimately more exposure.
Feeding content to Google+ from a YouTube channel or Pinterest board is a good idea. Google+, as a Google product, means it will undoubtedly be integrated into other developing applications supporting content marketing and organic search. Social signals are the gold piece for any B2B marketer.
With Google+, you can have a business page as well. This means that a person can follow and engage with your business on a personal level, creating opportunities for relationship building. Relationship development is what B2B sales is all about.
The Google+ Hangout real-time video application is another major bonus to Google+ as a B2B social network. All you need is a webcam and an audience and you can run video conferencing within the tool. This keeps business professionals talking on Google+. Further that those Hangouts can be published directly to YouTube.
On the negative side, Google+ is a platform for content delivery more than a way to “business network.” Conversations on Google+ can get out of hand and can be a turn off in the same way that too many emails can do to a B2B prospect.
Finally, Google+ for business users and business pages are still an area lacking in terms of overall B2B adoption. For Google+ to win here, Google will need to invest in marketing that feature.
LinkedIn
makes it easy to build relationships with your target prospects. LinkedIn was
born and bred to create and develop business relationships, and has grown to
have 225 million active users in more than 200 countries.The obvious opportunities in using LinkedIn as a marketing tool include personal branding for executives, sales development for business development professionals and marketing opportunities via LinkedIn targeted, real-time lead gen advertising.
The key to winning on LinkedIn, as it were, is to use LinkedIn on a daily basis to provide valuable support to your connections and Groups.
Marketing on LinkedIn is sophisticated. A marketer can run a targeted ad by location, industry, title, company and other specific demographics. Further, those ads can capture leads on the fly (a great feature).
On a company level, LinkedIn provides businesses with opportunities to engage with company followers on a one on one level. LinkedIn is the ultimate social networking tool for business professionals. Real networking happens in Groups and in the context of comments and status engagement.
LinkedIn also provides multiple paid opportunities to use the tool as more of a CRM with features like Lead Builder and Profile Organizer.
The most compelling feature of LinkedIn, in general, for anyone in B2B sales is the ability to learn everything, on a professional level, about a target prospect. Further, find appropriate ways for warm introductions.
On the negative side, LinkedIn as a website, has multiple user experience and functional issues. In the haste to make LinkedIn feature-rich, at any time, issues may arise from unnecessary messages, pop-ups and disabled links.
LinkedIn networking and marketing doesn’t necessary work on its own. This is why it is crucial to take your LinkedIn developed relationships offline, whether on the phone or in person to close the deal.
Twitter
is, for busy business professionals, marketers and CEOs, the easiest way to get
the message out, so to speak. A microblogging tool that forces copy-like
conversations, Twitter enables quick information to link backs to important web
pages of conversion (i.e., your website and your blog.Twitter is a great place for B2B marketers to find and engage with, via Twitter private lists, for example, targeted media.
B2B marketing on the Internet is all about three key components: Online reputation, Thought-leadership and a Strong Online Brand. Twitter can be very useful in addressing these areas.
The mobile app for Twitter and ability to tweet 24/7, as many social media marketers do, is easy to do.
Twitter is where the news breaks. Twitter is where real-time conversations are happening. Twitter is the best social media tool for covering events and running events live.
Event marketing of conferences, workshops and seminars are crucial to the success of any B2B organization these days. Twitter’s search algorithm and use of hashtags makes it easy for reporters to find interview subjects and speakers.
On the negative side, because of Google’s ownership of Google+ however, any article shared on Twitter will become visible in organic Google results after the same on Google+. Also, Twitter yes makes it easy for you to reach out to reporters and business professionals you do not know, but this does not mean you will get a reply.
Twitter followers are nowhere near as substantial as a LinkedIn connect whom you have, if you're doing LinkedIn marketing correctly, developed a relationship.
YouTube
Online video, done correctly, meaning with the brand in
mind and well thought out for target engagement needs to be a crucial component
of any online marketer’s social media marketing program.YouTube, as a Google product and video-serving platform, in itself is an opportunity for B2B social networking. Most videos when made compelling and shared appropriately can certainly serve to drive qualified inbound leads.
YouTube links of videos can be embedded and shared on websites, such as SlideShare, another necessary B2B online marketing tool. In doing so, these videos can then become visible to target connections on important B2B social networking sites like Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
As a standalone B2B social network, YouTube isn't truly where the lead capture happens or where relationships are developed.
Facebook,
the 800-pound gorilla, is certainly the number one B2C social media network. As
a B2B social media tool, Facebook does serve to deliver client services, online
promotions and event announcements primarily.Another important B2B feature provided by Facebook is the ability to gain opt-ins for e-mail marketing on a business page.
B2B marketers who turn to Facebook as a social media tool need to heavily engage in target and organizational groups and pages.
Creating direct B2B sales relationships from Facebook is certainly done, but not at the level of a LinkedIn or even Twitter.
And the Top B2B Social Network Is…
Hands down, LinkedIn is the best social network for B2B marketing. LinkedIn is the only real B2B social network that was developed purely to develop direct B2B sales relationships for B2B marketers.The other social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube – all should be in the toolbox of any serious B2B marketer. But if you're on limited time and resources and looking to greatly increase your bottom line, you should invest wholly in LinkedIn.
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Our
customers using Oktopost (http://www.oktopost.com) find that LinkedIn is the
best channel for social media lead generation. If we had to order the networks
in regards to "B2B usefulness" it would be something like: LinkedIn, Twitter,
Google+, Facebook.
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While
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+ are mentioned here. Still each
and everyone has their own network on their smart phone, which is far more
effective that any of these platforms. Smart phone users can directly
communicate, over these more passive platforms. Has anyone heard of Rippln?
Rippln opens the door to compensate your happy customers directly to their own
network of friends. And it does not stop their, but continues to ripple from
their friends and so on. More can be found on my blog in a short video/ article
and special invitation. EnlightenedDigitalMedia.blogspot.com
Love
it. I literally just had my ClickZ article posted on Mobile and Social. Please
read and let me know your thoughts, Bret:
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2271749/where-are-you-in-somo-socialmobile-marketing
Thank you for the read. Much appreciated.
-Jasmine
Thank you for the read. Much appreciated.
-Jasmine
I love
the responses from Jasmine Sandler, not many authors would take the time to
respond to people. Kudos!
Thank
you:) Much appreciated (that you read my article and gave me a mention). Have a
wonderful weekend.
Jasmine
Jasmine
Would
it be even smarter to drive the conversation to some more specific platforms the
brand could own?
and what about Quora, or Stackexchange?
In the end, the brand must try to make their content being read by the right people out of any available platform, and let them extend the reach of the brand while engaging with it. Not an easy job...
thank you for the good post though!!
and what about Quora, or Stackexchange?
In the end, the brand must try to make their content being read by the right people out of any available platform, and let them extend the reach of the brand while engaging with it. Not an easy job...
thank you for the good post though!!
Hello
Jeanmarc-
I absolutely adore Quora and spend loads of time there. I agree with you are summary. Yes not an easy job - takes smarts, good decisions, resources , focus and commitment. I truly appreciate your read and comment.
Best.
Jasmine
jasminesandler.com
I absolutely adore Quora and spend loads of time there. I agree with you are summary. Yes not an easy job - takes smarts, good decisions, resources , focus and commitment. I truly appreciate your read and comment.
Best.
Jasmine
jasminesandler.com
JeanmarcThomas
likes this.
Seconded. Quora is great. I still put LinkedIN first
though. Its the best mechanism I've found of directly reaching prospects. Much
more one to one outbound rather than Inbound .
Nice
overview. Not sure I agree with the conclusion. Partly because there is no
winner. Different platforms do different jobs. That's why most organizations
need advice about how to buy social media.
We've had great success reaching professionals in B2B markets via Facebook recently because there are data points professionals associate with their Facebook profile, which they won't or can't on LinkedIn - membership of a Trade Union for example.
We've had great success reaching professionals in B2B markets via Facebook recently because there are data points professionals associate with their Facebook profile, which they won't or can't on LinkedIn - membership of a Trade Union for example.
Love it
Steve - yes so hard to make a stake in the ground decision on this. That is why
I encourage, in the article, all B2B marketers to have the solid mix in their
bag of tricks. I would like to hear about the FB case study you mention - sounds
interesting. Feel free to connect with me offline. Thanks so much for the read
and comment.
Jasmine
jasminesandler.com
Jasmine
jasminesandler.com
it is
called Facebook Custom Audiences and came out last october, very few people know
about it acrtually.
check out the link: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2213760/How-to-Use-Facebook-Custom-Audiences
check out the link: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2213760/How-to-Use-Facebook-Custom-Audiences
Great
suggestions about adding Pinterest and YouTube content to Google+. It's always a
challenge to find content for that social network because the others get higher
priority.
Thank
you Vicky for your read and comment. Glad to be of assistance!
Best,
Jasmine
jasminesandler.com
Best,
Jasmine
jasminesandler.com
Jasmine:
GREAT article. Thanks so much for summing all of this up so wonderfully.
It is so hard to make B2B clients understand that Facebook might not be their biggest bang for the buck, particularly if they are resource strapped.
LinkedIn really has the most value but as you describe, you have to EARN a lot of the value and that puts a lot of small businesses of. Also, the fact that it takes time to see results.
Any thoughts on that? I'd love some ammunition to get my clients excited about LI :-).
Warm regards, following you on Twitter now so I won't miss great future updates,
Natascha
PS: Any chance I could syndicate your blog on my site, of course giving you full credit? http://www.MarketingXLerator.com? I could not say what you said any better.
GREAT article. Thanks so much for summing all of this up so wonderfully.
It is so hard to make B2B clients understand that Facebook might not be their biggest bang for the buck, particularly if they are resource strapped.
LinkedIn really has the most value but as you describe, you have to EARN a lot of the value and that puts a lot of small businesses of. Also, the fact that it takes time to see results.
Any thoughts on that? I'd love some ammunition to get my clients excited about LI :-).
Warm regards, following you on Twitter now so I won't miss great future updates,
Natascha
PS: Any chance I could syndicate your blog on my site, of course giving you full credit? http://www.MarketingXLerator.com? I could not say what you said any better.
Natascha
You are so sweet. Thank you for your amazing comment and thoughtful reply. Of course, I would welcome you to syndicate and credit my JS blog. On your question, for small businesses and Linked, a lot of times it comes down to effective Linkedin personal branding and relationship development of the company lead. Would love to discuss mroe with you. See www.jasminesandler.com and contact me so we can chat off-line. Thank you again.
Jasmine
You are so sweet. Thank you for your amazing comment and thoughtful reply. Of course, I would welcome you to syndicate and credit my JS blog. On your question, for small businesses and Linked, a lot of times it comes down to effective Linkedin personal branding and relationship development of the company lead. Would love to discuss mroe with you. See www.jasminesandler.com and contact me so we can chat off-line. Thank you again.
Jasmine
Knowing
what your social media goals are will ultimately determine which account you
should set up for your business. Don’t let Facebook’s chatty community vibe or
Twitter’s fast moving news feed scare you away. This should be a fun and
rewarding endeavor that allows you to share your passion with people who are
looking for the products or services you offer.Thanks for the post
Jasmine!
If I could add, when using social media for marketing it is vital
that businesses pay attention to the reputation of their businesses via social
media reviews posted by users. How future consumers decide about a product or
service can be directly influenced by social media reviews. I wrote an article
about using social
media reviews to your businesses advantage.
Google
Plus, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn are the best and the top 4 social networks for
B2B marketing without any dobubt. Pinterest and Instagram are certainly in the
race. Many companies have started creating brand awareness or making their brand
presence felt by being active on these platforms as well. Its just very
important to reach the right audience at the right time on the right platform
with the right form of content for that platform.
Hi
@jasmine
Good to see you add Youtube to the Big4. There are other niche social networks very much focusing on B2B. Do take a look at www.edocr.com for instance - we help companies to extract value from documents/pdfs
Good to see you add Youtube to the Big4. There are other niche social networks very much focusing on B2B. Do take a look at www.edocr.com for instance - we help companies to extract value from documents/pdfs
Yes
Edocr is great. I am well familar with it, of course. I think I will need to do
a part II on niche and vertical B2B networks! Thank you for reading and for you
comment.
Thanks
for your insight and very nice article. Can you provide information on how
results are tracked to support effectiveness of these social media platforms?
Many other programs such as SEM, SEO and Banner Ad Displays have sophisticated
tracking tools to measure conversion and other metrics. What tools are you
aware of that provide marketing results from social media advertising
campaigns.
Great
article! I personally never used Google+, I think it's kinda similar to
Facebook. However, more and more people are using it so I should get one to! I
often use LinkedIn because it's more of a business social networking site. With
Twitter I think its a great social networking site for B2B. I don't know about
Facebook because it's used more for personal things but any social networks
really helps market anything.
Ashley
- Thank you for reading my article and for the thoughtful comment. Glad to see
your activity and interest. Best to you!
Great
read. I personally use LinkedIn but I see in the near featuring adding others
to my strategies. As already said in another post I would also recommend
Slideshare id done correctly you will see some insane results.
Thank
you so much for reading and commenting. Yes, Slideshare is an important social
component as I mentioned in a comment below. Best to you!
More
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