There is a perception in the industry that B2B “doesn’t do social”. I have often been asked if B2Bs “should use Social Media?” as part of their marketing mix and if “B2Bs can utilise Facebook?”

GlobalWebIndex – B2B Social Media Strategy – Research Report – 2011

However the results from our recent analysis of GlobalWebIndex data that was published as “Social Strategy for B2B Marketing” could not be more different from this perception. B2B decision makers are the most socially active consumers for all markets and demographics. If anything B2B marketing is a more obvious fit with social media than consumer marketing.

In addition GlobalWebIndex trend data shows that activities such as profile updating and microblogging are expanding quicker among business users than your average consumer. This underlines how B2B decision makers have used social media to develop personal brand and drive their influence.

Interestingly this difference is most marked in developed internet markets where B2B decision makers stand out most from consumer behaviour and usage of social media platforms. In growth markets such as China they are still more active than the norm, but the gap is significantly smaller. This means businesses that operate and sell in the US, UK, Germany or any other high penetration internet market need to focus marketing and sales through social media.

Crucially it’s not just B2B decision makers’ behaviour that leads the way in social media; marketing communications via social channels are also perceived as having an impact on purchasing decisions for products and services they buy for business.

At a global level, social media communications outranked even face-to-face meetings, conferences, client entertaining or traditional trade advertising in most markets, as an influential communication channel. Based on data fielded in June 2011, global decision makers said “Conversations with people from a company/organisation on a social network” was their leading influence scoring 15%; the second ranked motivation was “direct mail”, scoring 13%. Among senior decision makers – those at senior manager level and above – conversations were level with “sales presentations”, both scoring 16%.

The fact that a virtual conversation is seen as more influential than a real life one shows how social media has permeated their lives and importantly for our industry, underlines the importance of empowering all employees (not just sales people) to be active, visible and representing the business online. This fact alone would highlight the need for a radical shift of budget from traditional B2B marketing activities into proactive social media engagement.

In addition “branded communities created by a company or organisation” are seen as more influential than corporate events and entertainment. This prompts the question, is social media changing the way business operates?

One note of caution, company blogs and branded Twitter profiles rank last. This we believe is not necessarily bad news, but very telling in terms of how social media works in B2B. Buyers want to interact online with people and companies need to create structures that enable this. This shows that the true value of social media lies in people, not the platform.

To succeed in this new era of socially enabled B2B communication, firms will have to empower staff to act on a company’s behalf and give them the platform to build a profile, content and relationships in this space.

Tom Smith is MD of Trendstream, a consultancy dedicated to understanding trends in technology adoption and what they mean for consumer behaviour, marketing communications, media and content

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Creating a branded Facebook page can be daunting for any business; doing so without a robust moderation policy in place can be disastrous.

A branded Facebook page can be an open-invitation for foul-mouthed detractors to fill the page with expletives and abuse.

Perhaps less obvious are the implications of a well-meaning, but misguided employee jumping in and publicly defending the company against said detractor. Or worse, a recently redundant employee joining in and publicly attacking the company out of frustration.

Before creating a branded presence on Facebook, it is therefore important to consider the Three R’s – Resourcing, Redundancies and Restrictions.

Resourcing

Consider who will moderate the page and the hours the moderator(s) will be active for. Weekdays and work hours moderation is commonplace, but clearly state this on the page. For larger branded community pages, automated moderation packages, such as Crisp Certified, can be purchased, to automatically remove negative or abusive posts; while software such as the Digital Recognition Moderation Engine (DRME) can be used to moderate user generated images and video.

Do ensure all employees, from the boardroom to the shop floor, have been fully briefed on the page and its rules of engagement; a solid social media policy will provide employees with the confidence to know when and how to respond to customers as well as outlining the necessity for employees to transparently state their relationship with a brand when engaging online.

Redundancies

During sensitive times, such as mass redundancies, a branded Facebook page – or indeed the social web in general – can present itself as the perfect place to vent feelings of injustice. Employ a monitoring system, such as Radian 6 or Sysomos, to proactively search for any online conversations surrounding this. Ensure an escalation process is in place should the online conversation spread and fully brief the page moderator to watch for potential negativity on the page. Page guidelines should state that profanity and abuse can be removed and blocked, to enable the moderator to quickly deal with abusive or aggressive Wall posts and comments.

Restrictions

Consider sensitivities surrounding data protection. While automated moderation services can be employed to block specific words and profanities, moderation becomes more difficult when it isn’t a specific word that needs to be blocked, but a reference to something or someone. Ensure the page guidelines clearly state what can and cannot be referenced on the page, this ensures the moderator can remove or block users who ignore these guidelines. The General Medical Council is a good example of an organisation finding a balance between protecting data and driving discussion.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Twitter has launched new brand pages with a new look and some useful functionality.

Coca Cola getting in early on Twitter

For those companies already on Twitter, this news is worth your attention.  Twitter’s new brand pages will better promote your brand in 4 ways:

1. A large header image gives greater prominence to your logo and/or tagline.  The Coke brand page is a great example.  Formerly, companies had to put up with an odd design which meant that brand images were concealed as wallpapers, hidden behind the Twitter timeline.  That has changed now.
2. Brands can highlight their best content.  Above the timeline is now a “promoted tweet”, which shows off a company’s best content.
3. Photos and video content can be expanded.  An example is Heineken’s promoted tweet, which shows off a photo of its newly-designed bottles.  Alternatively a video advertisement can be embedded there, simply by inserting a link to YouTube.  Disney Pixar makes great use of this and posts a trailer of its latest film there.
4. Replies and mentions may be separated.  Brands articulated a desire to see replies –i.e. customer interaction – in a separate list to mentions – i.e. tweets that have expressed an opinion on your product.  This will make it easier to do two separate things: engage with your consumers and see what people are saying about your brand.

Twitter liaised with chief marketing officers and found that what companies wanted was brand pages.  So that is what they have given them.  If you are one of the 5% of companies still not on Twitter, now might be a good time to start.

The bad news is that UK brands will have to wait until 2012 before the new pages are available. Something for the New Year then!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

So in the first blog in this series, we established that Reddit is significant online social movement, but what exactly can it offer a brand or business?

Monitoring:

Businesses can utilise the platform as a go-to for cutting edge news and content. Monitoring the platform for relevant industry or brand mentions can also yield interesting results. A search for ‘Coca Cola’ on Reddit reveals an interesting and perhaps surprising variety of conversations taking place around the global leader.

Engagement:

Businesses can actively participate in discussions or initiate new conversations. It may be worth considering potential CSR opportunities – is there a particular cause that is important to your business that you would like to talk about with the community?

A word of warning: tread carefully and be transparent about who you are. If you act in an underhand manner, you run the risk of the community turning on you.

The IAmA or “I am a” subreddit is another opportunity for business or brand ambassadors to engage with the Reddit community and answer their questions. Recently the intrepid explorer, Bear Grylls engaged in an IAmA, sponsored by Degree Men, the US version of the Sure antiperspirant brand. He answered redditors’ questions with text and video responses. His presence on the platform resulted in some gentle teasing from the community…

Sponsored links:

Reddit also offers sponsored link opportunities, allowing brands and business to target views according to their interests. As with a typical Reddit post, sponsored links can be commented on and are subject to the Up and Down vote system. They appear at the top of the Reddit feed and are clearly marked as a sponsored link. A savvy brand can get in the eyeline of a very targeted and motivated audience.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Are you familiar with Reddit? Is the social news site incorporated into your social media monitoring and planning?

So, what is Reddit?

A dark horse of the online world, Reddit is a sharing platform that businesses and brands alike should be au fait with. It’s an online space where users or ‘redditors’ as they are known, share compelling content and breaking news, often front running the news agenda.

However, Reddit is much more than just a platform for sharing. Since its early days as an online space where liberal, left-wing citizens grouped together and shared opinions, it has spawned a widespread and dedicated community. The site has surpassed the boundaries of a traditional forum, evolving into a social movement and a force to be reckoned with.

Reddit and other comparable websites, such as 4chan, have endowed citizens with a whole new level of power, allowing individuals to come together and collaborate. ‘Anonymous’, the anarchic collective, which has its roots in 4chan is now an international operation. The “hactivist” group is well-known for a variety of illegal activities and most recently has played a significant role in the Occupy Wall Street movement, rallying members and creating buzz.

At present, there are 24,848 redditors subscribed to the ‘occupywallstreet’ sub-reddit, where active discussions and lively debates about the movement continuously take place. To cite another example of the Reddit community’s active engagement, members have only recently taken a stand against the Stop Online Piracy (SOPA), disputing the colossal risk that it poses to the way the internet is used today and government censorship.

Stay tuned for part II of this blog, where we will explain what Reddit has to offer brands and businesses.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites