LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Alerts, Search Engine Optimization and Facebook. No matter what you call it or how you use it, you cannot deny that social media marketing is here to stay. More and more business-to-business organizations are seeing its value and figuring out how to use social media marketing within their current outreach plans.
While IT and telecom vendors are using social media marketing to retain and attract customers, very few VARs, solution providers and systems integrators are using these tools. Of those who are using it, how many are seeing the benefit of a well-executed presence? While social media tactics are considered “free,” companies can do more damage using the tools as another venue for push marketing than if they did nothing at all.
Some vendors look at the lack of usage as an indication they simply do not have to communicate with partners using these tools. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. While many solution providers have yet to embrace social media, almost all customers have. A post on the Marketing Pilgrim highlights a study showing that 91 percent of IT decision makers consume social media such as blogs, videos and peer reviews before making a purchasing decision. More than that, closer to 100 percent of customers use search engines to find pricing even if their product needs have been defined offline. Without SEO tactics, solution providers are missing some great opportunities. Bottom line, there is a huge disconnect between customers who seek information on social media platforms and partners who aren’t equipped to create it.
So what should solution providers do? The first step is creating an online brand. Those of us who have worked for large companies know “branding” can sometimes come with a 462-page “Branding Guidelines” document that’s good for learning how much space needs to be around a logo when printed in a presentation or how the product lines need to be discussed. Now more than ever, though, we’ve grown to understand branding as a series of experiences that people have with your company, its suppliers and customers. Here are four quick tips to get off to the right start developing your online brand:
