Most B2B companies either think that social media is not worth investing in or they just can't see the ROI of social media. The answer you will get most of the time is, "My clients are businesses and they are not on social media."
Are we missing something here? Did we forget something?
Some social media experts have said that the ROI of Social Media is that your business will be here in 5 years... Ok I can see why they say that but are we missing the big picture?
Are companies paying attention to social media? Do they read status updates on Twitter and Facebook? Are companies interacting with their potential clients on social media?
Let's read that last questions again, are the actual companies on social media? Isn't it the case that behind companies there are actually real people?
Companies are managed and run by real people, real people are social, they enjoy conversations and value authentic relationships, and more than 70% of this people are on social media.
Few months ago I went to a live interview with a well-known successful business owner, investor and entrepreneur Lord Alan Sugar and when he was asked to describe a normal day in his life he said, "I wake up in the morning, I have my coffee then I sit at my computer and read what is happening in the world using Twitter." This is what many business owners and decision makers are doing these days .
What is the ROI of social media?
A single successful interaction with a single person who influences a multi-million dollar deal can often justify social media investments.
How much longer will businesses miss the big picture?
Here are 7 steps to start implementing social media in your business
- Know your audience; are they local or worldwide? Which industry? What are their needs? Are they using social media? If they are, what social networks are they on?Are the employees on Social Media?
- Choose the right social media channel; not all social media channels are right for your business. This will depend on you knowing your audience and the type of industry they are in.
- Create a social media marketing plan; treat it as part of your traditional marketing plan, this might become the most effective part of your plan over the next years.
- Create community; it's not about followers, it's about brand advocates. It's not about followers; it's about active followers, it's about people waiting for the information you share and following your lead.
- Choose the right content; create leadership content to keep high-level decision makers engaged
- Measure the results on all social media strategies you implement to invest more in the ones that bring the best results
- Reward your followers. You will get more coverage in the press and attention to stand out from the crowd.
It's no longer about whether to do or not do Social Media; it's about how well we do it.