For this episode of the 'All the Social Ladies' podcast, I spoke with Alex Nicholson. Alex went from being a rave promoter - that's right - to growing throughout her career and leading B2B social media marketing efforts on a global scale. Quite a career transition. You're going to hear an incredible story that focuses on her non-traditional path, one that's very real and will resonate with a lot of young women. You'll also learn a lot about B2B marketing in social media and how Pegasystems has used social to drive leads in a way that I think is unique and really compelling. Take a listen.
Key Topics
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Alex's Career Path
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How To Use Social In a B2B Environment
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Pegasystems' Approach to Social Media
Key Answers
How is B2B different than B2C in social media?
"I think the objectives are different. For some companies, B2C is grounded in moving high-volume products for low costs, versus B2B companies which have a completely different selling cycle in terms of volume and time. In B2B, you're not just marketing to the business, you're marketing to the decision-maker at that company, and there are far fewer decision-makers in B2B than there are in B2C interactions. With consumer goods, you know it's working because you see a sales lift in the market. It's cause and effect that can be enhanced with online promotions and influencer programs. On the B2B side, you have to use your own metrics in-house to track success and there are more analytics behind it. Awareness on the consumer side is very effective, but with B2B, you have to think about lead generation and developing nurture channels. Paid social is really effective for B2B marketing."
What approach does Pegasystems take with social?
"Pegasystems is a 30-year-old software company with a sweet-spot for CRM systems. In social, we focus a lot on awareness, supporting our lead generation efforts and using social to amplify our partner brand and marketing campaigns. We also host a lot of events and webinars which we promote on social and we've seen fantastic registration numbers from organic Twitter. Furthermore, we feature thought-leadership pieces - people love to hear from our CEO and CMO. We create and share as much content as we can and then we promote it. We also arm our sales team with what they need to participate in the conversations on social. It really is a collective effort."
Key Soundbites
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"In 2008, it was a 'just do it and get forgiveness later' mentality in the social space."
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"Everyone's at a different point in the sales cycle on social. It's not easy to match your content to every consumer. Instead, keep it relevant and interesting to entice them back."
- "The biggest challenge in social for anyone working in B2B is how to convert a marketing and sales organization that's focused on targeted accounts and individual contact information, and shift that mentality over to social."
Resources
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Company Website: https://www.pega.com/
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Personal Twitter:@Alex20001
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Company Twitter: @pega
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Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexnicholson
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Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pegasystems
Enjoy, and check back here for more episodes of the All the Social Ladies podcast on Social Media Today.