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Oh No You Don’t! You Simply Can’t Say “I Don’tGet Social Media”…
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10 Things About Social Media Every C-Suite Executive MUSTKnow
It doesn’t matter whether you pulled an all-nighter to celebrate thePatriots’ victory at the Super Bowl or slept in to avoid the messycommute in Toronto’s snowstorm—it’s time to wake up and say,“Yup, I get social and I know what it takes.”
Saying, “I don’t get social” is like saying “I don’t get the Super Bowl”!There’s no such thing. Whether you understand the game, followthe rules, know the teams and players, or not, it doesn’t matter.Super Bowl is a MEGA event and EVERYONE on this continent“gets” it. Right down to John Legend’s opening performance, IdinaMenzel’s powerful rendition of the national anthem, Katy Perry (hats off to her for the “Roaring” show!), the fireworks at
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Louis Foong FEBRUARY 3, 2015 SOCIAL MEDIA
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the end, it’s the full package of entertainment, adrenaline, and bonding opportunity for friends and family.
As members of the C-Suite, we have absolutely no excuse anymore to shy away from, show reluctance, demonstrateignorance or profess skepticism over how to use social media and what benefits it can bring to our business.
I’m not saying it is simple now; if anything, it has become more complex and intricate. I’m not saying it isn’t so freakinghard either. What I am saying is that it’s no longer the Wild, Wild West. We have made progress in understanding anddefining processes to deliver positive outcomes through social media marketing. I have not found a “mantra” yet, butthere certainly are proven systems in place to measure social ROI. It is possible to derive operational value from socialtechnologies and socially enabled tasks in the workplace.
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So here are 10 things I believe every C-Suite Executive must know about social media in the context of theB2B industry.
Tips, Tricks, And Techniques For Effective B2B Social Media1. You have to be prepared for a marathon. Social media is not a 100m sprint. Once you kick-off, you have to keepgoing. Social marketing initiatives have to be implemented, monitored and measured as part of a long-term, integratedstrategy. Spikes and troughs will do more damage than good.
2. Numbers matter, but only if they are in the context of “relationships” and “engaged audiences.” Stopbreathing down the necks of your marketing team demanding more “Likes” and “Fans” and “Followers.” Those caneven be bought today on many of the social channels. What you need is a growing number of relationships nurturedvia social channels and cemented through direct, personal interaction. Remember, you can lure the hungry to your hotdog cart, but do you have the “secret sauce” to draw out the “connoisseurs” who come back, frequently, and bring theirbest friends?
3. Key metrics for social ROI measurement? Increased brand awareness and social conversations about your
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brand are strong indicators of a social strategy working well. Again, don’t waste time and agonize over meaninglessmetrics. Focus your team’s efforts on fueling more social conversations that generate positive outcomes for yourbrand.
4. Collaboration is key. Social is a team effort. And I don’t mean just your internal team. Bring in a suitable agency orcontent partner to create quality content. Implement the right social monitoring and measurement solution. Getcollective buy-in from everyone around the board room table and take that message down to the bunkers. Your salespeople in the field are your best bet when it comes to knowing what’s keeping your customers up at night. Pick theirbrains and use social media to communicate to your prospects that you have the answers they are seeking.
5. Cultivate, don’t automate. Social media is an effective B2B lead generation tool but you can’t expect it to worksimply because you have invested in the latest technology and tools. Setting up automated social feeds can only workto a point. If you are not careful, it can actually backfire. Customers will shut you out. You need to cultivate and nurtureleads by using social to feed relevant, useful, and meaningful information to your audience. The only way to do that isby ensuring the human element is intact and it’s not just software spewing out social content multiple times a day.
6. Ditch the “flavor of the day” approach. Use social media, yes, but not at the expense of tried and true marketingmethodology. Supplement, complement, but do not replace.
7. Don’t confuse “personalized” with “personal.” We have been talking about how the B2B buyer wants to beunderstood and treated like a person rather than a faceless organization. The merits of B2P (business-to-person) orB2H (business-to-human) have been reiterated often. However, some folks are mistaken about the “personal touch”and what it really means. It does not mean sharing details about “you”! Who cares if you are on a new diet or watcheda great flick or had a bad day or even achieved Nirvana? Well, maybe your immediate family and close friends care.Your customers don’t. So stop wasting time with “personal” details and focus on a “personalized” offering for yourbuyers.
8. Be inspired by your competition. And by that I don’t mean scream, shout and scramble to make more noise thanthey do. You’ll only get lost in the clutter. Instead, focus on identifying your buyers’ pain points and do better than yourcompetition when it comes to addressing real problems through social media.
9. Enlist your CEO as the Chief Social Media Supporter. For a social media strategy to work and integrate with
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your overall marketing plan, your CEO needs to be your Chief Social Media Supporter—bought into the strategy, offersdirection to help set the right tone, and most importantly understands the implications of the company’s social mediaactivities.
10. Last, but not the least, use common sense. Thinks about this—what lessons have you learned from traditionalmarketing? When you are face to face with buyers, how do you catch their attention and steer it in the right direction?How do you start a conversation and then let the customer do the talking? Why is it important to network without beingoverbearing, pushy and loud? Where do your customers go when they are searching for information? Which socialchannels do they visit frequently? Apply this common sense to social media marketing rather than relying on socialmedia “gurus” (a.k.a. platform specialists) telling you what to do.
BONUS TIP: Understand Dark Social. Be aware that there are many different ways in which your content is observedand shared; you just don’t know about it. There are audiences out there that are consuming your content but notsharing it. Try to determine what this invisible audience is looking for and find ways to encourage them to share ourcontent too.
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Author: Louis Foong
Louis Foong is the founder and CEO of The ALEA Group Inc., one of North America’s most innovative B2Bdemand generation specialists. With more than three decades of experience in the field, Louis is a thoughtleader on trends, best practices and issues concerning marketing and lead generation.... View full profile ›
This article originally appeared on LEADership by Louis Foong and has been republished w ith permission.Find out how to syndicate your content w ith Business 2 Community.
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