Category: social media

On B2B Social Media

B2B social media is tough. Let’s go through what you are facing and solve this common issue together.

You are setting up the social accounts. Others find out and are excited.

Yes! They say. Free advertising – let’s blast out our promotional messages on social.

No, no, no, no, no, no…

I have no idea why this is so common. It’s not like they haven’t been on social before. The minute a company you follow starts posting one promotional message after another onto your timeline, do you actually enjoy that?

Or do you ignore and unfollow?

I know what 99% would do. The remaining one percent still following would be the social media team and company employees.

So let’s get down on approaching B2B social media and how to get everyone on board with you.

First of all, understand that whether it is B2B or B2C, or whatever the latest term, you are still dealing with humans. These actual human beings are NOT looking for your promotional messages on social. In fact, quite the opposite.

What DO you go to social media for? Helpful updates, Information, entertainment, animal pictures -my fav- and videos the list goes on. But we get ads and sponsored posts everywhere, so why would anyone think that organic posts that look and sound like an ad is going to connect with your audience?

Find your audience and address their needs. Remember that your audience does not care about you — at all it’s all about WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). Avinash Kaushik wrote that the north star of content should be helping your audience get promoted.

So offer good information, things that are helpful, be entertaining, whatever it is there are great examples out there. I would keep in mind that being funny is VERY difficult and few do a good job of it (Innocent Drinks comes to mind) But, we can always offer expertise.

So when the boss asks about how you’re promoting the company, let them know the expertise you show is building your credibility. Many sales folks I’ve worked with have learned that once they stopped promoting and started addressing how to solve problems, customers started coming to them instead of the other way around. Teaching IS selling. And this is especially true in the social space.

If you need help running your social media accounts or just need a free consult, contact DemandWeb

For more on DemandWeb: DemandWeb: Data-Driven Marketing Agency Helps Businesses Drive Demand

The Internet: It’s time to talk

On the Internet…

Although this isn’t about digital marketing, we all play in the same sandbox. Walter Isaacson, CEO of the Aspen Institute, has a few thoughts about how we can make the internet a better place for everyone.

ColorBlind Images / Getty Images

The internet is broken. Starting from scratch, here’s how I’d fix it

My big idea is that we have to fix the internet. After forty years, it is corroding, both itself and us. It is still a marvelous and miraculous invention. However, there are bugs in the foundation, bats in the belfry, and trolls in the basement.

This is not a technophobic rant. I am not dissing the Internet for rewiring our brains to give us the twitchy attention span of Donald Trump on Twitter. Or pontificating about how we have to log off and smell the flowers. Qualms about new technologies will always exist (ever since Plato fretted that the technology of writing would threaten memorization and oratory). I love the internet and all of its digital offshoots. What I bemoan is its decline.

There is a bug in its original design. It at first seemed like a feature but has gradually, and now rapidly, been exploited by hackers and trolls and malevolent actors. Its packets are encoded with the address of their destination but not of their authentic origin. With a circuit-switched network, you can track or trace back the origins of the information, but that’s not true with the packet-switched design of the internet.

Read the rest HERE

Social Media: Boost your career

Remember the post, Social media: Is it time to quit? – here’s an interesting response:

Hayden Maynard, nytimes.com
Hayden Maynard, nytimes.com

Don’t Quit Social. Put It to Work for Your Career Instead.

As director of digital communications and social media at the career site Monster, I read, “Quit Social Media. Your Career May Depend on It,” with great interest. The author argues that social is harmful for careers. It is too much of a distraction and doesn’t provide a valuable return on investment professionally.

As someone who spends the majority of his work time on social helping people find careers they’ll love, I disagree with his assessment. I believe that you should not quit social — and that doing so will actually damage your career.

Understandably, you might be questioning my motives. “Hey, this guy does social for a living, so clearly he’s got a vested stake in this matter.” Well, you’re right. But let’s start with the point that I’m not the only one who makes a career doing this. Just one platform, Facebook, has created more than 4.5 million social media industry jobs globally, according to a study conducted by Deloitte. Talk about literal career benefits. The number of people in the creative industries, advertising and more who make a living on social is probably much higher…

Read the rest HERE.

Social media: Is it time to quit?

Writer and blogger —Cal Newport, an associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University and the author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World— opines in the NY Times that social media can be harmful to your career. What do you think?

Quit Social Media. Your Career May Depend on It.

Graphic by nytimes.com
David Saracino – nytimes.com

 

I’m a millennial computer scientist who also writes books and runs a blog. Demographically speaking I should be a heavy social user, but that is not the case. I’ve never had a social account.

[See also Social Media: Boost Your Career ]

At the moment, this makes me an outlier, but I think many more people should follow my lead and quit these services. There are many issues with social media, from its corrosion of civic life to its cultural shallowness, but the argument I want to make here is more pragmatic: You should quit social media because it can hurt your career.

This claim, of course, runs counter to our current understanding of social media’s role in the professional sphere. We’ve been told that it’s important to tend to your so-called social brand, as this provides you access to opportunities you might otherwise miss and supports the diverse contact network you need to get ahead. Many people in my generation fear that without a social presence, they would be invisible to the job market.

Read the rest of the article here.

Who else wants to create a fantastic social media proposal?

Let’s write a social media proposal

It’s always best to personalize your approach with a potential client, but here is a link to helpful tips on what you need to include in the social media proposal. Best of luck and go get ’em!

[Also see Outstanding Free Marketing Tools You Need to Know About]

“Well-written social media proposals are key to closing deals. If you’re a writer or marketer, your sales team probably needs your help writing those proposals, too. If you’re working solo, you might need to show why you’re a better option than a high-priced agency. Or another freelancer or consultant.”

Read the rest: How To Quickly Build Social Media Proposals That Win Clients