The B2B Social Series #4 - Picking Your Platform

It shouldn’t be though. If it’s fun, it means you’re not taking things seriously, and I need to tell you, B2B social is a very serious matter. So, get your head out of Pinterest and Instagram and put your thinking cap on. We’ve got some serious things to consider before we dive head first into the world of social media.

1) What platforms are your customers on?

I was recently asked:

‘Should my small B2B clients be on Pinterest?’

My personal opinion? No, they shouldn’t be. When starting out in social media you need to be on the most effective platform that gives you the most reach. Ask yourself this… where are you customers most likely to be hanging out? Do people use Pinterest as a research tool when assessing a software product? Do they go there to investigate your corporate culture when considering the type of recruitment agency they want to use? In all likelihood… no. Maybe one day, but not right now.

Go where the people go. Go where the time you’re investing will return the most value. Go where you are most likely to be discovered.

2) What are your business capabilities?

The urge is to set up in all the main channels straight away. Social is exciting, you want to be everywhere, you want to spread your message, you want to go viral.

Hold your horses there. Remember, a social media channel isn’t just for Christmas, it’s a business lifetime worth of commitment. There’s nothing grubbier in this new media world than a social channel that’s been left alone in a cyber cardboard box to fester unloved and untouched for months at a time.

Assess what your internal capabilities are when weighing up a channel. If you set up a blog, do you have enough people in the business willing and able to contribute content on a weekly basis? If you set up a YouTube channel, do you have the budget to create interesting video content regularly? Do you have people within the organisation who are camera friendly? If you have an Instagram account… do you have a product worthy of picturing?

Work out what you can do and what you can do well internally when choosing channels. One channel executed with world class pinache beats 5 channels executed with lacklustre drive. Remember, a lack of commitment to a social channel shows a lack of commitment as a business.

3) What assets do you have?

I won’t lie, one of my favourite words in marketing is ‘repurpose’. Not because I’m lazy, but because one of social media’s best functions is taking world class content you’ve created and breathing life into it. When choosing your channels, assess what collateral you already have. If you have 50 case studies, with relative ease, you can set up a Slideshare channel and post them out on a weekly basis. You can get double bang for your buck embedding them into your company blog. The investment for doing this is relatively low. You’re just digitising work that tends to sit in a sales person’s folder.

If you have an inspirational CEO who does regular talks that are captured on film, then why don’t you have a YouTube channel to host their thought leadership prowess? The secret to great social isn’t always about what you haven’t yet created; it’s making sure you’re sharing all those hidden treasures you keep buried in your hard drive.

Conclusion

Choosing your channels isn’t rocket science. Park the excitement, work out your strengths and be the best at whatever you’re doing. Lay the foundations, and then when you want to go experimental, you’ll have the perfect springboard to make it work.

Any questions on the B2B series, speak to us @STEAKLondon

By Pete Wood, UK Social Media Director, STEAK