Question

Topic: Social Media

Which Soc Media Best - B2b Business Intelligence?

Posted by Anonymous on 12/2/2009 at 11:15 AM ET 250 Points
I am trying to decide which Social Media sites to concentrate on (perhaps 2 or 3) for a B2B business intelligence start-up. We have some good, non-biased content coming out and would like to drip it into the right social media sites. My challenge is it's not clear which sites would be a good fit to dedicate the required time to build a good reputation and proliferate our content. I only have time to dedicate to building a presence on 2 or 3 sites, and choosing the wrong ones will really hurt our efforts. Digg? Stumble? I don't need 20 year-olds digging my content if it only attracts more 20-year olds. Where do the professionals go for information?
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 12/2/2009 at 1:43 PM Accepted
    Dear rodejohn,

    Unless there are specific social media sites connected with your
    niche and that you know other people in your niche are using
    (and having success with), stick with the basic triangle of Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube.

    Use Twitter to drive traffic to Facebook. Use Facebook to drive traffic to your YouTube channel, and use the three combined to excite, inform, and educate people with compelling content on a blog that makes them think of you in a positive way.

    Social media is NOT about selling: it's about being social and about being helpful.

    You need to position yourself as the leading source of useful information for people searching for solutions in your niche and you'll do this by helping people, by offering great solutions, and by providing links to great content that's in some way interesting or valuable to your followers, viewers, and friends.

    This buys share of mind and positions you as the logical go to person for your niche.

    I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA
    Follow me on www.twitter.com @GaryBloomer




  • Posted by mgoodman on 12/2/2009 at 2:34 PM Moderator
    It sounds like your goal is to use social media. Let me suggest that you redefine the objective as connecting with your customer base and forming strong business relationships with the folks who might someday buy from you (for the first time or again).

    Once you redefine your goal that way, your first step is to see what your target audience is doing today. You want to be where they are, not where they aren't. Poke around the SM space and see where customers are communicating now. Find the blogs they're reading and commenting on. And if they are not using social media very much, find that out too. (No sense going somewhere they are not.)

    My guess is that it won't take you long to figure out which media you should be using. Use the ones your target audience is using.

    Maybe you can even ask some of your current customers where they "hang out" online, in the blogosphere and in social media generally. They'd know the answer to your question better than we would!
  • Posted by ckieff on 12/2/2009 at 5:17 PM Member
    I echo the sentiments of the two previous commenters and add the following:
    Determine where the current thought leaders in the verticals you are pursuing are hanging out. The thought leaders will naturally attract the audience if it's not too well formed as of yet.
    This can by done by seeing which sites, blogs etc, they refer to, or by using tools like Twitalyzer. I would even go so far as to ask some of the thought leaders where they would recommend you spend your time. If you are not competing they should answer you.

    Chris Kieff
    CEO 1 Good Reason.com
    Follow me on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/ckieff
  • Posted by excellira on 12/2/2009 at 8:30 PM Member
    In the US:

    * LinkedIn Groups & Q&A
    * Facebook
    * Twitter
    * Youtube

    If you have to focus on 2 or 3 I'd choose from the above list.

  • Posted by Harry Hallman on 12/3/2009 at 8:08 AM Accepted
    Listen to excellira.

    Linkedin, but all of it. Create a company profile and a personal profile. Be sure profile is complete. Use groups and answers so you gain a reputation. Create customer education materials and use the the communication tools available and the status feature. First generate a targeted list of contacts.

    Use a Facebook page, because you may be able to tap into friends a family for leads. Don't expect a lot, but it is easy to do and you can use the same customer education materials you create for Linkedin.

    Use Twitter because it is a no-brainer and does not take much time. Link to the customer education materails.

    Forget YouTube (sorry excellira) unless you have a very compelling video or series. You can use it as a video library and post on your own website.

    Create digital footprints on sites your target audience use. Directors, other social media sites, blogs.

    Create a blog and use it. Get it on Digg, Technorati and other sites that spread the word.

    Have a great and informative website with good SEO.
    By the way, all your other work on social media and digital footprinting will help with this.

    Research the most important key phrases used by web searchers to find the kind of services you offer. Create a list of the best and use them in all of your copy and tags.

    Hope that helps.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 12/3/2009 at 9:23 AM Member
    Instead of trying to build a following, also consider dripping your content where people are listening. Find the dialogs are the topic you address, and insert the content (or a link to it) in the dialog (appropriately, of course). That'll save you the hassle of trying to create your own following. What you really want are customers, not simply followers.
  • Posted on 12/3/2009 at 12:00 PM Author
    I appreciate everyone's time. Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and our own blog it is!
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Social Media)