Though the B2C sector seemed to quickly catch on, even now (almost a decade later) many companies in the neighboring B2B sector still show a surprising ineptitude when it comes to successful use of social media. This point was highlighted to me just recently, when a friend in technology PR pointed out that the combined Twitter followings of three of the biggest companies in her field of expertise still came to considerably less than her own personal following.
At first glance it is unclear why so few B2B companies have managed to get a real grasp of how to use social media platforms with any serious effectiveness. Just like their B2C counterparts, they need to explore new ways to engage with the customer base in order to generate greater sales revenue – so why are they not utilizing these channels better? The irony is that many companies in the electronics and engineering business are looking to promote themselves as innovators who are introducing cutting edge technology. Yet too many don’t carry this attitude over to their marketing strategy.
There are several reasons, in my opinion, why the marketing managers of companies still have a cynical view of the value that social media can bring to campaigns. Here are just a couple of the key ones:
- They often look at social media as one single entity – if they see, for example, Facebook or Instagram as not being a good match for the company image then they will discount other options that might work really well (for example Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Vimeo).
- They are worried that, if they go ahead with a social media campaign, they won’t be able to keep control of it. Again this hints at an absence of real understanding of what’s involved and inexperience of how social media activities need to be managed. Just because a company has bought in to using certain social media platforms, does not automatically mean that it’s the green light for everyone in the company to start broadcasting material. Content needs to be dealt with in an organized and professional manner via a skilled team.
Possibly more frustrating than marketing managers who won’t open their mind to the benefits of social media, are those that have convinced themselves that they are actually already doing a good job when this is not the case. Far too often there seems to be a difference between what the marketing manager assumes the company’s social media effort is achieving and what it actually delivers.
Part 2 of this blog will follow soon. In the mean time you can find out more about better use of social media by visiting the Pinnacle Marketing website: https://www.publitek.com/services/social-media.
