Using the Social Network for B2B Marketing Success Srinivas

Using the Social Network for B2B Marketing Success Srinivas B Vijayaraghavan, Director Marketing, Tejas Networks

The changing paradigm ‘Jab mein pachchees ka tha, baatein Facebook pe nahin, face to face hua karti thi’ -Daddu, Kotak Mahindra Silver Jubilee Ad

Things that you already know Social Media is here It is here to stay Social Media Marketing is the new Buzz weartoour hats and ask Lets It is here staymarketing as well ourselves-what does this do for us? Do we know?

Lets try some customer situations. Is social media marketing relevant? Low Value Wants to buy a pencil Wants to buy a movie ticket Wants to buy a cell phone Wants to buy a computer Wants to buy clothes Wants to buy a HDTV/Home Theatre/Fridge Wants to buy a car Wants to buy a house/plot B2C High Value

Lets change the customer situations. Is social media marketing relevant? Wants to buy an IT server Wants to outsource office housekeeping Wants to buy power plant equipment Wants to implement Core Banking Wants to build a flyover Wants to automate a manufacturing plant Wants to start a retail chain Wants to roll out a 3G network B2B

How are B2B marketers reacting to social media? 86% are ‘using’ social media 59% have ‘basic presence/not active’ 50% face ‘perceived irrelevance’ 50% ‘prefer traditional methods’ 36% have a ‘low executive interest’ 30% fear ‘loss of brand control’ -White Horse Survey (104 B2B marketers)

Is there hope? How are customers doing? (1200 US, European B2B buyers) – 91% of B2B decision read/watch content (Spectators) 69% of these read business-relevant content – 55% were members of social networking websites (Joiners) – 43% wrote blogs, uploaded content (creators) – 58% react to content (critics) B2B Social Media Spending will increase to 54 million in 2014 as compared to 11 million in 2009 -Forrester Research The question is not ‘should’ but ‘how should’ B2B Marketers use Social Media Marketing effectively

How to use social media as a B2B marketer Ready your content Set your goals Choose the right platforms Customer & Competitor Be regular and engage Use the right tools Use force multipliers Define Metrics

#1 Customer & Competitor Classify customers based on their social medianess – Creators: Write blogs, upload stuff – Critics: Respond to content, post comments – Collectors: Organize content for themselves – Joiners: Connect in personal social networks – Spectators: Read blogs, videos, reviews – Inactives: None of the above How? Customer Survey (online/face-2-face) Rate your competition on the type of social media marketing they use. Know Thy Customer is not a cliché. Don’t do anything without it!

#2 Set your Goals: Social Media Marketing Sweet Spot Awareness Cognition Interest Desire Affect Action Satisfaction Behavior

#3#4 Content and Platforms Website/ Blogs Videos & Presns. Company Portal Personal Networking Sites Product /Solution Simulations Product Launch/Announc ement Microblogs

#5#6 Regular Engage Multiply If you have a blog, blog If you have a twitter account, tweet Find excuses to put something out there! Encourage people to comment, retweet, share on facebook, digg, del.icio.us Get people to subscribe to your blog via RSS

#7#8 Define Metrics & Tools Followers, Page Views/Impressions Time spent, Comments/Likes Downloads, Sharing, Retweets Tools available – Unilyzer – Facebook Insights – TweetStats – YouTube Insight – Google Alerts, Analytics – PostRank Analytics

B2B Social Media Marketing Red Lights Relying only on social media Lack of constant engagement Don’t give it enough time Using it as a direct response vehicle Expecting instant results Content focusing on self Not building networks using syndication Not Interlinking content

Examples of good social media sites HP product blogs, videos & facebook page IBM DeveloperWorks, AlphaWorks IBM Research facebook page