MTC News Desk

The average person will spend five years of their life on social media. The simple truth is: social networking technology has changed the way we communicate. With expansive networks across multiple platforms, many of us do most of our communicating online. So shouldn’t sales and marketing initiatives follow suit?

What is social selling?
Social selling is the process of developing relationships as part of the sales process. In the past, this involved networking, cold calling and face-to-face sales meetings. Today, it more commonly takes place via social media networks. Social selling capitalizes on the fundamental shift in the way people communicate and learn today, both in our business and personal lives. In fact, 84 percent of C-suite executives and 70 percent of B2B decision makers rely on social media for purchase decisions.

Today’s B2B buyers are better connected, more informed and heavily influenced by peers when in comes to purchasing products and services. When implemented strategically, social selling can support and enhance the B2B sales and marketing process. Social selling isn’t simply the use of social media. Rather, it is a systematic approach to uncovering opportunities, building relationships and converting prospects into paying customers.

Three Keys
While strategies for tapping into each vary slightly from platform to platform, a number of key factors remain the same. Below are three vital elements of a top-notch social selling strategy:

1. Hone your profile. Regardless of the platform, your company profile needs to be the pillar of your social selling strategy. It represents the first impression a prospect has of your company. Or it may be where they head for research after reading a recent article or insightful comment you posted. Keep information concise and results-driven. Focus on benefits, not features. Ask yourself “Would my target buyer care about this?” If not, get rid of it. Ensure messaging and style stay true to your brand, link back to your website and use engaging visuals. If sales representatives are using social selling individually, their profiles should mirror corporate messaging.
2. Connect and follow. This is where you put the “social” in “social selling.” When it comes to platforms like Twitter or Instagram, connections are based on following fellow members. Follow often and reach out to qualified prospects whenever possible to encourage reciprocation. On platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, connections are automatically reciprocated and require slightly more nurturing. While connecting often is a good idea, many are hesitant to accept requests from those they don’t know. Customize the message in your connection request and provide a concise introduction to ensure prospects know who you are and why you’re reaching out. Discover new prospects via groups, shared content, comments sections, and other customers’ or prospects’ shared connections.
3. Engage. Once you have your profile honed and your connections built, now what? It’s time to get active. Social media thrives off shared content. Sharing content via social media should already be a part of your marketing distribution strategy. It’s a great way to spread thought leadership and link interested parties back to your website. Reach out to anyone who likes, comments or shares your content. Even a quick “thank you” is a great way to foster a new connection. Likewise, it’s important to engage, comment and share the thought leadership of others. This step helps build rapport and, at the same time, gives vital information about the company’s expertise, needs and successes. Encourage customers to review your products and connect you with other companies. If customers express complaints or frustrations online, be sure to respond quickly and resolve the problem effectively. Feedback—both positive and negative—is essential to improving social selling and organizational strategy. Participation in relevant groups and digital events are other great ways to engage and discover.

Nurture relationships
Social selling comes down to the bread and butter of sales and marketing: relationships. Your social media strategy, despite not involving any face-to-face interaction, should be no different than trying to build a relationship anywhere else. An accepted connection request isn’t enough. Identify and target prospects carefully. Nurture relationships based on sincere interest and curiosity. People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care. As you earn the trust and respect of others, your digital influence will expand, the sales cycle will shorten, and your business will grow.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gerri Knilans
President of Trade Press Services
Gerri Knilans is president of Trade Press Services. As marketing communications strategists, serving organizations of all sizes and types since 1995, the company provides writing, media outreach and general marketing support to help clients accelerate growth and generate more visibility, credibility and name recognition in their marketplaces. For additional information,

please visit http://www.tradepressservices.com or send an email to gerri@tradepressservices.com.

Data-driven marketing analysis is pivotal to the success of any marketing effort. Without the insights and direction analytics provide, companies are behind the curve ball when it comes to establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage. Based on the information collection and analysis of data, marketers can learn how customers interact with a company’s marketing content. For example, analytics show specifics such as how many pages a visitor clicked through before leaving a website or which ads are most effective. That’s the good news. The bad news comes from the fact that the abundance of information can sometimes make it difficult to know what’s important and what isn’t.

Evolving technologies make it easier for companies to access data about their customers and prospects. Whether using automated technology, Google Analytics, surveys, focus groups or input from salespeople and others, data exists just about anywhere. If your goal is to embark on or improve upon a data-driven analysis strategy to evaluate your marketing and outreach efforts, here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Define your goal. Start with the aim of answering key questions. For example: What problem needs to be solved? How can we increase website traffic? What blog topics will engage our target audiences? How can we generate interest from new prospects? How can we shorten the sales cycle? Always start with a clear and defined objective that’s supported by a current baseline.

2. Develop a plan. With any marketing initiative, there’s a need for a plan, and data analysis is no different. Once you’ve defined your goal, identify potential sources of data. You may require access to your website, social media and email software to determine response, engagement, click-through and unsubscribe rates. Narrow the scope of your plan to target information most suited to your objective. Define metrics, technologies, and strategies you are going to use. Ensure roles are defined for those involved, along with deadlines and open communication about progress.

3. Collect data. When collecting data, focus on pulling data from multiple sources. Vary and diversify your data pool. Even if your objective is to discover specifics about a particular target market or about use on a certain social media platform, information from many resources helps marketers better understand the whole picture. For example, if you identify trends, habits and concerns of current clients, you’re better positioned to recognize hot prospects with challenges you can solve. Cast a wide net to ensure you collect feedback from many sources, and, as a result, you might discover information you didn’t know would be useful.

4. Organize data. Before you dive deep into your analysis, take a quick surface look at your data, and make sure it can be accessed in an organized fashion. Your organizational structure is determined by the objective identified in Step 1. Whether you use spreadsheets, a data collection software package, or simple pen to paper, prioritizing data that’s most relevant to solving your problem will free up time and resources to what matters most.

5. Analyze further. Once you have your data arranged and prioritized, conduct the analysis. Make sure you understand current industry trends and have the expertise necessary to draw sensible and accurate conclusions. Bring in fellow experts and get points of view from multiple departments for a wider perspective. Build tables or graphs and segment results by groups that make sense (demographics, industry, etc.). It is much easier to discover major trends if your data is organized effectively.

6. Present your findings. Once trends have been identified, arrange and present findings to colleagues, partners, investors and even clients or prospects. Get input and incorporate what’s relevant. Then consider developing a white paper, blog or press release based on your findings. Whatever outreach channel you use, data-supported content is a powerful way to share and distribute your expertise.

7. Utilize results to make decisions. Now that you’ve organized your results, sought feedback and shared input with outside sources, determine if you answered your original question. Act upon your objective with the data-driven results you amassed, and continue to review and revise as necessary to keep marketing initiatives top-notch.

Marketers rely on data to evaluate their current initiatives and analyze their value, impact, and significance. The careful analysis of this data helps marketers to zero in on what marketing efforts are making the biggest difference. Then, use that data and analysis to tweak current strategies and tactics, do away with poor performing programs, and create new ones to better engage your audiences. When data turns into insightful and responsive actions, you develop and maintain the competitive edge you seek.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gerri Knilans
President of Trade Press Services
Gerri Knilans is president of Trade Press Services. As marketing communications strategists, serving organizations of all sizes and types since 1995, the company provides writing, media outreach and general marketing support to help clients accelerate growth and generate more visibility, credibility and name recognition in their marketplaces. For additional information,

please visit http://www.tradepressservices.com or send an email to gerri@tradepressservices.com.

Content creation, syndication and consumption platforms are like every other aspect of business. They are constantly changing. To ensure your content represents the quality you seek and achieves the results you want, here is a checklist of B2B considerations:

Interactive visual content

The demand for interactive content online continues to grow exponentially. Platforms such as YouTube for video content, WordPress for blogs, or Instagram for photos are in widespread usage. More and more marketers are using infographics for data visualizations, presentation platforms for expertise distribution, and webinars for education and networking. While some of these platforms, infographics, for example, have been around in concept for decades, their popularity and use began to rise in the early 2000s. Now, they are a mainstay of business development teams who aim to compile, analyze and share important company or industry statistics. Certain platforms such as Slideshare for expert presentation content or Google Hangouts for webinar content and relationship building are developing each day.

Virtual reality (VR)

VR has been headlining research and development for many years but only now has it become a reality for consumers and businesses. The question isn’t if VR can become a part of the marketing plan, but how. This is the stage of quantity vs. quality. As consumers jump on the VR bandwagon, many users and companies will unload poor quality content in hopes of simply putting their name on the new platforms. Stay ahead of the competition and begin developing a VR marketing plan now to maximize content quality and reinforce your brand.

Networking platforms

We all know the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They are a part of mainstream society, and it’s hard to think they’re going anywhere. However, business trends and interests change on a day-to-day basis, constantly making room for new social networking platforms. Facebook Business, for example, was invented in response to the many businesses trying to gain exposure through a platform originally designed as an “online yearbook.” Other large social platforms have followed suit, with Instagram Business or Google My Business. However, new platforms are finding users as trends and interests change, for example:

• org: A rapidly growing platform designed specifically for producing expert marketing content and organizing a personal newsfeed of blog and email subscriptions. Platforms like this may overtake more traditional distribution methods such as email or Facebook for blog, article, white paper and newsletter consumption.
• com: Another content sharing website, Medium allows users to explore submitted content based on industry. Curated by business professionals, Medium concentrates on quality of content, insights and original ideas.
• com: Centered around the idea of answering user-posed questions, Quora allows brand advocates and industry specialists to share their expertise. Like-minded individuals can locate industry-specific content and knowledge through a question-and-answer format, and continue the conversation in a forum-like style. Users have the ability to contact industry experts directly if they’re interested in learning more.

As with other business initiatives and realities, content creation, syndication and consumption will always evolve. By keeping informed and willing to invest in new opportunities, marketers can stay ahead of marketplace trends and demands through ongoing learning, testing and application of the best technology has to offer. Companies that are willing to reach out, embrace the new and work through the kinks that come with change will reap the benefits.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gerri Knilans
President of Trade Press Services
Gerri Knilans is president of Trade Press Services. As marketing communications strategists, serving organizations of all sizes and types since 1995, the company provides writing, media outreach and general marketing support to help clients accelerate growth and generate more visibility, credibility and name recognition in their marketplaces. For additional information.

please visit http://www.tradepressservices.com or send an email to gerri@tradepressservices.com.