Badass B2B Social Media Marketing

2Our Challenge. the starr conspiracyFind a B2B Social Media PresenceThat Doesn’t Make You Want to Die social media We wrote a blog post awhile We argued that it’s possible to have a compelling B2B social media presence. The responses were unanimous: “I dare you to show me back about three annoying a B2B company that’s getting social media right.” things you do on Twitter. It’s true that B2B social media is often done sufficiently. You might not have read They’re getting their SEO on, they have some daily conversations, and they might be increasing brand awareness. The conversation it. You’re still doing some quickly becomes about ROI and lead generation, and the social pretty irritating stuff. presence becomes about fishing for people, leading them to forms and offers, and then releasing them back into Lake Placid, where your brand doesn’t exist. We’ll fill you in Social media processes are in place before you even get a chance • ou are willing to follow Y to “play around” and try to give your brand some personality. It’s also true that we have a much higher standard of anyone, desperately influential content. hoping they’ll follow Setting up your blog as an RSS feed on Twitter and Facebook might you back. be interesting for some, practical for some more, but it will never grab anyone and pique their interest. At best, you’re giving them content to regurgitate to their followers; at worst, you’re cluttering their • ou set up auto DMs and Y feeds. There’s hope for your social media presence yet. thank anyone for following You don’t have to accept being obnoxious on Facebook and Twitter. You don’t have to accept not understanding how LinkedIn you or ask them to retweet can help your brand. You can try, and that effort will help your brand. your posts. Come, grasshopper. We will show you the way. • ou run a legitimate Y B2B Twitter account like a robot.

3Understanding the 3. ampaign pulls a terrible response rate because no one in the C market segment has ever heard of their brand — so why would the starr conspiracy they take the time to download a white paper from something they’ve never heard of?Importance of Brand 4. mall company blames agency, refuses to pay and decides S marketing is a huge waste of time and money. 5. Small company stays small. And hey — that’s cool — small companies are the backbone of America. social media The same thing happens with social media: It’s not all about your list. • e recommend a thoughtful strategy that includes a W comprehensive experience assessment, a creative campaign, establishment of voice, daily content strategy, execution ofAnyone who tells you social media is amorphous and can’t content, media spend and measurement. • mall company turns down assessment, campaign, voice, Sbe measured is wackadoo. Social media can be measured strategy, media and measurement and wants a la carte socialand it can drive measurable leads. For social media to media services that are solely centered around offers behindbe at its most effective, however, you need to shift forms (murdering the concept of social media). • ocial media “campaign” is minimally effective. Syour thinking about marketing. • mall company loses faith in the power of social media S and would prefer to set up RSS feeds from their blogs toSome of the marketing beliefs we come across in our pursuit keep content regular. Small companies hire us saying things like:of truth are startling. For instance, believing demand generation • mall company’s social media presence stays small. And hey — S • We’ve tried marketing before and it didn’t work.is the single most important aspect of marketing is startling. that’s also cool — because if no one was annoying anyone • e really need to use this relationship to prove to our WBelieving brand is something you build intangibly through on social media, no one would appreciate the companies CEO that marketing works.demand generation is equally startling. who do it really, really well. • The most important thing we can do is drive leads. The Starr Conspiracy has a clear definition of brand thatis simple and can be measured. Brand has two dimensions: Social media measurement is based on benchmarking. Where we are Then what happens is, predictably, this: now is how we’ll measure our success tomorrow. You can’t measure 1. e create a killer campaign with an awesome offer, WRecognition How many people know you your social media successes (or failures) against the successes of arresting creative and thoughtful list selection.Reputation What they think about you B2C conglomerates with cheery products everyone loves. 2. ampaign is tested to a small list because small company C Your enterprise software platform will never have the numbers doesn’t have enough money to conduct multiple testsIt’s measurable by calculating recognition and reputation through on social media that Dunkin’ Donuts does. People love doughnuts, to multiple lists.extensive research: but there is no reason that your social media efforts can’t be just as effective in generating brand awareness. Get the brand awareness nailed down and the demand generation will follow. B (Brand) = R1 (Recognition) x R2 (Reputation)

4Voice & Personality the starr conspiracy The things that make people stay. social mediaHaving a strong Our voice is a lot like a black leather motorcycle jacket. It seems dangerous and accessible at the same time. We’re a bit of an enigmaidentity can get people to some; to others, we’re the kind to be avoided at all costs. We sayinterested in your brand. things that others only think. We believe in speaking the truth butEveryone wants to know know how to keep secrets. We aren’t for everybody, but we are just right for those who get it.what Southwest Airlines Too many brands spend too much time trying to be all thingsand Tipp-Ex are doing on to all people. When that happens, your voice stands for nothingsocial media. But if you and goes unheard. Take a stand. Your brand may be serious and knowledgeable, it may be funny and inappropriate, or it may befound them on social media, approachable and friendly.followed or liked them and Who are you? If you don’t know the answer to that question, you don’t have anywhere to start. And, most likely, it’s not reallynothing happened — how long up to you, anyway. Developing voice and personality comes fromwould you stay? developing a strong brand and message. Once you have those things, the rest will come together. You can call it “strategy.”Social media and the Internet work together to flood people’s Without strategy, your voice will get muddy and confusing.minds. It’s information overload. Standing out and being heard You are going to need some help. Whether that help comes fromcan be more difficult through all of the noise, but having a strong an agency (us) or from an in-house team that you put together, youbrand, voice and personality in social media can cut through the can’t develop a distinct, consistent voice, personality and brand alone.noise and get you heard. Your social media team may need training. They may need structure and policies. They may need access to your propertiesWhat is your brand’s voice? and the freedom and trust to speak on the brand’s behalf. That’s all part of your voice.Does it have one? Canadian supply chain management company Kinaxis launched a social media campaign to achieve high-reaching goals of doubling k i na x i s leads and Web traffic numbers. The results of their campaign were a 2.7 times increase in Web traffic and a 3.2 times increase in leads. The campaign included a video series called Suitemates, starring actors Kevin Pollak and Ray Wise. The series was called “the comedy series big ERP doesn’t want you to watch.” They also launched the Late Late Supply Chain Show and the 21st Century Supply Chain blog to complete the campaign. Read the full case study by Arik Hanson.

5Content Strategy the starr conspiracy It all starts with a great offer. social media ci scoThe fuel for your social media engine is great content.Your organization has wealth in thought leadershiphidden within its walls. Accessing that knowledge in a Cisco used games, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, videoconferencing, mobile and blogs to revamp theirthoughtful, strategic way that positions your brand with product launch strategy for the release of a newstrength and esteem is the hard part. For most companies, router. The launch through social media cut more thanit’s like pulling teeth. $100,000 from traditional launch expenses and had 90 times the attendance to the product launch event. Cisco received nearly three times as many press articlesYou can hire us to do some or all of your heavy lifting. Or you can do After you have a content strategy in place — what you will share, than resulted from traditional press outreach and won ait yourself. Here’s what DIY looks like: how often you’ll share it, how it will solve a problem — you can start Leading Lights award for Best Marketing. Read the full • ire a writer or two who understand content development. H developing your content. Think in terms of offers. Get a strong white case study at Social Media Examiner. Former newspaper people are great for this. So are paper (either in-house or from an outside source), put together a experienced bloggers. webinar that offers valuable solutions for your clients or prospects, • ocus on solving real client problems, not pushing product. F or start a creative video campaign. Lighten up, Francis. You can’t always be pushing the goods. It’s Now you are on your way. You can re-purpose and re-imagine a big turnoff. your content in new ways. A white paper can become a video, T i pp- E x • udit your content. Figure out what you already have that can A a video can become an interactive campaign and an interactive be reused or re-purposed. campaign can become a case study. • dentify subject matter experts. Whether they welcome the I Remember, solve problems. People love problem solvers Popular correction fluid brand Tipp-Ex understood opportunity to develop thought leadership content or just and they hate shills. When you re-imagine your content in ways that people don’t get excited about correction tape, want to be interviewed, your SMEs are the make-or-break that solve problems for your prospects or clients, you become even when they need it. Their strategy was to build a component of your efforts. memorable and intriguing. consumer relationship with the Tipp-Ex Pocket Mouse • reak down silos. Give your content and social media people B through a unique digital experience during the back- access to talk to everyone — sales, marketing and executives. to-school shopping craze. They created an interactive • evelop a comprehensive editorial calendar. Figure out what D YouTube experience that allows the user to “rewrite” you’re going to say and when you’re going to say it across all the story by typing any action in the blank in the phrase channels. “A Hunter _______ a Bear.” Within 36 hours, the video had gone viral and was viewed more than 35.5 million times on YouTube. The campaign had a virality rate of 500 percent. Tipp-Ex saw an increase of 30 percent in sales due to the campaign. Hear from the creators of the ad on the Google Agency Blog.

6Give It Up for Free the starr conspiracy The downside of lead generation. social mediaTime to let you peek behind the curtain a little bit.At The Starr Conspiracy, we’ve developed and operate the active pathunder something we call The Active Path. You may findthis to be a revelation, or it may seem like Marketing101. Still, it’s a methodology. How do you take some dude Suspectsoff the street and turn him into a customer? Easy. Movehim through these four stages: 1% • us p ects are all of the people in the universe who you S The opportunity for social is clear. You can contact your social could potentially do business with. They don’t know you, and media audience 10 times per day if you are truly engaging them. they certainly don’t receive regular communication from you. If you emailed your list 10 times per day, you would have a 100 • os p ects are people who have said, “Yes, I would like Pr percent unsubscribe rate. prospects to receive regular communication from you.” The challenge is clear as well. The early adopters and influencers • p p o rtun ities are in your sales process. Typically, O typically won’t put up with boring content or trickery like you’re they have agreed to a face-to-face meeting, a presentation used to. You have to be real. You have to be transparent, even. and, eventually, a proposal. Tell the truth and the likelihood of your company developing 10% • usto mers are people who have bought your C engaging content increases dramatically. Give them interesting, product or service. valuable information for free at least 75 percent of the time. NowIn the suspect zone, you are just trying to get people to raise their here’s the tricky part: You really should remove the forms from inhands and opt in to receive communication from you. You want your front of the content you socialize. At the very least, make them opportunitiesoffers to be low-involvement: white papers, checklists, articles, etc. optional. Yeah, we hear you. You are about to have a big-time Social media adds an element to The Active Path. Because your smackdown with sales over that one. That’s why we are goingfans and followers have agreed to hear from you, they don’t operate to drop a little David Meerman Scott on you. Quoth David: “Thein the suspect zone, but you can’t send them emails or call them. analysis I have done around form versus no form has suggested 20%They end up somewhere between the suspect and the prospect that there is a 50:1 ratio whether people will download or not.”zones. What do you do? You keep giving them low-involvement We know it’s tough, but you have to know when to let go. Be(or no-involvement) offers just like your suspects. a resource to your social media fans and followers, and they will become ambassadors for your content and, in turn, your brand. customers

7What The Starr Conspiracy the starr conspiracybelieves about social media social mediaSocial media • can drive measurable leads.• is about reaching the right people, not all people.• adds value to your overall communications strategy.• is an investment and is worth your time, energy and money.• when done right, can be a game changer.• is not a mystery, but you might need some help.Can’t figure it out on your own? That’s what we’re here for.Our Advice to You Get Started... Like, Now. cr e e LED manufacturer Cree used social media to garnerNothing good is ever easy. Being on social media isn’t enough, awareness and promote the benefits of LED technology rather than directly sell products. Their ongoing campaign,and sharing blog posts through Twitter is not a strategy. “LED Revolution,” is an interactive social website whereTo have a successful, engaging B2B social media presence, you need to understand the importance of brand, message, content and voice. You also users submit their bad-lighting photos to win LEDneed to value strategy. Whether or not you can take on your social media strategy in-house, you have to see social media as something worth your recessed downlights. Visitors are encouraged to “breakinvestment — of time, money or both. their fluorescent shackles!” Read the full case study on TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog.

8 the starr conspiracy social mediaAbout The Starr ConspiracyThe Starr Conspiracy is a full-service marketing agency for nichecompanies that sell software and services. We build brands by telling thetruth to our clients, to our customers and to ourselves. We promise anunyielding pursuit of the truth as we work to unravel the mysteries ofyour idiosyncratic buyers. And we enhance our clients’ market positionsby thinking, writing, designing and developing – and a few other thingsthat we can’t talk about until we know you better.

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Badass B2B Social Media Marketing

by The Starr Conspiracy on Jun 04, 2012

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