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Social sharing in B2B: Understanding the cycle of influence
The document discusses the importance of social sharing and advocacy in B2B contexts, emphasizing that social dialogue significantly influences customer decisions and business outcomes. It highlights the changing landscape of decision-making among business buyers, who increasingly rely on peer recommendations and social media for research. The text also outlines challenges and opportunities for B2B companies in leveraging social sharing to build trust, educate their audiences, and strengthen relationships over time.
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Social sharing in B2B: Understanding the cycle of influence
- 1. Social sharing inB2B: Understanding the cycle of influence
- 2. www.cognitomedia.com Vivienne Hsu Director, Cognito Who’son our webinar today 2 Steve Thomson MD UK, Keller Fay, an Engagement Labs Company Eli Singer CMO, Engagement Labs Katie Kinnear Social Media Manager, Cognito
- 3. How advocacy drivessuccess in B2B Steve Thomson, Keller Fay
- 4. www.cognitomedia.com 4 We aresocial animals • We live in a connected world • We seek out the opinions and advice of others: Family, friends, colleagues, peers, experts • We like to share our experiences & help others The world of science is revealing we are “hard wired to be social.”
- 5. www.cognitomedia.com 5 Everyone wantsto be talked-about, recommended "We want to be the most talked-about brand at World Cup. We knew we were going to do something real-time, that isn't completely brand new to us, but it is at this scale.” - Tom Ramsden, brand marketing director for Adidas Football “Out assets are our people, capital and reputation.” - Goldman Sachs
- 6. www.cognitomedia.com 6 Advocacy andConversation have proven impact on customer decisions Social dialogue has been shown to impact: üSales üCustomer loyalty üSearch üWeb visits üBrand health & reputation üAttractiveness as an employee Ensuring positive advocacy towards your company is not a ‘nice-to-have’
- 7. www.cognitomedia.com 7 Proven impactacross a range of B2C categories Econometric analysis consistently shows that word of mouth is a driver of sales, search and other brand outcomes Analysis shows that the revenue growth of the brands with the highest advocacy levels is far above the industry average Boston Consulting 75% percent say they turn to peers to push them toward or away from a purchase.
- 8. www.cognitomedia.com 8 But whatabout B2B? • Do WOM and advocacy factors drive business decisions? • Don’t we simply need to be active in LinkedIn? • Can we influence how people talk about us?
- 9. www.cognitomedia.com 9 Business andsocial networks are enduring
- 10. www.cognitomedia.com 10 Growth ofsocial media (inc. internal platforms) Collaborative &complex decision-making Globalization & better connections Requirement for diligence, thoroughness Information on tap Evidence that B2B decisions are (increasingly) influenced by social factors It’s the professional way to make decisions
- 11. www.cognitomedia.com 11 Business decisionmakers acknowledge social impact What role did social media play in your research process? • 53% of buyers said they relied more on peer recommendations, versus only 19% of buyers surveyed in 2012 • 37% of buyers said they spent more time using social media to research solution
- 12. www.cognitomedia.com 12 Advocacy andinfluence: Internal / External Role of internal ‘influencer’ long-accepted in B2B models External influence facilitated by the growth in social media, user/supplier content Motivations, content, channels, networks will be different • Internal: can be mandatory • Social signaling vs. keep-it-to-yourself • Discreet networking vs social media BOTH will have impact
- 13. www.cognitomedia.com “We found that,on average, 5.4 people now have to formally sign off on each purchase. Complicating matters, the variety of jobs, functions, and geographies that these individuals represent is much wider than it used to be.” 13 Internal: Decision-making is more collaborative
- 14. www.cognitomedia.com 14 • Whatare the characteristics of influence & advocacy? • How do we drive advocacy higher? • How do we measure the impact of our actions? A CEB survey of nearly 600 B2B buyers found that nearly half the people who reported a willingness to buy a product or service were not willing to publicly advocate for it. Willingness to buy and willingness to advocate are not the same
- 15. www.cognitomedia.com 15 A strategicframework for activating advocacy What’s the brand story?: Identify drivers of advocacy – distinctive & viral brand messages Target the talkers: Profile & reach active advocates & influencers Activate passive advocates Choose your channels Identify touch points which drive advocacy Deliver excellent Product & service experiences
- 16. Social, WOM &implications for measurement Eli Singer, Engagement Labs
- 17. www.cognitomedia.com 17 To graspthe State of Social Media in 2016, it’s helpful to have a perspective as to where the industry is coming from.
- 18. www.cognitomedia.com 18 Social: Howwe’re evolving Text Imagery Video FRAGMENTATION
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- 21. www.cognitomedia.com 21 In 2016: BiteSized | Image Centric | Faster
- 22. www.cognitomedia.com 22 Giphy Closes$55 Million Series C At A $300 Million Post- Money Valuation Feb 16, 2016 Imagery increasingly important
- 23. www.cognitomedia.com 23 Measurement existsin many shapes and sizes
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- 25. www.cognitomedia.com 25 Macro Solutions 7992 71 75 79 79 4 92 96 21 66 72 69 Social measurement
- 26. www.cognitomedia.com 26 Consumers needto see your message 7 times to notice or even remember it.
- 27. www.cognitomedia.com 27 Identifying influencers Online& offline Those willing to speak Provide content & context to share
- 28. www.cognitomedia.com 28 Remember: Offline advocacyneeds to be activated • Understand real-world triggers (content but also situations, business needs) • Ideally measure actual advocacy • Design/plan digital content to travel offline – and factor this into ROI Social measurement
- 29. The social sharingopportunity for B2B FS Katie Kinnear, Cognito
- 30. www.cognitomedia.com Challenges and opportunities B2Bchallenges 1. Niche audiences with a focus on quality over quantity 2. Complexity of your products, services and solutions 3. Longer sales cycle 4. An “unsocial” community 5. Change resistant company structure 6. Compliance and risk 30
- 31. www.cognitomedia.com Challenges and opportunities B2Bchallenges 1. Niche audiences with a focus on quality over quantity Opportunities for social sharing 31 • Recommendation in niche areas of expertise counts for even more • Social sharing provides an opportunity to build trust and deepen relationships over time • Increasing number of targeting opportunities and tools
- 32. www.cognitomedia.com Challenges and opportunities B2Bchallenges 1. Niche audiences with a focus on quality over quantity 2. Complexity of your products, services and solutions Opportunities for social sharing 32 • Make the complex accessible • Create targeted, highly-relevant content that gives you credibility • Differentiate yourself as an educator who provides timely, useful information that addresses customer needs • Empower your spokespeople and experts to share their knowledge
- 33. www.cognitomedia.com Challenges and opportunities B2Bchallenges 1. Niche audiences with a focus on quality over quantity 2. Complexity of your products, services and solutions 3. Longer sales cycle Opportunities for social sharing 33 • Play the long game • Use social sharing to provide value at every step of the sales cycle • Social sharing, thought leadership and advocacy engender trust and strengthen relationships over time
- 34. www.cognitomedia.com Challenges and opportunities B2Bchallenges 1. Niche audiences with a focus on quality over quantity 2. Complexity of your products, services and solutions 3. Longer sales cycle 4. An “unsocial” community Opportunities for social sharing 34 • Social recommendation is important to people – B2B or B2C. • Focus on advocates who are already engaging • Adopt a social tonality in your communications
- 35. www.cognitomedia.com Challenges and opportunities B2Bchallenges 1. Niche audiences with a focus on quality over quantity 2. Complexity of your products, services and solutions 3. Longer sales cycle 4. An “unsocial” community 5. Change resistant company structure Opportunities for social sharing 35 • Hard to overcome internal mindset, fear of new processes and technological hurdles • Even small steps in social sharing reap great rewards and recognition in this industry • Maximise the efficiency of your marketing and impact the bottom line
- 36. www.cognitomedia.com Challenges and opportunities B2Bchallenges 1. Niche audiences with a focus on quality over quantity 2. Complexity of your products, services and solutions 3. Longer sales cycle 4. An “unsocial” community 5. Change resistant company structure 6. Compliance and risk Opportunities for social sharing 36 • Build in compliance from the start • Guide and empower employees by establishing guidelines and providing training • Increasing number of tools and resources available to help mitigate risk
- 37. Questions, comments? Pleasecontact us! CognitoInsights@cognitomedia.com Eli.Singer@engagementlabs.com