Social Media marketing is no longer for B2B companies as a company.  What I mean by that is branding your business means putting you as a person who owns that business out there so your clients and customers know you are real.  You are reachable and you are a human.  Engaging your audience by creating that on-line personality not only helps you, it helps your brand.  People will feel they really do know you. 


Over 90% of  B2B companies enjoy a presence on LinkedIn and more than 80% use Twitter and Facebook to reach their audience.  Being social tough does not mean they know what they are doing.  Using social media takes planning and strategy.  Less than  50% of marketing planners have any kind of plan to make sure they are getting any kind of ROI on investing their time, money, and production in using social media platforms.  


To make your social media investment profitable and useful, consider what your audience wants to see and hear.  Use their perspective and not yours.  Be human and not a machine or a huge wall of corporate stats that nobody understands or really cares.  Make your brand fun, enjoyable, interactive, and let the people engage in talking to you about it all.  Now here are the 3 most used platforms for B2B social media.





Linkedin.    The top site for business interaction.  Linkedin is very virtual for networking.  It is wonderful for promoting leads, leadership, and relationships.  Linkedin allows for uploading images, video, and presentations.  You can customize your header, profile, and content.  While a professional network it is still a platform for reaching individual people. 





Blogging.  Start using a company blog to talk about what you as a person is doing to enhance your brand and your business.  Offer tips and share your knowledge.  Let your customers know you care about what they want in your business and share those thoughts.  Be approachable through your blog.   Your blog can also be about related topics or even your own hobbies and interests but don't get political or narrow-minded or aggressive.  Keep it fun, fresh, and interactive. 





Websites. When is the last time you updated your website?  Is your content changed out at least monthly?  Are you tracking your analytics?  How are those images or videos doing you uploaded?  Have you even put any on your site?  Don't make a website just a place holder of your brand.  Make use of it and allow interaction.  Link your website to all your social media platforms.   Good luck with your B2B marketing plan and remember.  Put "you" before your company.

Most small businesses are budget minded when it comes to promoting or
marketing  their business. The internet today is a must if you want any kind of
exposure since we are a digital or electronic society.  I put together some tips
that hopefully will help you get your brand out with little or no investment on
your part.  Some may not be for everybody, but at the very least experiment with
them and see what works best for you.

1.Website.
When is the last time you took a hard look at your website? (You better at least have one) 
Re-evaluate your website and make sure it is promoting your brand and the content
reflects your products or services.

2. Analytics.
Embracing analytics on that website will help you measure how well
your site is doing. Data can help you improve areas you are trying to target. 
Google Analytics  is free to use and is easy to embed on your site.

3.  Directories. I have mixed feelings about this
as many now consider directories "Old School".  Having said that, again Google
offers the Local business Center, Yellow Pages has gone digital and has a site,
and Yahoo offers listings as well.   Using analytics to boost your positioning
is the best way to have your businesss move up in search engines over
directories but if a person is searching for a particular product or service and
they are actually using a directory, then by all means having your name that
directory is a logical and smart idea.

4.  Blogging.  Promote your
talents and your business by blogging.  Start right here and create a Word Press site. 
You are good at what you do or you would not be in business right? 
Tell others about what you do and express your opinion on topics relevant of your business. 
Your business link is always attached to your blog site so if people want to know
more about you, they will follow.

5.  Finish Line. You are out to win the race.  Have goals in mind and consider a campaign
 a race that you want to win.  Always be first to cross that line. Be a winner!

6.  Competition.  
Check out what your competition is doing by visiting their websites or
even their place of business in person if you can.  Watch for their ads, type in
search engines what you do and see who comes up at the top of the list.  If you
don't and they do, why? 

7. Web Videos. Today, videos are
much simpler to shoot and produce.  You don't have to be a Hollywood director to
make a simple video about your business. You don't want to post garbage so if
you know someone who can make a decent video about your business then use them
to create a polished product for you.  Once it is done, put it on your website
or create  a YouTube account .  

8.  Keywords. This follows
analytics but your website's title is important to gaining tracking hits.  Your
business title should be unique and it should go hand in hand with what you do. 
Google has a page to help you with the understanding of keywords.  Google Toolbox. 
Next time you check your website, look in the browser header and give yourself
 a health check. What does it say up there? Does it fit on what your website describes? 
If it does not, think about revamping your header to fit more what you do for your business.

I hope these tips have helped you with your internet branding.  If you have any questions,
feel free to click on my last tab on my website here and email me. I will do my best to
gtve you an answer back as soon as possible.