No doubt this increase is the result of B2B marketers leveraging the unique power of social media to deliver information to a customer. As many have discovered, creating and distributing targeted content allows a marketer to build brand awareness, demonstrate industry knowledge and even establish contact with buyers.
But while reaching out through content is important, many B2B marketers may be missing a source of intelligence found on these same channels: social data.
Tapping In
Because social media provides unprecedented ways to share and engage with each other on a personal level, it is also a constantly increasing source of customer data. Even a professional channel like LinkedIn has gone far beyond the original resume format, providing a seamless connection between a user’s work and personal lives.
Take, for example, Virgin Founder and LinkedIn Influencer Richard Branson. His posts on LinkedIn cover a broad scope of his interests, from ending poaching and the war on drugs, to more expected content for a professional channel like company culture and entrepreneurship.
It’s not surprising, given that around 25% of the average American’s workday is spent on social media for non-work related activities, that a single platform now offers a combined view into our personal and professional interests. A user can make connections that often range across professional industries, non-profits and even community organizations. Like other social media channels, LinkedIn also gives its users a way to share and discuss topics of common interest, offering an even deeper view into an individual.
So in the same way a marketer’s content distributes information out, this level of social sharing provides data back at a level never before possible.
The Opportunity with Social Media Data
Whether selling electronics or tires, B2B marketers must win their buyers’ preference over another brand. Often this starts by making a memorable connection — a key benefit of social media outreach. But by leveraging the social media data provided by channels like LinkedIn and others, a marketer might now be able to learn more about a buyer’s personal interests, the organizations that are important to him or her, and even his or her opinions on an issue. These insights can make connections even more effective.
These levels of data also improve the marketing communications process. By engaging with buyers on social media and paying attention to the information they provide on those channels, a B2B marketer can develop messaging that might better influence them. As a result, marketing content can be crafted to align with those influencers. The instantaneous environment of social media also allows immediate testing of messaging while at the same time identifying new target audiences and informing strategies. With this social data intelligence, the marketer can then activate outreach with greater accuracy and precision.
As its use within B2B commerce continues to increase, marketers will benefit most by leveraging the power of social media to work in two directions: as a means to identify and inform customers as well as engaging with them in a meaningful way. This can be best achieved by tapping into the vast resource of social data.
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