What is every B2B Social Media Marketer’s worst nightmare?
Walking in a graveyard of dead social media platforms with tombstones containing the last few posts made on each of them.
As the marketer toils around, he’s greeted with a deafening eeriness and spine-chilling silence devoid of any social media notification sounds.
He takes a closer look at a few tombstones within arm’s reach and reads:
Tombstone 1: Facebook
Last post: 3 months ago;
Tombstone 2: Twitter
Last tweet: 20 weeks ago;
Tombstone 3: Linkedin
Number of followers: 19;
Tombstone 4: Instagram
2 posts, 7 followers;
And these are just a few among a field full of dead digital activity.
His ears dearly miss the sounds of posts being liked & shared, tweets being retweeted, followers increasing steadily and the usual social buzz associated with a new social identity.
The social noise that he wanted to hear had diminished into nothingness.
Some faint efforts to publish a few posts over a wide time period did little good to revive the long-dead social media profiles.
Well, I may have exaggerated here a little about the nightmarish plight of an inactive online marketer, and the damage caused to any brand’s social media platforms. But on a serious note, there’s no point of being online when you can’t be social.
Ask any digital marketer about the components of online marketing, and he/she will include social media marketing in the top 5 requisites.
“Having an inactive social media account sends the message to your customers that you are either no longer in business or just don't care about your online reputation..”
- Grace MacDonald, CEO - President at Social Live LLC.
Read the full article here
An active social media presence is an asset. Don’t turn it into a liability by giving up on it.
I could write enough about the dangers of social inactivity to scare you out of your rotating chairs but it won’t help in lighting up your path in a dark digital graveyard.
Instead, I’ll wear the stethoscope and arm myself with a pair of defibrillators to demonstrate the revival process of your dead B2B social media platforms.
Let’s begin the treatment:
Step 1: Monitor your metrics
What is your current & exact social media situation?
Track down the number of followers, posts, content types, frequency and other metrics to paint the larger picture. This will be the blueprint you need to start working on with the objective of accelerating your efforts in each area.
Use the analytics or insights option in each platform to gather date-wise data of your pages and prepare a plan to increase all the metrics gradually.
Whether you’re a regular marketer or a digital one, the chart above by MarketingCharts.com is a testimony to the importance of social media engagement and it’s application in brand marketing success.
Step 2: Launch a new campaign
The best gift for a hungry body is wholesome food.
Social media works the same way – Being inactive is the reason for your brand’s inactivity. There is no other factor. If you don’t create content and post regularly, your page reach will diminish – until your page hardly shows up in the search bar.
To combat this period of sluggishness, create a fresh new idea and run a multi-platform campaign. Show your fans that you’re back with a bang. This comeback will be enough to let your competitors know that there’s still some life left in you, enough to prove yourself as a worthy opponent in the near future.
Alternatively, if the reason for your social media inactivity was because of an intensive new project or product that your firm was busy working on, let your fans know!
Turn the tides in your favor, by showing off that you’ve been busy to provide them with a newer or improved product/service.
Get inspired by this “We’ve been busy” idea by PlanG.
Observe how well they inform their fans & visitors about the reason for the inactivity as well as the excitement that lies ahead.
Step 3: Invite people you know
When you’re launching something new, or helping your brand come back from the dead, you would need organic support from people that matter. Invite your friends, colleagues, loyal fans, customers & influencers to give you that initial push.
Get the word out, encourage your friendly audience to share the news about the campaign and initiate conversations.
Being a part of a digital agency, I can vouch for this step personally!
Step 4: Start interacting with other pages
Now is your time to shine! Welcome back from the slumber and embrace the exciting marketing opportunities that lie ahead.
Follow relevant social media accounts, and interact with them. Show them that you’re back in the game – better than ever.
Here are a couple of tips on how to do so:
- Leave comments and feedback on other pages & forums; &
- Tweet to brands in your vertical (or even better: start a humorous chain of tweets – Oreo is a great example of fun-filled Twitter interaction);
Check out this hilarious Twitter interaction between Oreo & AMC Theatres, that proves the power of humorous virality.
Identify opportunities to strike up conversations with other brands online.
Twitter is the leading platform for cross-brand interaction.
Struggling to come up with ideas for twitter interaction?
Don’t worry – we got you covered!
Check out this great article by PostPlanner showing examples of How Top Brands Use Twitter.
Step 5: Run an online contest
This is the part where you go guns blazing into the digital arena, ready to knock down any reason that can dampen the newly motivated spirit of your recently-revived brand.
Here’s an example of our client, Lulu Exchange – a global remittance brand. They ran a massive online contest giving away passes to one of India’s top artists.
They started with a call-to-action by asking listeners to send videos of them singing songs of that artist. This created a lot of user-generated content for the page, and boosted engagement levels significantly.
This online competition was a massive success with a reach that surpassed expectations and resulted in tons of organic followers.
You can follow similar footsteps and run contests that resonate with your target audience. Your brand’s social media reach will thank you for it.
For more help on this, check out The Ultimate Guide to Running Online Competitions by Matthew Barby.
This informative guide contains a step-by-step guide on designing the contest, choosing the right medium, executing it and announcing the winners.
Step 6: Create a content calendar for the future
This is just the beginning - it’s the start of many more exciting campaigns in the future. Don’t let all the glam & glitter blind your long-term vision.
At this point, you need to create something known as “Content Calendar” to avoid any further periods of dullness or inactivity.
A content calendar will be the plan for your future posts & will provide direction to your B2B brand’s social media strategy. You can utilize untapped opportunities to create social media posts, campaigns & competitions.
Here’s what a sample social media content calendar looks like:
Our power-packed article on content ideas & creation will guide you through this crucial step with ease.
Step 7: Leverage your best performing platforms
Not all social media platforms are for everyone.
What works for others may not work for you, and vice-versa.
Compare cross-platform analytics, and focus more on channels that work instead of distributing your digital energy equally.
It’s better to have a strong presence on 1 or 2 platforms, rather than weak and inconsistent presence on 6 or 7 channels.
Identify your strongest platforms and enforce your marketing efforts through them.
By shortlisting your top-performing accounts, you are able to:
- Streamline your social media marketing efforts;
- Have better control and visibility among the dominant platforms; &
- Ensure a consistent ROI on your efforts.
If you still need guidance on how to choose the Right Social Media Platform for your B2B Business, check out our homegrown article that’ll help in easing your decision-making process.
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