Are social networks important for B2B companies? Which to choose and how to manage them? How will you know that you are doing it well? Social media management is not so difficult however it is good to know how to do it properly.
The rule “the more the better” does not apply for social media
Do you have more than two social media accounts? Are you sure you need them? The main purpose of social networks is two-way communication. The company is expected to inform about its products, services, working life, or marketing and sales events. On the other side stand the current and potential clients, employees and even journalists or people interested in the same topic, who can respond to your posts.
If you have an account on a social network, where your target group doesn´t exist, then delete is with a calm heart. It would be no benefit for you. The most common skeleton in the closet in a B2B company is Instagram.
Social media account should not be empty. It should contain new posts at least once a month or more often. You may find out after years of an account existence that you have nobody to administrate it, or you do not have any content to publish. Better than using emergency posts with cat photos is to cancel the account. Or you can publish there an information that the company social media account is temporarily inactive, and you are available for clients somewhere else.
Delete and inactive social media account
For your online presence is the most important your web page. Having an account on a social network and not managing it is like having a house and waiting for it to fall. It could have happened that your colleague founded the account, made several contributions and nothing has happened since then. If you do not have anyone who could administrate the account, deleting it is a better solution. An inactive account is worse than a non-existing account. Usually, it concerns business profiles on LinkedIn.
If you do feel sorry to delete it and you plan to change the current situation withing a year, then place there a short information. Write your followers a polite public message, that your account is temporarily inactive, and you deal with clients e. g. at your branch or on your website.
The activity determines success
Now you have a clear idea of what social media account you need for your target groups. Do you know how to manage them properly? The growing number of fans and followers looks nice. However, their activity will tell you more. Do they respond to your posts? Do you get messages from them? Do they click on your posts and visit your web pages?
It is people´s reactions to your presence on the social media account that is the goal you should want to achieve. Some companies fear that criticism will also appear in the reactions. You do not have to worry about negative responds. There is a simple rule for responding to such reactions – thank them and be polite. You do not have to delete them. Respond, but do not evaluate and do not want to win. All you must do is to explain the situation and bring it to neutral level.
Do not worry about content
Ask yourself a simple question “What are my clients interested in?”. They might want to see the faces of the people they are in contact with via e-mail or phone. They may be interested in how to use your product or service as efficiently as possible. They almost always want other news from the same area of interest. And if it is not LinkedIn, a funny post from time to time won´t hurt either. On the other hand, when it comes to LinkedIn ads, make sure to be professional and engaging at the same time
You will benefit from social network account if you already know what you would like to communicate and what will you need to do before setting up your account. Usually, you will need someone who doesn´t make mistakes in written English. Someone who will know how the post should be made and who will seek for inspiration. Above all he/she should never forget that he/she is in contact with people, and it is two-way communication. Furthermore, you may find a professional camera useful for photo and video content. Sometimes a good mobile phone is enough.
Expert advice may also be useful. Just make sure that the company will benefit from the provided work. You do not need to make shiny post which will take long hours to design. It doesn´t have to be always perfect. Your clients will appreciate when your post will be yours and authentic.
