I don’t know about you but social media for B2B feels a lot more like a pain in the arse than a marketing tool at times. To establish the right goals (which do NOT, by the way only include your follower numbers or engagement percentages) I always need to remember why I like Twitter in the first place. That kind of resets my social media mojo when I’m buried in some ungodly Buzzsumo list looking for good content.
Here are top 5 reasons I like Twitter for B2B right here, right now.
1. Twitter is great for earned media. Journalists seem to feel safer in Twitter, likely due to the 140 character limit. I find them in Twitter and I quickly tweet them that I might have good stuff coming their way from time to time. Twitter is also the ultimate platform for helping media spread their own reach as well. Help them before they help you.
2. Twitter grows website search traffic and provides great branding at the same time. Keep an eye on your Twitter referrals in Google Analytics and be conscious about sending them to specific landing pages and posts. I think of Twitter as my online billboard. A lot of people see it in “drive by mode” as they scroll through a feed. That’s okay, they don’t always have to click through. Twitter is great for conversions but it’s great for providing additional brand impressions also.
3. Twitter boosts your LinkedIn performance. I love talking about linked tactics. Twitter and LinkedIn (add a little SlideShare from time to time for some spice) are a favorite set of linked tactics. If you haven’t gotten on the Pulse bandwagon yet, do it now as well. (In other words, link tactics within LinkedIn. Say that twenty times fast.)
4. Twitter grows your content readership. This may not be as strong as it used to be, but Twitter is still a great place to spread your content. You don’t have to be a major B2B influencer to get the attention of some big brands with good content. I got both Gartner and Oracle interested in a small tech startup recently, just through finding some dynamite content.
5. Twitter initiates long lasting, offline relationships. I joke with a couple people who “picked me up on Twitter” and we now have good business partnerships. For some reason, it’s a great place to meet people first and build from there. I haven’t found that with other social networks. Except for the dating ones, I’m sure, but I’m married.
Twitter is not just one more place to post a link. It’s a thriving business network. Forget about follower counts and engagement percentages, and build some qiualitative goals for yourself based on the above list. I think you’ll see some results.
