by Fronetics | May 23, 2017 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media
If you’re a large company not using social media for all that it’s worth, you’re missing out on customers and business.
We know that the majority of businesses participate in social media — in fact, a dominant 88% of B2B marketers report using these platforms as part of their marketing programs. Large corporations, small businesses, and those in between are promoting their brands and engaging with customers online. Even companies within the logistics and supply chain industries are reaping the benefits of social media marketing.
The truth is, if your company is not participating in social media, you are at a disadvantage. Your customers, your employees, and your competitors are taking advantage of these technologies to conduct business in new, more efficient ways.
Content Marketing Institute’s new report on B2B enterprise companies (companies with over 1,000 employees) shows that large corporations are also jumping on the social media bandwagon. Here are some stats:
- 87% of B2B enterprise companies use LinkedIn
- 81% use Twitter
- 77% use YouTube
- 74% use Facebook
But when asked about the importance each of these channels to their organization’s content marketing success, 87% felt that email is still the most effective tool for distributing content.
What does that say to you? These enterprises are using social media for content distribution, but their heads aren’t in the social media game.
So, why should their social media efforts be turned up?
Let the numbers speak for themselves:
Businesses are using social media, so if your B2B enterprise company isn’t, you’re already behind the eight ball. Social media is a great way to distribute information to a vast audience in a quick, cost-effective manner.
Social media also allows you to get to know your audience in a more personal way. After a few weeks and months of committing to your content marketing strategy on social media platforms, you’ll know what your target audience likes and what they’re interested in. The more time and effort put into your social media campaign, the more refined and effective it will become.
And we can’t ignore that your competitors are already out there, happily exploring the online market share.
Social media platforms have already proven their worth and most companies, big and small, have embraced their value. If your enterprise company hasn’t, it’s time to get your foot in the game.
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by Fronetics | Mar 14, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
Keep these best practices in mind when determining how often to post to social media.
Creating valuable, relevant content in a strategic and consistent manner creates demand for your products and services and drives profitable customer action. But as BuzzFeed’s Jonathan Perelman said, “Content is king, but distribution is queen and she wears the pants.”
It’s not enough to just create interesting and pertinent content; you have to put it out there to reach your target audience. Moreover, the content needs to be delivered consistently over time, at the right time, and in the right place.
With social media networks changing daily, it’s hard to keep up with where to distribute content, much less how often. Countless studies have attempted to solve the social-media-frequency equation. And while audiences vary across industries, best practices give us some general guidelines.
Here’s our assessment of social media posting frequency.
Twitter: 40 per day*
*Big caveat here: 40 tweets per day is what we’ve found works for us and most of our clients. Let me explain.
Socialbakers suggests that posting to Twitter three times per day is the ideal frequency for brands. Buffer posts to Twitter 14 times per day. Fronetics happens to tweet 40 times per day. So last spring, after seeing the Socialbakers and Buffer stats, we conducted a month-long experiment to see how dropping our posting frequency closer to their benchmarks would affect our engagement.
As we’ve written about before, it wasn’t pretty. We confirmed that our engagement, web traffic, lead generation, and other key performance indicators are at optimal levels when we tweet 40 times per day.
Your company, or your marketing partner, should conduct due diligence and determine what the right frequency is for your business. Yes, you may realize a significant decline in engagement in ROI during your experiment. On the other hand, you may realize an increase in engagement and ROI — captured with lower output in terms of time and resources.
Facebook: 1 per day
Most companies find that posting 1 time per day is their sweet spot for most social media networks. Facebook is no exception: The network’s algorithm values quality over quantity, so the more engaged your followers are with your content, the more likely they are to see your posts. This also means that posting content that does not facilitate engagement can actually decrease the likelihood that followers will see your posts.
One sure way to encourage disengagement is by overwhelming your audience. We all have that friend or company we follow that posts too much — don’t be like that person.
Remember that the lifespan of a Facebook post (about 5 hours) is significantly longer than that of a tweet. So you don’t need to provide a constant stream of content to get your audience’s attention. Your focus should be distributing the most relevant, interesting content you can, at a time when most of your audience will be on Facebook.
Instagram: 1-2 per day
There’s an unwritten rule among Instagramers that a user shouldn’t post more than once per day. We generally agree for the same reason we don’t think brands should post more than once a day to Facebook: Don’t overwhelm your audience because the lifespan of your posts is pretty long. In fact, a Union Metrics study found that many Instagram posts continue to receive engagement for days — even weeks — after posting.
Most brands end up posting 11-20 posts per month. If you focus on compelling images with strategic messages, that’s probably a good benchmark to stick with. It’s important to note, however, that another Union Metrics study suggests posting consistency is more important than frequency. Again, taking the time to test the Instagram posting frequency that works best for your business is a worthwhile endeavor.
LinkedIn: 1 per day
A more formal and technical social media network, consider LinkedIn a platform for business-related content. Don’t post here more than once per day — and consider posting only during the workweek. Many professionals don’t check LinkedIn on the weekends, and your content could easily be missed.
Buffer reports that posting 20 times per month (once a workday) allows companies to reach 60% of their audience. To provide the most value for your LinkedIn followers, content should be less promotional and more heavily focused on industry-wide trends and insights.
At the end of the day, optimal posting frequency for your company rests heavily on the audience you want to reach. Experimenting with different social media networks and posting frequencies will give you greater insight into your ideal distribution approach. With these best practices as a guide, let your own analysis be your guide. Maintaining a dynamic and fluid posting strategy will ensure that your social efforts drive followers to action, rather than drive them away.
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by Fronetics | Oct 5, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
It’s time to stop ignoring Snapchat — now Snap Inc. — and start thinking about how to use it in B2B marketing.
You may know Snapchat because your kids use it obsessively. You may still think of it as the “sexting app.” Whatever your thoughts, it’s time to stop thinking it will never be relevant to you and your business.
Founder of the Content Marketing Institute Joe Pulizzi named Snapchat one of the next big trends in content marketing for 2017. He sites the platform’s impressive growth as one reason to pay attention.
Snapchat becomes Snap Inc.
In fact, it’s becoming one of the most popular social media networks available: Snapchat reached 10 billion daily video views, passing Facebook in April 2016, and overtook Twitter in daily usage in June 2016, with an estimated 150 million daily active users.
Celebrities, B2C organizations, and even the White House have jumped on board. Everyone is eager to reach the 41% of American 18 to 34 year olds that Snapchat’s ad division claims are using the platform on a given day.
Snapchat’s success has prompted the company to expand and diversify. In September, it launched a new line of business, video-enabled sunglasses (called Spectacles), and rebranded with a new corporate name, Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel hinted at even more to come in a blog post: “Now that we are developing other products, like Spectacles, we need a name that goes beyond just one product.”
What’s next for the self-proclaimed “camera company” is a mystery, but one thing is for sure: B2B companies should be paying attention.
Behind every B is a C
Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of Vayner Media, makes a convincing argument in his article Why Snapchat Will Be Great for B2B Companies. He recognizes a pattern among social networks that signals the rise of Snapchat in the B2B space:
“These platforms start off young, start off consumer based, start in a niche, and then go mainstream. It baffles me that people don’t understand that when an app hits 100 million active users, it’s gone mainstream. And what does that mean? It means that the platform can start to mature and start getting deeper into the business world. That’s because once you have the attention of the 35- to 65-year-old world, you now have the potential to cross over into the B2B world.”
Vaynerchuk is also quick to note that “behind every B is a C,” meaning there is a human behind every business making a decision. If a company is able to reach that human with relevant content on the user’s preferred platform, that’s a win.
Perhaps it’s early to start pouring major resources into Snapchat. But Vaynerchuk predicts that it has enormous potential for B2B organizations as early as 2018:
“Snapchat will be an excellent place for B2B players who act like media companies — media companies that create stories to bring value to their end users. Those players will find their niche and their audience, allowing them to disproportionately pick up business. Meanwhile, their competitors will still be debating the ROI of Snapchat. And they’ll be left behind if they can’t adapt and evolve with the evolution of these platforms.”
How could your company use brief video storytelling to bring value to your customers? It’s time to start the wheels turning.
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by Fronetics | Sep 23, 2014 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
The number of social media channels is astounding –and is growing daily. Which of these channel(s) should your business leverage? Here is what you should consider when determining which social media channels you should use for your B2B business.
Your ideal customer
Who is your ideal customer and on which social media sites are they active? Taking time to understand who your customer is and understanding where they spend their time is invaluable. If you want to reach potential and current customers you need to be where they are – you need to make it easy for them to find you and to engage with your business.
Competition
Identify which social media channels your competition is using. Do these align with the channels your ideal customers are using?
Don’t be follower. If your research has shown that your potential customers are using a social media channel that your competitors are not using, don’t assume your competition knows something you don’t. Play where your potential customers play.
Content
What type of content do you have, and what type of content do you feel will best attract and engage potential customers? Video, for example, is better suited for YouTube than Twitter.
Finally, it is essential that your business is an active participant on social media. Only take on what your business can handle and/or consider outsourcing.
