Social Media and B2B
June 15th, 2007 by Michael Gray in Social MediaIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Read my top posts or learn more about Michael Gray. Want more frequent updates follow me on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!
One of the people I met a SMX was Lisa Ditlefsen of SEO Chicks (did I mention I totally need an SEO Chicks shirt for when I start video blogging again). During the SMO session she asked a question about how to use social media for B2B clients. Since it’s taken me a week to write this up she’s actually gotten up a post about it Social Media Optimisation - just linkbaiting?. It’s a question I hear fairly often I asked Lisa if it would be OK to respond in a blog post, she agreed, so here’s my take.
Lots of B2B companies don’t know what to do with social media, first of all it’s new, so the pool of people who are immersed in it and totally get it is small. It’s growing everyday but it’s still a pretty narrow niche of expertise. Secondly it’s wildly unpredictable. A lot of potential clients are “scared” because a) they don’t have a sense of humor b) are very conservative by nature c) they don’t think they can relate to the audience or some combination of those factors. While not every B2B client can take advantage of social media, and some are definitely harder than others, IMHO I think everyone can play in the space, and here are some examples.
Let’s say you have a client who makes accounting software, pretty boring stuff, I mean really who wants to read about accounting software. As a consultant my recommendation is to pull back and widen your focus until you find a spot that reaches the linkerati. All right but enough theory lets show a concrete example of what I mean. How about a post like “Tips for Making Small Business Accounting Easier”. What you’d want to do is give tips that apply to any accounting software not just the one your client is selling. Want something a little more focused on the linkerati, how about “Accounting Software Tips & Tricks for Independent Web Consultants”. I know I hate anything to do with book keeping and accounting so I’d link to somebody who had something to share that made my life that little bit easier.
Ok somebody’s thinking, software heh that’s easy what about something not connected to computers but still B2B like say a cleaning service. Why not do something like photo contest with messy cubicles. Maybe you want something a little more serious, how about “How Keeping a Germ Free Workplace Increases Productivity” or play the green card (not that green card) with “Environmentally Friendly Ways to Reduce Office Waste”. Are any of those going to get you new clients, probably not, but if you are creative enough you can get the right anchor text, and at the very least build some domain authority.
I was taught in school that you should give three examples however I’m having a really hard time not touching somebody who’s a past/current/future client or something related to one of my own sites. However if you’re stuck and totally can’t think of something, come say hi and talk to me at the next conference, and maybe I’ll throw some free ideas at you.
PS: In case you totally missed it, introducing yourself and talking to an outlink friendly blogger at a conference about a subject they enjoy, is often pretty effective at scoring some a link or two.
Sphere It
June 15th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Hi Michael,
Great post, and thanks for the links =)
The examples you are giving are good suggestions, but I think my hesitation with SMO for B2B is not whether you can do it, but whether you can actually do it successfully in terms of getting relevant traffic. I mean the definition of SMO, as in “optimisation” kind of suggest results. What is the difference between SMO and link baiting? Or is it the same. Should it be called Social Media Link Baiting?
And when it comes to the “linkerati”.. Isn’t it a bit unfair that this relatively small population of Southern California, gets to decide how successful my SMO or even SEO efforts are? As ulitmately the links help my rankings.At least the search engines are trying to do the best for the searcher and display relevant results, but when you get the “linkerati” invovled it’s simply about who they think is the coolest. It’s a bit like being at school, if you are not cool enough you risk being beaten up by the cool guys, just cause they feel like it. Linkerati is simply the school bully.
Ok this is slightly exaggerating, but heck I’m a chick and that’s what we do to make a point =)
Anyway thanks so much for bringing this subject to the blogosphere.
Cheers,
Lisa
Ps: just say the word Graywolf I’ll get you a custom made SEO-Chick t-shirt. How about the text: “The Wolf digg SEO Chicks”
June 15th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Alright- I’m not trying to not have to think, but how about ball valves?
I still cannot buy that social media can work for everything. If anyone is able to come up with something for valves, I will be sold.
June 15th, 2007 at 8:37 am
For me linkbaiting is a part of SMO. For example going through and making sure your site has things like Digg, delicious, or netscape buttons, putting out API’s for mashups and so on. Taking the time to study that market and understand what content they like and catering to them and promoting it (aka linkbait) would be another.
While I wouldn’t say that the linkerati are just a small southern california niche I totally get that it feels that way sometimes, because they seem to be concentrated there, And yes it’s definitely like high school.
I like to think of it this way, you cna be a really great actor, starring in shows Broadway, but your audience is limited. Get a role in a movie or on a TV show win over the critics (the linkerati) and you’ll get more press (more links) and attention (more visitors). Your “big movie” may not be as good as your work on Broadway, but more people are talking about you and you are reaching a bigger audience.
PS A regular SEO Chicks shirt is fine for me.
June 15th, 2007 at 9:33 am
From Ball Valves to Kitchen Kitchen Sinks a Complete Pictorial Plumbing Guide
June 15th, 2007 at 9:38 am
okay, that’s good, but I think that’s more B2C?
kind of like what Lisa said, how’s that going to get me relevant traffic? Being a B2B company, it’s looking for traffic to buy valves in bulk?
Sorry to be argumentative. I do suppose distributors could link to it on their sites…..
Perhaps I just need to think outside the box.
June 15th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Social Media is almost never about getting the direct sale. If you sell a computer or technology based product it’s possible, but for most people it’s not.
It’s about building domain trust and authority, it’s about getting links that your competition is going to have a hard time replicating, It’s about finding creative ways to get desired anchor text from as many good or better sites as possible without having to participate in things like quadrangle recip linking schemes.
Sadly it’s also become about getting your URL through as many tool bar and web history profiles as possible
June 15th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Right, so the point of B2B SMO is to gain links with good anchor text to help in the SEs when other businesses search for your products.
Not so much as away to expose other businesses to my products on the SM sites themself. as the amount of Bull Valve buyers reading my “101 things to do with your time instead of dealing with Ball Valve Returns” article who are members of the linkerati would be pretty slim.?
June 15th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
So I just had a look at a ball valve diagram on wikipedia (had no idea) and looks to me like you could easily use that diagram as a funny metaphor for something the linkerati could relate to, or make some dumb little video where someone gets hosed with rootbeer in some ball joint rootbeer russian roulette. Throw in a bikini if you have to. And yeah the traffic will be totally useless, but I totally agree with Michael, it’s about links and having a healthy site.
June 15th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Jenny,
Do you have a video of a ball valve failure? I would think that is something that would interest your customers prospects. Everyone loves a good explosion and it’s a relevant feature of the product.
I would show a mythbusters type video with a Picture in Picture shot of the PSI going up until the valve failed. Even if the pipe breaks before the value, that’s good for you.
It’s like the sales guy that was tasked to sell tempered glass when it came out. He would walk in put the piece of glass on the desk in front of the person he was selling and then whack it with a ball peen hammer right in their face. He sold a lot of tempered glass that way, because people were amazed it didn’t break all over their face.
You definitely have a tough one. I do like flakki’s idea too though.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Great suggestions–it’s interesting that you bring up B2B. People think B2B can be tough, especially when it comes to social media. But it doesn’t have to be.
One way is to set up some news “alerts” (e.g., google alerts) and actually watch our for news articles where the company is mentioned–and submit those articles.
June 15th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Hey I need a t-shirt too.
Lisa knows why
June 18th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Lisa just won’t leave this alone will she?
Ok, my thoughts (for what they’re worth).
Michael’s right - it’s about the links that will drive your rankings when your direct customers are searching for your services. I explain this (and am just about to in a meeting) as going round the houses to get your traffic.
Also - social media isn’t just digg! What about blog monitoring? Is there a guy blogging from the heart of the accountancy world? Probably - so talk to him. Send him scoops, give him free trials to your services.
And then there’s brand monitoring/management - all of which involve social media.
I think that the terminology is often the problem here - people hear social media and think social news sites, but it’s so much more than that. It’s like technorati changing their state of the blogosphere to state of the live web - much more all encapsulating.