B2B Social Media Marketing Roadblocks & How to Plow Through Them

Most B2B companies know that social media is now a key component of the overall B2B marketing mix. But when it comes to implementing a relevant marketing strategy, many find it’s easier said than done.

In large professional services firms, we consistently see roadblocks that obstruct social media marketing initiatives from moving forward:

• “We don’t have the content.” As Mark Schaefer recently said, social success depends heavily on superb content, delivered regularly. Luckily, professional services firms have access to a wealth of content. Think client presentations, whitepapers, educational events, research reports and books, to name a few. Before getting caught up in content development, professional services marketers need to think of social media as a channel that can support existing content distribution strategies.
• “We don’t have executive buy-in.” Senior-level employees are not likely to buy-in to social media until they see how it impacts the bottom line. So, B2B marketers need to identify ways to illustrate social media marketing results. How? Start by incorporating social media into broader marketing campaigns and measuring the success of your efforts. You may find value that the executive team does not yet know it cares about (e.g., website traffic, downloads, new business leads garnered through LinkedIn, etc.).
• “Business line leaders don’t care.” It can be difficult to find people outside of marketing who are willing to invest their discretionary time engaging in social media. So, instead of trying to force it on employees who don’t care (yet), look for existing social media champions within your organization. If you can secure small marketing “wins” for those who are already engaged in online communities – you can use them to get others involved. A little healthy competition never hurt professional services marketers looking for participants.
• “We have ‘information overload’ and don’t know where to begin.” The key here is focus. Professional services marketers, leery of finding themselves behind the social media curve, often jump in without clearly defining their objectives, strategy, or the metrics they’ll use to evaluate the success of their efforts. As anyone who has done it knows, social media marketing requires time on the part of both marketing and other professionals. So, it’s important to make the strategy and tactics used to support it manageable from a time and budget perspective. A social media audit can help you sort through the best approach for your firm and determine where you should focus your efforts to have the most powerful impact.

There are, of course, other roadblocks B2B marketers face when trying to enter into social media marketing. But it’s critical we find ways to break through them. The alternative is to miss out on an important channel that can help your business grow.

How have you bypassed social media marketing roadblocks?

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