Like it, but link it...

This week, I’m handing the reins of Above the Cloud to PCS’s Marketing Intern Matt Cole, who argues that social media is a useful tool, but should be just one strand of a company’s overall marketing strategy...

After sharing an article titled “How do you prioritise social media metrics” with the social media marketing group on LinkedIn and reflecting on some of the comments it generated, it got me thinking about the ways social media can, and really should be, utilised by all organisations and the reasons why.

Ok, so implementing and running a social media marketing plan is going to require a few hours here and there of someone’s time. However, as I once read, we managed to make room for emails when they first came on the scene, and now they are an everyday part of our office lives.

The fact that a social media marketing plan can be implemented with no additional financial investment, let alone the worldwide reach it can provide, should make it scream out to businesses as an opportunity that is too good to miss, whether that’s to raise awareness or actually make sales.

In fact, I think it is getting to the stage that if you don’t get marketing via social media, you really will be missing out, and not just through having a profile that sits there, but by really using the numerous channels on offer and engaging with your audiences.

Here at PCS, we are in the process of fully implementing our plan via Twitter, LinkedIn and this very blog.

On that note, I think there is a misconception at times that only B2C organisations can fully utilise social media. For me, B2B organisations can use social media as well as anyone; it is just that a different approach is required.

If we were a B2C organisation we would certainly be using Facebook within our integrated social media marketing. Due to the overall clientele it attracts and the way they use Facebook, it is a much more effective social media channel for B2C organisations than B2B organisations like ours.

For example, offering a 10% discount on a software system for the best wall comment wouldn’t really tie in with our operations.

We can use Twitter to build up awareness by providing news and information that is of relevance to our potential customers. We’ll then use this blog to go into greater detail about industry matters and finally we can use LinkedIn to join in or lead discussions among our relevant communities.

Making sales in the B2B world is a much more drawn out process than B2C sales; people won’t just walk to their nearest software supplier and purchase an editorial system off the shelf.

We have to add value to what we do - and being recognised as a thought leader in areas that are of interest to customers is important to B2B organisations and could really assist with sales activities. Or at least we hope so...

If anything, the engaging nature of social media could well be a more effective tool for B2B organisations, especially if it’s used correctly.

But it’s a big old social media world out there and it’s important to enter it knowing not only what you want to achieve for your business, but also what you want your business to achieve within that sphere.

The content you can deliver via social media, and the way you use it, can really shape how your business is seen by the world so it is important to ensure your social media activities tie in with your overall business activities, so, targeting is very important.

They say there are more than 600 million Facebook users. Twitter is expected to reach 200 million users by the end of 2011 and LinkedIn has also passed the 100 million user mark.

No single organisation is going to try to target each of these users, and B2B organisations are going to be much more niche in their operations. So for social media marketing to offer an ROI, it is vital that content is aimed at relevant target markets. It is important to stay on track and continue to focus on those targets.

Now PropertyNet, PCS’s property advertising creation system, is allowing estate agents to get in on the social media act too, enabling property listings to be displayed on agent’s Facebook pages and via tweets from their Twitter accounts.

In terms of marketing potential, it’s a great fit. Given the nature of buying houses and the number of people on social media, there’s a huge, real time market place for agents to promote their properties.

It’s an example of using social media to actively promote and sell. And maybe this approach couldn’t be completely replicated by another organisation – it would depend on what the organisation wants to do, how it goes about its business, what it sells and who it sells to.

There is a great opportunity to be had with social media for organisations to market, but this opportunity needs to be harnessed in the correct way that is right for the business, because to be most effective social media should first fit in with the overall objectives of the business.