B2B Social Media, The Smart Option for Entrepreneurs

The greatest challenge entrepreneurs face is how to attract new customers and it is particularly more difficult for little-known brands, because they stands little or no chance competing in a market already dominated by popular household names. Usually, the first year of startup presents many teething problems for new entrepreneurs who are just testing the digital marketing turf for the first time. It is often a period whereby startups build up their brand, both in service delivery and quality of product as well as reputation. 

It is a period when their integrity is tested and potential customers simply just wait and watch to see how their brand or services fair in the market place. Presumably, this is a period when their products, even when purchased, are done mostly for the purposes of trial; just to test and see whether it measures up to other known brands in the market that they have been using, and as such patronage is often at its lowest point. 

Their client base only start growing when their products and services have been tested and considered to be equal or better than existing brands, both in quality and pricing. This sit and watch period sometime last for just more than a few months, and could extend for more than a year. At this point, what determines the long and/or short of the waiting period in the life of a new business venture, is the ability of the owner of the business to vigorously market their brand directly to the target audience. 

Most startups do not have the big budget required to implement a marketing strategy that is far-reaching and can produce quick results. In such a situation, whereby resources are scare and they can only implement a low budget digital marketing plan, the most effective strategy apparently, is to focus the marketing campaign on B2B social media. Developing a marketing strategy around B2B social media reduces the possibility of wasting valuable resources to target the wrong audience and using the wrong social media channels. 

We are all very much aware of the large number of social media platforms available to digital marketers, and how it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose the right digital marketing mix, especially for a low budget campaign. For a small business that is just starting, it is important to be focused and aim at your target audience, suing the most effective digital marketing channels. 

Despite the overwhelming presence of top social media players such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, especially in the B2B social media environment, LinkedIn is still the favourable B2B social media platform mostly used by digital marketers. In a recent study by Social Media Examiner, it reported that more B2B companies are starting to look beyond LinkedIn. 

Interestingly, LinkedIn has maintained its top position as the foremost B2B social media channels, and capturing 89% of the market share in that segment; and is closely followed by Facebook, the social media giant, which has 88% of the market share. Google+, YouTube and Pinterest are in third, fourth and fifth places, with each having a market share of 61%, 55% and 39% respectively.

Market studies also show that 80% of B2B searches are done on LinkedIn and 72% of top business executives conduct profile reviews of business owners on LinkedIn before reaching a decision to purchase. Recent improvements on LinkedIn, such as the introduction of video screaming and its integration with Microsoft Office 365, has significantly increased the ease of using the platform, both on mobile and desktop environments.

In conclusion, it must be mentioned that entrepreneurs, especially startups, who rarely have sufficient funds to embark on an expensive digital marketing campaign, must realize the importance of determining the appropriate social media mix in their digital marketing strategy that can produce the most effective return on investment. This is the point where it becomes extremely important for entrepreneurs to engage a competent digital marketing company to help out.