When discussing the role of social media in a comprehensive marketing plan, one of our clients recently said, “My 8th grade daughter is on Facebook, not the CIO’s we’re looking for.” Before responding in an unbecoming manner, we shared a few compelling statistics (current as of this writing, according to Facebook company filings):
- 1.3 Billion active users on Facebook
- 30% of all Facebook users have earned a bachelor’s degree
- 71% of all adults who are online, use Facebook
- Average user has 254 Facebook friends
- 4 Billion daily video views on Facebook
- 30% of all Americans get their news (primarily) from Facebook
- CEOs have an average of 630 Facebook friends
- 40 Million small business pages on Facebook (and 348 of Fortune 500 companies)
Truth is, virtually everyone is on Facebook. And, if they’re not on Facebook, they’re on LinkedIn, Twitter or, most likely, all three.
Followers of the Challenger Brand Marketing Blog know our stand on B2B and B2C; we don’t believe in them. We believe in H2H, human-to-human marketing. Companies do not make buying decisions, people within those companies make the decisions; and they are on social media. Everyday, and for an average of 18 minutes.
So, how do we make business marketing (B2B, if you must) socially acceptable? Like most marketing, it comes down to identifying a clearly defined target and serving them an unambiguous, compelling offer. Social Media is not a place to sell, it’s a place to engage. The offer must provide the user with value which initiates a relationship and evolves into knowing, liking and ultimately, trusting the marketer. Value offers could include downloadable information (i.e. white papers, podcasts, webinars, videos, etc.) that educate the user and connects them with the marketer’s website where they can learn more.
We can find CIOs (as well as CEOs, CTOs, CFOs, CMOs, COOs, CSOs, CISOs and dozens of other C-suite prospects) on Social Media because they are there, everyday, just waiting to gain a competitive professional edge through connections with brands like yours.
If you would like some help connecting your professional brand with prospects through social media, please drop us a line at: editor@gumas.com.
Until next month…
