Follow me, why won’t you follow me?

“I'm hoping to see the day, when my people can all relate…follow me, why don’t you follow me?” were the unforgettable lyrics to Aly-Us’ 1992 floor-filler ‘Follow me’. Who could have predicted that more than 20 years on, the message would be more relevant than it probably ever was?

While the impact of social media in the consumer space has been well documented, it also has a significant role in the b2b sector. To turn social media activity into an exercise that not only reinforces but enhances a business’ reputation, agencies need to approach social media in the right way.

Pick your platform

Reaching the individuals you need to influence is fundamental to any social media campaign. To connect with relevant individuals, you need to know which platforms they’re using and how to tailor content for these channels. If you’re looking to influence analysts, for example, run the individual analysts or analyst houses through LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. to evaluate their presence on each platform.

Limit your social media presence to a handful of platforms, because often less is more. There’s little to be gained by joining every platform under the sun, as this will spread your resources too thinly. Do your research; identify the platforms that best suit your campaign and give them your undivided attention.

If you’ve got a stack of content waiting to be shared, think about which platform can best promote your content. If you’ve got a pipeline of cool images, a platform centred on visually impressive content, such as Instagram, could be well suited. However, if your target market doesn’t use Instagram, you are unlikely to connect with the people you want to unless you can build a campaign that has widespread appeal.

Social media can be measured for free, and it’s a relatively cheap marketing medium, so it’s easy to test an approach and then either cull or invest further in a channel or type of campaign.  However, its not just about the platforms and the content, in order to maximise your chances of success you need to influence the influencers or at the very least participate in their conversations on their platforms of choice.

Rules of engagement

Don’t be afraid to unashamedly share content from the individuals that you’d like to influence (ensure that you flag their contribution). By sharing content, it suggests to the individual that you have a common interest and that you’re on the same page.  By monitoring content shared by your target market, you’ll be able to gain insight into their interests, and you’ll be better positioned to tailor your content as a result.

If it’s easy for someone to share your content, they’re more likely to do so. As such, you should link social media content to its original source on your website, blog or another social media account. This not only drives traffic across your digital channels but also encourages others to drive traffic on your behalf.

Social media is a platform for interaction and shouldn’t be used for direct selling or to preach corporate messaging. Instead, social media accounts should be used as a tool for engagement. With this in mind, you should foster relationships by promptly replying to outreach and by providing exclusive content / discounts. While you should always reply swiftly to your community, be wary of trolls. Handle negative comments professionally; delete the comments or ignore the comments completely. Whatever you do, never rise to the bait.

If your social media campaign isn’t performing as expected, don’t be afraid to scale back, regroup and take a different approach. There’s little to be gained from throwing good money after bad and what worked for one client, might not work for another.