4 Social Media Best Practices Industrial Marketers Need to Know

With 68% of industrial businesses already actively participating in social media activities, you can’t afford to not have a social media presence. But if you’re like many, you may be uncertain how to get the most out of these platforms. Here are some key best practices that should help you get started:

1. Listen first. Don’t make the mistake of getting your profile/page/handle/etc. and start spamming the world about your fantastic products/services. Take time to get the lay of the land. Visit groups, read comments and tweets and status updates of customers, suppliers and others within your market segment. Get a sense of how your peers talk and interact. What are common discussion topics? What are their chief needs, desires and complaints? You can’t offer something valuable unless you know what’s valuable to others in your industry.
2. Build relationships. Direct sales from social media are rare. Instead, buyers use these channels to find information and build relationships that can and do turn into sales. First, however, they have to get to know you, trust you, and then learn about your products/services. It’s a lot like in-person sales that way. In fact, it’s exactly like in-person sales that way.
3. Cross-link channels. If you are active on multiple social media platforms (and you should be), do not manage them in isolation. Link back to your Facebook page from Twitter, showcase your tweets on LinkedIn (the two sites have a function that makes it easy), offer your YouTube videos on your other profiles, etc.
4. Don’t neglect your website. It’s important to remember that social media is just one part of a larger online marketing strategy. While social media activity can and does generate sales activity, there is still one more likely step in between—your website. No comment, tweet or blog post or brand page can possibly answer every question a new customer will have. Your website is an important part of an effective social media strategy. As such, it should have complete product catalogs, specifications and technical details, downloadable CAD files, case studies and any other information a new customer might be looking for.

Want to find out how industrial suppliers are using social media to market and sell their products and services? Curious how and why buyers are turning to social media as part of the buying process? Eager to learn more best practices to help get your company started with the most popular social media platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube?

Then download Thomas's free white paper Why Industrial Businesses Need to Have a Social Media Presence and How to Get Started.