B-to-B and manufacturing companies alike face the same challenges when it comes to developing and implementing social media programs. They’re too busy taking care of business to make adequate plans, let alone implement them.
Social media is a cost-effective addition to your marketing program and you should try to utilize it as much as possible. I recently read a post from Heidi Cohen, Social Media Strategies for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, that brought up some good points that can be applied to the manufacturing sector. Here are some highlights and thoughts:
- Give your prospects information that’s useful – how to info, troubleshooting tips, something simple that even could be tweeted.
- Solve a potential problem – people are always looking for help, and as a manufacturer, you want to build your thought leadership.
- Go where your customers are – no matter what kind of business you’re in, there are niche communities either through trade associations or industry forums that you can participate in.
- Create your own online community – start small with a group on LinkedIn ,Yahoo or Google.
- Educate and train – capitalize on your videos and other training aids already in place for your source of info.
Those are some of my suggestions. What are you doing to develop cost-effective strategies?
