We all know how important social media and online engagement are for business. The question becomes HOW we can apply them to our channel.

The benefits to using social media to promote business within the channel are proving to be huge! Social Media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter are allowing vendors to extend their professional reach and better connect with their partners. The platforms are not just a great way for vendor and partner communication, social media cuts costs by getting channel specific content out to a much larger contact base without the “cold” email and much faster than snail mail.

The confusion that makes people put on the brakes prior to changing the use of these avenues to a business side of things is that it can be difficult to go from using it entirely for personal conversation to sharing business information. There is a little bit of a learning curve involved. Channel Maven Consulting’s Social Media Road Map™  is a possible resource. Basically you want to cover a lot of information in easily digestible sections so as not to overwhelm partners.  While the Roadmap journey covers a 12 week time frame pinpointing goals to work toward weekly.  Whether this or another resource you want to ensure it’s not going to overwhelm partners or take them out of the day-to-day for long.  Here are the topics we use and suggest for what to cover and how:

Week 1:  Online Branding

• With so much information online today, you should ensure you and your business are at the forefront of prospects and channel partners online searches.

Week 2: Complete your LinkedIn profile 

• LinkedIn is the primary online networking resource for professionals. Having an incomplete profile is like showing up to a meeting in sweats and a baseball hat.  Help partners improve their online presence starting with LinkedIn.

Week 3: Website 

• All roads (emails, social, SEO) lead to a company website so insure partners’ are user friendly.

Week 4: Online Listening

• Help partners to start listening to what people are saying within the industry. Once they receive feedback as to what people are saying about your solutions it will open interaction with these people.

 Week 5: Increase a Twitter Following  

• Partners learn to build direct dialogue with others in the industry, both customers and prospects.

Week 6: Get more engaged with LinkedIn

• Concentrate efforts on building connections and exchanging information within a broader range including Groups.

 Week 7: Drive Traffic to a Company Website

• Increases partners visibility to prospects that are looking for solutions, or services that you can provide them.

 Week 8: Create a Blog 

• Provides partners greater reach to their prospects by creating a blog. Blogging can help to station partners as an industry thought leaders.

 Week 9: Facebook and Google+

• Help partners stay top of mind with current customers and improve SEO by engaging on a Facebook or Google+ page.

 Week 10: Start a Newsletter

• Partners now have now an engaged audience, newsletters help to stay relevant and get an accurate measure of interest levels.

 Week 11: Amplify your businesses Social Media Presence

• Now that partners are engaging, who else is sharing their message? How should they respond?

 Week 12: Continue with the good work

• Keep that momentum going and put it all together with traditional marketing.

The road narrows down to the person that can stay top of mind generates more business. There are so many assets to this course of action. Whether a Social Media Road Map™, or another easily digestible resource, the road to success is to access Social.

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