Ever find yourself wondering whether your Partners are using social media effectively? Believe it or not there are right and wrong ways to use it. At Channel Maven Consulting, we find that Vendors who educate, engage, and enable Partners to use social media effectively, drive more demand and generate more leads.
Social media is one place where customers are constantly bombarded with information, and 67% of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally. How are your Partners negating all that noise and speaking to their buyers online?
This week Heather K. Margolis spoke about this topic at the Baptie Channel Focus event in Miami, FL. Here’s a snapshot along with 7 tips from Heather to help Partners with online and social media strategies.
Social media is the modern ‘cold call’ and traditional cold calling is dead. Customers will now find you. Make sure your Partners are visible on social platforms. We find that Twitter and LinkedIn are the two most effective B2B social channels. If Partners have limited time and resources to devote, have them focus on those two.
2. Be Visible
Online, Partners need to be where customers want them, when they want them and how they want them. Do your Partners utilize effective SEO? Integrating keywords, descriptions and graphics into Partners’ websites helps their visibility in search results. Vendors can educate Partners to incorporate SEO best practices.
3. Build a Professional Online Presence
Having a presence and how you present yourself online are critical in business today. Social Media profiles are increasingly considered your ‘first impression’. Do you want to be known as a comedian on LinkedIn? Probably not. In our experience, Partners who build a consistent, professional profile are more likely to be seen as an authority.
4. Listen in Order to Engage
Nobody likes to be inundated with emails. Ask Partners about their communication and frequency preferences in order to engage with them on their schedule. Other Vendors are doing the exact same thing you are, which means being receptive to your Partners’ communications needs will help you stay top-of-mind.
5. Facilitate an Online Relationship
Follow Partner pages on Twitter and LinkedIn and connect with Partner executives, especially on LinkedIn where more involved conversations take place. Interact regularly with Partners on social media in order to foster a relationship and then nurture it. This goes a long way in creating the reciprocity Partners need in order to optimize their relationship with you.
6. Help Partners Help Themselves
One size does not fit all. Help your Partners build an online strategy unique to them. Enable Partners with social media resources like social scheduling, monitoring, and platforms to amplify both of your brands.
7. Share
Sharing valuable, industry relevant content helps. So does providing syndicated content and social posts. Posting high quality content provided by you, helps Partners establish authority on your brand. Educate Partners on the golden rule of content posting: 70% relevant industry and 30% Partner generated content (blogs, videos, webinars, etc). There are several ways you can help Partners simplify their social media processes. For example, use free online tools like IFTTT, and Tweet Deck to automate the social posting process.
Taking time to support Partners to engage with your programs will help them generate more leads online. Social media and online marketing is easier when Vendors guide and assist Partners and by providing resources along the way, the Vendor-Partner relationship is strengthened.
Photo Credit: www.cloud-tic.com
