b2b Social Tech Marketing

8/3/2019 b2b Social Tech Marketing

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B2B Tech Marketing and Social Media:Which Social Media Channels Reach Tech Buyers?

January 2011


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Introduction..............................................................................................................Where Weve Come From......................................................................................

First Things First: Are Tech Buyers Using Social Media?.......................................

Social Media Use by Tech Purchasers In Dierent Regions..................................

Blogs: Everyones Social Media Fundamental........................................................

LinkedIn: The Secret Lead Generation Tool............................................................

Twitter: A Tech Awareness Engine.........................................................................

Facebook: Still More o a Personal Channel...........................................................

YouTube: One Part o a Video Strategy...................................................................

What Now?.............................................................................................................

About the Author......................................................................................................

TABLE OF CONTENTS


3/13

B2B TECh MArkETiNg ANd SOCiAL MEdiA:

WhAT SOCiAL MEdiA ChANNELS rEACh TECh BuyErS?

By rOSS LEvANTO, SENiOr viCE PrESidENT, SChWArTz COMMuNiCATiONS

Te healnes:

Many B2B technology marketers are still not using social media strategically. Theyre either doing just

enough to be able to tell their CEO theyre doing it, or not using it at all because they think their target

audience isnt using it.

Many o these same marketers group together all the dierent orms o social media as one big stew and

dont do enough research into the dierences between the various channels.

The act is, a good portion o B2B technology target customers are using some mix o the dierent orms osocial media. However, they use each type o social media in dierent ways, and so technology marketers

need to take a unique approach or each dierent orm o social media.


4/13

Wee Wee Come Fom:

When I rst started in B2B public relations in 1997, the number o ways to reach my clients target audiences seemed limitless. There were

technology horizontal publications, vertical outlets, broadcast media and wire services. Many physical events published the inamous

show dailies, providing what we thought at the time to be unique ways to reach niche audiences. Right about at this time is also when

most print publications began launching an online presence. Getting a placement in a print publication was a homerun, and the act that it

also may appear in the online version o the publication was sort o considered gravy.

Its an understatement to say that things have dramatically changed since then. While print publications and broadcast media outlets are

still very important channels, the ocus has clearly shited towards nding ways to infuence target audiences online and, more recently,

through social media channels.

For many tech marketers though, there is a tendency to group all the social media channels together. Lets get on Twitter, Facebook,

LinkedIn and YouTube, you might hear a company executive say, as i theyre all just dierent favors o the same thing. What many neglec

to do is look into whether their target audience is using these channels and how theyre using them dierently. Some would say it waseasier in the 90s when you could just nd a vertical publication like Government Computer News, and pretty condently assume that by

advertising or getting coverage within the publication, that youd logically reach government technology proessionals. Assessment o

audiences in todays social media channels is a l ittle more nuanced.

Last year, I attended aMassachusetts Technology Leadership Councilsocial media cluster event. At the event, I asked the panelists howthey determined whether a social media channel was appropriate or their target audiences. The answer was pretty arbitrary: trial and

error. Almost a year later, and were still seeing a lot o B2B tech marketers taking the trial-and-error approach. With this in mind, I set

out to collect some data that could help prevent marketers rom going down this path blindly. In this eBook, well layout the acts about

social media use in the B2B technology space, and hopeully help marketers see that there is no one-size-ts-all strategy to communicating

through blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
http://masstlc.homestead.com/clusters/socialmedia.htmlhttp://masstlc.homestead.com/clusters/socialmedia.html


5/13

Fst Tns Fst: Ae Tec Bes usn Socal Mea?

Ive been asked by some tech marketers: Do we really need to be marketing through social media, or is that something only

consumer companies should do? Another version o this question is: I know my teenage daughter uses Facebook, but doe

our target audience really use social media? The simple answer is yes. That said, technology purchasers and other busines

executives dont use all orms o social media equally. In a recent study rom IDG Research, we see that technology buyers

worldwide are denitely using the dierent orms o social media, but are using them at varying degrees.

The interesting thing about this chart is that it shows tech purchasers are more likely to be using Facebook and YouTube tha

Twitter and LinkedIn. This does not mean however that those are necessarily the best channels or technology marketers to

use. Its not a stretch to think that a good portion o their Facebook use is or more personal, rather than business, reasons.

What we hope to explore in this eBook is some o the dierent ways tech marketers can start to use each o these channels

in the right way.

Key Takeaway:Tech purchasers are indeed using social media and so to ignore it as a channel would be a missed

opportunity. The study went on to show that a ull 23% o technology purchasers are not only using social media, but

consider themselves active contributors o content to social media. Going ater this active quarter o tech purchasers is

reason enough to develop a good social media strategy.

Source: IDG Research Audience Engagement Study (Base: 3,658 technology buyers worldwide)

Frequency of Social Media Use by Tech Buyers
http://www.idgresearch.com/http://www.idgknowledgehub.com/library/?video=kinghttp://www.idgknowledgehub.com/library/?video=kinghttp://www.idgresearch.com/


6/13

Socal Mea use b Tec Pcases n dffeent reons

The aorementioned IDG study provided some deeper insight into how social media use varies by geographic region. This is

important to us at Schwartz because we work with a lot o companies that are either international (like us), or are trying

to tell their stories around the world. The clear message in this data is that social media usage is not a US-centric activity.

Tech purchasers outside o the US are as likely, i not more likely, to be using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. In

act, a ew numbers draw striking contrasts with North America, such as daily Twitter use in Latin America. Nearly 60% o

technology buyers say they use Twitter daily, compared to just 10% in the US. Its dicult to see how a tech company doing

business in Latin America could aord to ignore this platorm.

Key Takeaway: I youre responsible or international marketing, dont conne your social media strategy to just a US

audience. I your social media handles, an pages and videos arent relevant or all the regions youre targeting, consider

creating regional programs.

Source: IDG Research Audience Engagement Study

Base: 1723 (North America), 1566 (Europe), 206 (APAC), and 96 (Latin/South America) qualied respondents
http://www.idgknowledgehub.com/library/?video=kinghttp://www.idgknowledgehub.com/library/?video=king


7/13

Blos: Eeones Socal Mea Fnamental

There are many dierent denitions o what is considered social media and tech marketers sometimes arent aware that

a company blog is technically a orm o social media. Beore you even discuss what your company is doing on Facebook,

LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube, you should look at how can you establish a stream o consistent blog content on your site. A

o the other social media channels need a backbone o content behind them, and a blog is just one type o backbone you ca

create. The more you blog about the right topics, the more your site will be a magnet or people searching or that topic, and

the more likely youll generate new business out o blog readers. This graphic rom HubSpot sums it up more blog content

= more customers acquired through blogs.

HubSpot: The state o inbound marketing 2010 (February 2010)

Key Takeaways:

Make your blog presence your number one social media priority, and blog requently.

Create blog content that is educational not sel-promotional. Nobody wants to read about how great you are, especially

technology purchasers. Create content that helps them understand your space.

No company is too small to blog. At a recent content marketing event at Schwartz, Ann Handley o

MarketingPros.com pointed to an owner o a small pool business in Virginia who has attracted a lot o attention and

business rom his blog.

I you cant blog yoursel, outsource it Schwartz helps many clients with blog creation and writing.
http://www.hubspot.com/http://www.hubspot.com/Portals/53/docs/resellers/reports/state_of_inbound_marketing.pdfhttp://www.marketingprofs.com/http://www.riverpoolsandspas.com/blog/http://www.riverpoolsandspas.com/blog/http://www.marketingprofs.com/http://www.hubspot.com/Portals/53/docs/resellers/reports/state_of_inbound_marketing.pdfhttp://www.hubspot.com/


8/13

Lnein: Te Secet Lea geneaton Tool

Most tech marketers now understand that social media can be more than just a visibility engineit can and should

be a direct driver o leads. What some may not realize is that LinkedIn is the channel that has delivered some o the best

results. The graphic below shows that 45% o B2B marketers have acquired a customer directly rom LinkedIn a higher

percentage than any other channel. This doesnt mean that you should pour all o your social media resources into

LinkedIn. Some o the tactics you can use on LinkedIn can be done with a small investment in time and resources. Also,

because LinkedIn is still set up mainly as a community o individuals, and is only more recently developing ways or

marketers to establish a presence or their business, a lot o the things marketers can do need to be done on the

individual level.

Key Takeaways:

Make sure your company is listed in the LinkedIn Companies Directory and has the right description, links

and keywords.

Include your companys blog RSS eed and Twitter account so theyll show up on your LinkedIn company page.

Make sure your key company leaders are on LinkedIn and have joined all o the relevant groups where they can

network with potential customers in your industry.

When possible, start your own LinkedIn Group to help drive the perception o your company as a thought leader.

HubSpot: The state o inbound marketing 2010 (February 2010)
http://www.hubspot.com/Portals/53/docs/resellers/reports/state_of_inbound_marketing.pdfhttp://www.hubspot.com/Portals/53/docs/resellers/reports/state_of_inbound_marketing.pdf


9/13

Twtte: A Tec Awaeness Enne

As we saw in the previous graphic rom HubSpot, 38% o B2B companies surveyed have acquired a customer through

Twitter. This could be reason enough or a tech marketer to want to establish a presence on Twitter i they havent already,

but there are other good reasons. Twitter has become a orum or discussions around technology topics. According to

Pew Research, 43% o the tweets in a given time rame are related to technology. Compare this to the 1% o YouTube

videos, 1% o stories in traditional media and 8% o blogs that are related to technology, and its clear that Twitter is a

hotbed or technology content. While a lot o this content involves consumer technology discussions, such as about Faceboo

or the iPad, the act is that its an appropriate place or tech marketers to participate. I theres any doubt, you can check out

the growing use o Twitter by CIOs.

Pew Research Centers Project or Excellence in Journalism (May 2010)

Key Takeaways:

Tech marketers need to start a Twitter handle or their company to establish a voice in this space.

You should ollow leaders, journalists, customers and others tweeting on the topic, and tweet multiple times a day

minimum, about items o interest in the industry. Like with blogging, try not to be overly sel-promotional.

You need to be patient because establishing a presence on Twitter requires a lot o eort, and not always a direct

payo. A recent Pew Research study showed that 21% o Twitter users dont ever check tweets, and even those who do

wont necessarily see yours in a sea o tweets.
http://www.hubspot.com/Portals/53/docs/resellers/reports/state_of_inbound_marketing.pdfhttp://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/new_media_old_mediahttp://www.ciodashboard.com/cio-twitter-dashboard/http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/new_media_old_mediahttp://pewresearch.org/pubs/1821/twitter-users-profile-exclusive-examinationhttp://pewresearch.org/pubs/1821/twitter-users-profile-exclusive-examinationhttp://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/new_media_old_mediahttp://www.ciodashboard.com/cio-twitter-dashboard/http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/new_media_old_mediahttp://www.hubspot.com/Portals/53/docs/resellers/reports/state_of_inbound_marketing.pdf


10/13

Faceboo: Stll Moe of a Pesonal Cannel

In 2010, the most visited site on the Internet was no longer Google, it was Facebook. From a horizontal perspective, no socia

media channel reaches a broader audience than Facebook. The key word here is broad, however. Even though weve seen

rom previous charts that tech buyers are indeed on Facebok (29% visit daily), and B2B companies are driving customer

acquisition through Facebook, there is still a huge personal, rather than business, element to why people go on Facebook.

That said, every B2B tech company should have a presence on Facebook, it just shouldnt be the ocus o their social media

eortsyet. Most technology companies on Facebook are trying to drive increased ollowers by making interesting content

available only to those who Like them. Microsot is currently using this tactic on their Facebook page.

Key Takeaways:

Every B2B technology company should have a Facebook presence, but they shouldnt make Facebook their number one

Social Media priority.

Share links to your blog posts, pictures o events, links to major announcements, but always try to strike the balancebetween sharing good news and not going too ar in the direction o sel-promotion.

Take compelling content (video, eBooks etc.) and make it accessible only to those who Like your company on

Facebook, in the same way that you might put it behind a registration wall on your site.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9202938/Facebook_passes_Google_as_most_visited_site_of_2010)http://www.facebook.com/microsofthttp://www.facebook.com/microsofthttp://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9202938/Facebook_passes_Google_as_most_visited_site_of_2010)


11/13

yoTbe: One Pat of a veo State

One o my early PR mentors once told me that the higher you go within a company, the more pictures, graphics and videos you

should put in a presentation to that audience. Although he was hal-kidding, it is true that high-level executives appreciate video

as a condensed, appealing way to consume content. A December 2010 Forbes Insight report revealed that 75% o senior

executives view work-related videos on business websites at least once a week while 52% watch work-related videos on YouTube

once a week. What this means is that all tech companies should develop a video content strategy, but they shouldnt ocus on

YouTube as the only channel or that content. Ideally, a good piece o video content would be deployed on their YouTube channel,

on their site, syndicated on other business sites and, most importantly, be tracked and measured.

Key Takeaways:

When thinking about your video strategy, dont only ask yoursel what can we do on YouTube? Think about the types o

video content pieces that would be most valuable to tech purchasers, and then deploy that content in multiple places.

Our Digital team at Schwartz advises our clients on types o video content they should create themselves versus when to

seek outside help to produce. This o course depends on your resources, but or quick impromptu pieces to share through

social media, get yoursel a fip cam and get busy. For anything that needs to appear prominently on your site or at events,

get some help.
http://blog.brainshark.com/mybrainshark/bid/51220/Top-5-Insights-from-Forbes-Google-s-Video-in-the-C-Suite-Reporthttp://www.schwartzcomm.com/services_l2.php?id=102http://www.schwartzcomm.com/services_l2.php?id=102http://blog.brainshark.com/mybrainshark/bid/51220/Top-5-Insights-from-Forbes-Google-s-Video-in-the-C-Suite-Report


12/13

Wat Now?

I the data and insights in this eBook made you think you need to take your social media strategy to the next level, or even

to square one, your next question may be: How do I do that? While the answer varies greatly based on situation, there are

some simple things that every company should do. One important to-do is to understand more about your current mindshare

in social media. Schwartz uses Radian6 to measure social media mindshare and many other metrics. Even i your company

has not created a social media presence, people may be discussing your products/services in social media orums. I the

quantity o discussions is low compared to that o your competitors, you can use the data as a way to lobby or more

resources to put toward social media.

Even without this type o analysis, every tech B2B company should have reason enough to create some presence in all o the

channels weve mentioned. We do caution companies to go into it knowing that just creating a Twitter handle and Facebook

page doesnt mean youll magically get tons o ollowers. The real key to ollowers in any channel is content and coverage

You need to have content to tweet about, or youre just let with sel-promotional product tweets or random observations.

As we mentioned, having a good blog is one essential orm o content, but you also need to have video content, eBooks,

whitepapers, inographics, podcasts and other orms o content that will serve as the backbone or your social media eorts.

It also helps to have coveragementions o your company in third party media or blogs. A company without coverage would

likely tweet about a new product o theirs and point people to the description o the product on the websiteblatant sel

promotion. A company withcoverage can tweet about a great article in ZDNet that talks about their product and how it

helps business - still somewhat sel-promotional, but with third-party validation.

The Final Takeaway

I youre a tech marketer, you should know that your target audience IS using social media. In order to create social media

programs that really have impact, you need to have a backbone o great blog, video and written content that is inormational

and not overly sel-promotional. With this content in hand, you can create a unique strategy or each social media channel,

and with the right tools, measure a real impact on your business.
http://www.radian6.com/get-started/what-we-do/?pi_ad_id=5555686397&gclid=CMbjjo2huqYCFRZy5QodgCJ8Hwhttp://www.radian6.com/get-started/what-we-do/?pi_ad_id=5555686397&gclid=CMbjjo2huqYCFRZy5QodgCJ8Hw


13/13

Abot te Ato

Since 1997, Ross Levanto has participated in the PR and communications programs or some o

the most innovative technologies across the IT security, data center, web services, open source

and application development markets. He has managed eorts that led to more than two dozen

acquisitions, with his clients both the acquirer and the acquired.

Levanto was on the Schwartz PR team that drove the IPO process or webMethods in one o th

most successul oerings ever. He has seen the evolution o B2B integration and web services

with webMethods and IONA, led SpringSources PR as it rose to become a driving orce or Jav

and publicly launched the open source Mono project while crating messaging or open source

desktop vendor Ximian during the Microsot anti-trust case.

One o the key vice presidents within the Schwartz IT security practice, Levanto has led programs within email management

or CipherTrust through its acquisition by Secure Computing and or iLumin until it was acquired by Computer Associates, in

the web application testing space or Watchre up to and beyond its acquisition by IBM, and or identity and access

management leader Netegrity through its acquisition by Computer Associates.

Levanto is among the leaders at the Agency who is dening emerging PR services that are aligning PR and communications

to marketing in innovative ways. He is a thought leader or innovative content marketing, web lead generation and web lead

nurturing programs.

Prior to Schwartz, Levanto worked as the rst webmaster at WHDH Channel 7, the NBC aliate in Boston. He graduated

with a bachelors degree in communications, summa cum laude, rom Boston University. In the all o 1996, he worked in Vic

President Al Gores communications oce in Washington, where among other duties he perormed background research or

the Clinton administrations export encryption policies.

Levanto is also an active volunteer in the local technology scene. He has served as vice president, press and public aairs o

the New England Business and Technology Association, which later merged with the Massachusetts Sotware Council. He i

the originator o the Associations annual awards ceremony, which is still in existence.

HEADQUARTERSSchwartz Communications, Inc.

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