B2B Social Media Marketing: Work Your Influencers

5 Tips To Use Social Media and Influencer In Demand Generation

For B2B marketing and the day-to-day demand creation marketing activity I have five tips to help you give to your most important audience … the influencers. This is the short-list group that will ultimately help you amplify your messages – both the news that you feel will help those interested in your business niche and the call-to-action register messages needed to fuel your demand generation goals.

• Develop a short-list of influencers. Do you have a list of 20 bloggers, key clients, SAP Mentors, analysts, press contacts that you connect with on a regular basis? If not, you should. By understanding theses influencers in your marketing space you can strategically engage with this group to amplify you message when needed. If you don’t have a short list, then your marketing efforts might be starting as a zero-sum game every time. Embrace this short-list group and the will all embrace you back!
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• Create a contact schedule to connect with a subset of this list on a weekly basis. Your key group shouldn’t be contacted weekly … just regularly. Although, if you have a great piece of information (no not a late reach out to drive demand registration … that is taken care of with proper planning) that would make their job easier, certainly get it to them as quickly as possible! Keep a list of people you’d like to connect with close to your iPad, smartphone or computer and keep the conversation regular!
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• Flattery is the way to everyone’s heart! Do you talk about your short-list contacts? Again, if you don’t you should! Retweet them, mention them in your blog posts, @mention them in responses to others. By talking about your small group it shows that you are committed to your relationship and they will be committed to yours and pass on your important messages.
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• Follow? Follow. Follow! Make sure you follow the individual in your short-list group on Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, etc. In addition to listenidng and learning from them, this is a great way to show them that you are participating in the relationship. And … you need to comment about their posts and tweets to keep your relationship alive and to get them to talk about you!
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• Give more than you ask for. A great rule of thumb is to ask your core group to do something only 10% to 20% of the time and give something to them 80% to 90% of the time. Instead of asking what they want, give them what you think they need. Think of receiving the perfect birthday gift you have received based on a friend who listened to you or knew your interests. The same specialness happens with information giving. And when you ask for a message to be amplified … he or she will happily help!

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