How a B2B Content Writer Can Keep Your Company from Being a Web Wallflower

I continue to be astounded by the number of shy B2B companies – I call them web wallflowers. Their customers love them; their employees amaze everyone; and yet their stories remain hidden except to people in-the-know. Ironically, these are often the same companies that were built through a strong referral network. They fall into the trap of believing that there are no new customers to be found on the web; and that their website is just for people who already know them. They haven’t ever really put themselves out there online.

“We like to keep a low profile,” said one company I was trying to interview for an article. “We don’t like to brag,” said another B2B company, as I began to write their website copy.

It’s not that I am in favor of bragging, but how about sharing just a little of what you know with the world? At any point in time there are hundreds of potential customer searching for answers to the problems your business knows how to solve. A strong social presence lets your company’s expertise shine in a way that is helpful, not boastful.

Sure signs that your online presence lacks confidence and social savvy

1) There isn’t a real person to be found on your site.

There are no names, and even fewer faces on your website. Your company spends thousands of dollars on trade shows and networking events to meet buyers face-to-face, but when buyers actually come to your website, they can’t find anyone they know or trust.

2) You make it really hard to start a conversation.

There is no place for people to comment or connect with you, except perhaps through an awkward and cumbersome online form. Do you know how frustrating this is? It appears requests go to a black hole, and they often do.

3) Your social connections are somewhat limited.

Perhaps not in real life, but from what people see online, your company and employees look like wallflowers. Do you have a company page on Facebook or LinkedIn, but it hasn’t been updated in months. Do you think the time to open a LinkedIn account is when you are job hunting? Whether you embrace social media or not, the fact of the matter is that people are now forming opinions about your business based on what they see and read about you online. Are you sending the right message to prospective customers, potential employees and investors?

4) You don’t share your knowledge.

As a customer or prospect, I don’t just want to know about the products and services you offer, I want to know about your success stories and how you solve problems like mine. Showing how you solve problems let’s buyers get to know you and reassures them that you’ll do a good job.

5) You measure social media purely by the numbers.

Social media success is as much about quality as it is quantity. It’s not just about having the most tweets or the greatest number fans and followers but also about the quality of the interaction. Be sincerely interested and responsive when people reach out to you online.

So what can a B2B content writer do to get the wallflower to enjoy the dance? Plenty. A content writer can instill personality into your site through interviews with real people — customers, employees and management. These can be incorporated into blog posts, testimonials and case studies. A content writer can teach you how to pose questions to solicit response; create events and activities that are share-worthy; and grow your online social networks. In social media and on websites, content writers are conversation starters.

A B2B content writer can also suggest ways to make your site more interactive, such as through a blog, a contest or even a simplified form. A B2B content writer will organize information so visitors are never overwhelmed. They can easily find the information they need.

Many people and businesses aren’t comfortable talking or writing about themselves. But ask them a question and they will have no trouble providing you with a great answer. See what happens when you let a professional writer ask the questions.

Is there a cure for low engagement on Facebook?

Two recent studies document that actual engagement between corporate brands and their customers on Facebook is quite dismal. In January 2012, a study by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, an Australia-based marketing think tank, found that fewer than 1% of Facebook fans engage with brands. A recent A.T. Kearney study analyzed the 50 top brands and found few companies have moved beyond one-way communication. While the studies used different measures of engagement, the message was the same – corporate Facebook sites are neither social nor engaging.

In the A.T. Kearny study, 27 out of 48 brands did not reply to customer comments. So let’s start there. Rule No. 1. should be “respond to customers.”

Inactivity is another problem. Fewer posts results in fewer opportunities for fans to engage. This happens when a company launches a social media platform without a clear strategy outlining what they will do and how they will do it. Thus rule No. 2: Have a plan.

Both studies suggest marketers need to rethink their Facebook strategy. In A.T. Kearney’s 2010 social media study, researchers found that the companies who were most successful in engaging readers brought in elements of nostalgia; asked customers for feedback on various products or; asked Facebook fans to rally around a cause. When trying to initiate engagement, be clear what action you want people to take. Do you want people to “like” a post, submit a new product idea or link to your website? Consider using Facebook for market research or asking customers how they are using their products.

The 2012 A.T. Kearny study analyzed four basic types of posts: personal postings, consisting of a question or statement that is personal to consumers, but does not specifically promote the product; promotional postings, which may include a coupon; informative postings, which provide product-relevant information to consumers; and external postings. Using Facebook “likes” as one indicator, the study showed that consumers “like” personal company posts two and a half times more, on average, than all other company posting types combined.

Despite this fact, companies aren’t posting nearly as many personal posts as they are promotional and external posts — 61 percent of company posts scanned in the study were promotional or external, and only 13 percent were personal. Based on these findings I would suggest Rule No. 3: Social media sites should be about the customer.

In conversation, we adjust our message to the needs of a particular situation: our relationship with the person, the time we have to communicate, as well as our objective. Our social media efforts should be no less customized. In the haste to get the brand message out, we have forgotten that social media is about one-on-one interactions.

There’s a great opportunity out there for B2B companies who commit to getting it right. Start today with a comprehensive social media strategy. Before you dive into the newest social media platform, make sure you are doing it right on the platforms you already have.

Three Rules of Facebook Engagement

1. Respond to Customers

2. Have a Plan

3. Make it About the Customer

Is Your Bio Boring?

Tell us why you hate writing your bio and win a complimentary bio written by Content for Biz.

I confess. I hate writing my own bio. But I actually like writing someone else’s. I think a lot of people have trouble writing their own bio and it shows. I have been editing speaker bios for an upcoming foodservice conference over the past few weeks. As interesting as the speakers are, for the most part, the bios would put you to sleep. They read like resumes, or worse. Now, I understand that a bio should contain certain facts, but who said a bio should be devoid of personality? Bios I see on websites aren’t much better. And it’s too bad, because I always like reading bios and I think others do too. As a content writer I often write bios for websites. Here are my suggestions for writing bios that excite rather than sedate. 1) Don’t feel obligated to include every job you ever had. Put the focus on your current position, as that is what is most relevant to your audience. Only include past positions if they had a significant influence on your career. 2) Explain how it was that your work became your passion. Why do you like it? When did you know you found the right career? 3) Let your voice shine through. In a post on Grammar Girl, Julie Wildhaber calls a well-defined voice “the bridge between you and your audience: It helps your readers understand who you are, and it helps you engage them and keep them coming back for more.” What do you want to say about yourself? Are you serious, light-hearted, ambitious, determined? What adjectives describe you? To what do you attribute your success? Do you have a mantra? Inserting a quote can be a great way to let readers hear your voice. 4) Include something personal or unexpected. When we wrote bios for the accounting firm Lipschultz, Levin & Gray, we asked the top executives to share a “stand-out memory” of their accounting career, as well as some advice. Who knew that we would learn about counting meat carcasses or working by flashlight? It’s proof that there are interesting stories to be found in every career. 5) Common convention calls for writing your bio in the third person; so if you are submitting a bio for a speaking engagement you definitely want to use that format. For bios on the web, remember to keep paragraphs and sentences short for easy reading. It’s true that we are often our own worst promoters, so why not hire a professional writer and take writing your bio off your “to do” list. A professional writer can tell your story in a way that will make customers want to do business with you. Now for today’s special. Tell us why you hate writing your own bio and enter to win a complimentary 200-word bio written by Content for Biz. Email me at jcostin@contentforbiz.com or use the comment box below.

How to Extend the Life of Your B2B Event with Social Media

Events represent a significant investment for many B2B companies. Marketers go to great lengths to ensure their event features the right content or entertainment; is held at the perfect venue; and includes memorable food and beverages. However, it used to be that once an event was over, there was very little opportunity for marketers to engage customers or prospects who were unable to attend. There were also very limited ways to engage with attendees after the event.

Social media has changed all that. It provides companies with an opportunity to extend the life of their B2B events by creating a way to experience the events online. It also allows marketers to use social media channels to reach out to attendees and non-attendees in new ways — often with a multimedia experience. Here are five ways to make social media part of your B2B event strategy.

1. Prior to the event, create a hashtag for the event on Twitter. Hashtags help people find your event on Twitter and see what people are saying about it. Encourage people to talk about their plans to attend the event. Talk about speakers, content, who’s attending, etc. Remind attendees of the event hashtag before, during and after the event.

2. Before the event, engage prospects with a survey designed to identify their needs.

3. Share photos and videos on Facebook and through social sites such as YouTube and Flickr.

4. Share speaker slides on SlideShare, as well as through your event home page .

5. Interview customers at the event to share what they liked about the event. Post videos on You Tube and your event homepage.

Who’s Doing it Right on Social Media Channels

On John Deere’s Facebook page, you will find an amazing time-lapse video for the Can Do Project – They built a combine out of more than 350,000 cans of food. It took five days to build, but you can watch it under three minutes. Even if you missed the event itself, you could still learn about the experience.

Western States Cat does a great job of promoting its Dump Hunger campaign on Facebook. This year their goal is to collect 300,000 pounds of food.

You have to love Bacon Fest Chicago. They keep the excitement for this event building through their blog, a You Tube channel and an engaging Facebook fan page.

With a little planning and good use of social media tools, you can keep generating social buzz for your B2B event, long after the event is over.

Are you overwhelmed by social media? Content for Biz can help you formulate a strategy that makes sense for your business.