Last week, Barbara Dizon (@BarbaraDizon, Social Media Account Manager) and Travis Low (@TravisLowSEO, Director of Search) discussed the importance of Social Media to B2B marketing, in our webinar titled Dominate Google with Social Media Campaigns. So if you missed it, here’s a recap–and if you want to download the slides, FOLLOW this link!

Some Key Takeaways:

• 70% of Social Media websites affect purchasing decision in the buying cycle.
• 50% of social network users, factor information shared on their networks into their purchasing decision.
• Social Media users are 3 times more likely to trust their peers’ opinions over advertisements.

The Importance of Social Media Today:

Social Media marketing is not about talking to different generations–it’s about creating a community based on common interest that thrives on user support.

Social Media for B2B Companies is about:

• Building loyalty and trust for your brand.
• Increasing community following and brand awareness as well as increasing traffic to your site.

Social Media is becoming increasingly integrated with customer service and influence on purchasing decisions. However, direct sales are difficult to track with Social Media. Social Media can offer direct sale opportunities, but without a defined metric for success, it will be difficult to determine its rate of return.

Integrating Blogs, Web Pages & Social Media for Optimal Search Results:

As with any form of communication, it’s important to have a plan for integrating your blogs and websites with your social media initiatives:

• A little planning goes a long way when starting a Social Media campaign.
• Map out what your marketing goals are – What does your company want to accomplish?
• Identify and understand your audience – Who are they, what Social Media platforms do you they use?
• Do not limit yourself to one Social Media platform. Determine which ones your target market use the most then establish your brand accordingly.
• Utilize/optimize Social Media profiles fully to reach your marketing goals.

Here are the Top 3 Starting Points for Optimizing Social Media & Search–where your company should start and how:

Blogs – Generate fresh, unique Content
Inbound Links – Establish your site as an industry authority

Social Media – Build your brand image with Social Media:

• Facebook Fan Pages
• Google Buzz
• Twitter
• Yelp
• LinkedIn
• Website Resources & Content

How to Measure Your Overall SEO & Social Media Efforts:

When starting Social Media campaigns, there are many ways you can measure your overall success. Here are some tips:

Blogs  = Content:

• Search engines love content–this is the single most important aspect of Social Media for SEO.
• Write casually, as though you were speaking to someone.

Inbound Links:

• Show that your site has good content and is the “real deal”.
• Also shows that your content is relevant, which is key to being well-optimized for search.

Interconnectedness:

• Social Media is about connecting and communicating.
• Social Media will help your brand/company remain transparent—increasing its credibility.
• Your website should be constantly updated, giving search engines new content to crawl. The more current search spiders determine your site to be, the higher they will rank it in search results.

Key Takeaways Continued:

1.      64% of marketers already integrate social media into their Search Engine Marketing plans today.

2.      Social Media and SEO go hand in hand.

3.      B2B is in fact equally, if not more active on Social Media sites than B2C.

4.      Social Media is more about increasing engagement and building relationships than broadcasting your message.

5.      The role of SEO for Social Media is to directly influence discovery of social communities and content through search, boosting sales and increasing conversions (conversations translate to Share of Voice).

6.      Content is king. Start with great content on your blog to increase inbound links.

-@SarahShakour