What are the top 5 things to do as a B2B Marketer?

Whether you have a small, medium, or large business the essentials are the same. If you are in the B2B marketplace there are essential marketing trends that you must follow. Marketing for B2B is unique because you are not trying to get consumers, however, a lot of the same principles apply.

First you have to have a story and you have to tell it properly. Your story should involve things like when you opened, who your owners are, and the history of the company. However, most people do not think of the most important things. You have to show relevant content and education.
1. 1. Relevant content talks more about why you created the product, why employees like being there, and what sets you apart from your competitors in that space.
  2. Education includes what certifications you have regarding the work that you do, what classes or degrees you have, and what makes you an expert in the field that you are promoting!

You need to be easily found. In the digital world that we live in, you have to have your correct information showing in the digital world. There are some basics that you have to do.
1. Listings have to be keyworded and the proper information relayed to the top site across the internet. This applies to sites like Google, Apple and Yahoo. It is essential that you show the same accuracy and same information across the web.
2. Your SEO has to be top of mind. There are two different kinds of SEO however. There is on page SEO and off page SEO.
  1. On page SEO includes things like:
    1. Metatags
    2. Title tags
    3. Heading tags
    4. Submitted site map
  2. Off page SEO includes things like:
    1. Facebook
    2. Twitter
    3. Instagram (If needed)
    4. LinkedIn
    5. Blogs
    6. Podcasts

Paid advertising is a very useful tool for B2B because you can be specify who you are trying to advertise to. You can advertise to a purchaser of your product specifically. There are many forms of paid advertising but here are the top 5 to use:
1. LinkedIn
2. Facebook
3. Google Adwords
4. Bing Ads
5. Instagram

Reputation Management is a very important part of your world. There are literally hundreds of sites used to review a company. You must be able to see the reviews and have the ability to respond to them in a timely manner. You can do this by not only getting your listings updated and tracking them there, but you can also set up a Google Alert. This way, anytime somebody mentions the company name on the web you get an email and you can go to that site to respond. Responding quickly and correctly shows everything about you and your customer service. The last thing you want to do is argue with the person that left the review. The second worst thing is responding with a blanket response that looks like every other response you have put out there. Be sure to individualize your responses.

Create a one on one online conversation with every person you can. They contacted you so they obviously want to know more. People do business with people they like so make sure you are pleasant, to the point, and direct. People do not have time to spend hours trying to find an answer. That is why they messaged you, so give them what they want. The important part of this step is to also educate them.

The world has changed in many ways for marketing in a B2B business. If you follow these things however, statistics show that your success is imminent. The olds days of networking to get your business does not work the same. Millennials do not go to networking meetings like most of us have or do today. They would rather attend a seminar or online virtual meeting than go to a one on one meeting. It is important for the future of all of us B2B businesses that we adapt to them and still hold true to what got us where we are today.