Published on: 21 November 2020
Last Updated on: 30 October 2024
Local businesses large and small, and even international players looking to grow their reach, can benefit from working with a professional social media agency in Malaysia. The Malaysian market has fully accepted social media, with over 71% of internet users owning a social media account. With more and more Malaysians getting online, now is an excellent time to improve your marketing on social media.
Alas, simply posting on your social media page from your brand’s account is not enough to effectively penetrate your target market; many brands have learned this the hard way and wasted valuable time and money. Being successful at social media marketing requires an understanding of how each platform works and how each local market behaves.
Here are a few ways simple a social media agency in Malaysia can benefit your business.
Understanding the Local Market
Consumer behavior always varies within markets, segments, demographics, and beyond. Without base knowledge of the market you are entering or the consumers you are targeting, a marketing strategy will present like a shot in the dark.
For example, your target consumer base may prefer to use Facebook over Instagram, yet without that prior knowledge, you are likely to waste resources trying to promote on the wrong platform. Since Malaysian’s use of social media is not homogenous, let experts from a social media agency in Malaysia direct you to the optimal channels.
Launching the Right Campaign
Designing a social media marketing campaign is very nuanced and requires the right direction and content to support the objective. Agencies provide their clients with the added benefit of access to their team’s professional graphic designers, content writers, strategists, and more. They will help guide you on the right strategy, be it advertising, content creation, etc., and will create localized content intended for maximum reach.
Analyzing and Optimizing Campaign Performance
After launching a marketing campaign on your desired social media platform and with localized content, the next step is to measure its success. It may be a reality that your in-house marketing department does have sufficient experience with the technical know-how of each social media platform to properly analyze results and make strategic improvements.
An agency has those experts on hand to break down the campaign analysis and will work with you to make improvements for the next campaign. They will generate detailed reports that track campaign performance for you to easily understand where your money is going as well. While you may consider an agency a third party, a professional agency will take ownership of your brand and continue to improve your brand’s performance in the market.
Brands looking to expand to or grow in Malaysia will benefit greatly from utilizing social media marketing. Given the country’s diverse cultures and variety of behaviors, partnering with a social media agency in Malaysia will surely pay dividends.
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Social media has been the cornerstone of B2C marketing for a long time. However, when it comes to B2B marketing and sales, it is only fairly recently that social media channels have started to dominate.
And while most B2B marketers now realize the enormous potential of this type of marketing, only true experts have figured out that simple presence on social media is far from enough. To raise awareness of your business, you need to be social on social media, which is, after all, very logical.
In other words, you need to initiate relationships, interact with people in a personal way and absorb your customer’s feedback. But apart from this, you also have to showcase your expertise in a humble way, listen to the voices and trends in your industry and keep an eye on competitors.
Marketing your business on social media can help you generate leads, improve website traffic, increase sales and create a brand identity with your target audience.
That being said, the sooner you realize that investing time and money in social media is necessary, the better results you will get. However, this type of marketing, just like crafting a Sales Enablement Strategy, takes time and skills.
Let this article be the first step on your journey to improving your B2B social media marketing. In it, you will find out the reasons why social media is essential for B2B sales and the tips on how to improve your sales through social media channels.
Why is social media so important?
Have you heard of social validation? Social validation is a basic human necessity and its presence has but skyrocketed thanks to social media.
According to the Content Marketing Institute’s report from 2017, as much as 83% of B2B marketers use social media as their preferred marketing channel. And even though increased brand awareness is one of the main goals of social media campaigns, it is far from being the only impact of this type of marketing.
As the matter of fact, social media is right at the top when it comes to the factors making the biggest impact on purchasing decisions, closely following industry analysts and web search. Therefore, it is obvious that social media is essential for B2B sales.
If you want to increase your B2B sales, you need to use the following social media platforms:
Facebook
Without a shadow of a doubt, Facebook is the number one platform. It is important for creating a community, marketing, and advertising, as well as influencing decision makers.
LinkedIn
As a platform originally intended for business purposes, LinkedIn is as influential as Facebook in some segments.
Twitter
Twitter is the final element of the social media triad, but slightly less important than Facebook and LinkedIn.
You may be wondering why Instagram and Snapchat are not on this list. And indeed, these two platforms, especially Instagram, are great for marketing. However, they are more effective for B2C marketers.
Benefits of social media marketing for B2B sales
To give you a clear picture of how social media can increase B2B sales, we will list some of the main benefits of social media marketing.
- Firstly, it builds brand awareness and visibility.
- It serves as an effective distribution channel for your business’ ideas, content and offers.
- You can create PR opportunities, brand loyalty, SEO, as well as positive web mentions by building brand advocates.
- Social media marketing drives new leads into the funnel when combined with whitepapers, fact sheets, eBooks and other content offers.
- Have you tried to use social media to increase the number of email subscribers? If you want to add more people to your mailing list, this will do wonders for your business.
- Moreover, this type of marketing is great for B2B customer feedback program and understanding the needs of your leads, customers, prospects, and advocates.
- Social media marketing can greatly improve your SEO results through third-party links, mentions, and interest in your content.
- You can build trust with your buyers by educating them and helping them understand the major factors that influence their purchasing decisions.
- Social media is perfect for B2B loyalty rewards programs and customer care.
Challenges of B2B social media marketing
There are always two sides of a coin. In spite of the numerous benefits of B2B social marketing, there are also certain challenges that B2B marketers face on a daily basis when it comes to social media.
When in Rome…
If consumers use social media for connection and entertainment, your message needs to address these requirements.
In other words, you shouldn’t slip into business jargon on Facebook or post silly memes on LinkedIn. Apart from that, you should try to establish a deeper connection with your customers by finding out what they read, what they comment on and who they follow.
This will help you better understand your prospects and existing customers, and tell them what they want to hear and how they want to hear it.
Being present 24/7
When your audience needs guidance or asks a question, you should be there for them. It is all about responding when they reach out for help.
The challenge here is to anticipate such moments and be ready to shine. Create a list of tips, reviews, product demonstrations, and video tutorials, and promote them through paid search and social advertising.
For this and similar reasons, you should constantly use social media for real-time marketing, an increasingly popular method which allows you to engage with your customers instantly.
Cherishing your influencers
Finding your perfect influencer and starting a conversation with them is one of the keys to a successful social media campaign.
To choose the right influencer for your brand, you need to study their audience, understand why they engage, what is their reach, style, and many additional aspects.
Getting serious about selling on social media
Once you have put in a lot of effort toward entertainment and connection, you need to sell. After all, that is the main goal of each business.
To grow your website traffic and nurture leads, you need to match your marketing efforts and sales goals. When you engage with the knowledgeable, empowered and well-connected customers, you practically close the gap between the social world and the business world.
The elusive ROI
Oh, the infamous ROI… This is definitely among the top challenges for all marketers, not only in the B2B field.
To get a satisfactory return on investment, you always need to give your customers new and fresh content on social media, as well as attend to their needs and join conversations with influencers. Then, when everybody starts listening to what you have to say, seize the moment and make the final move.
It is all about timing. With the right timing, you can sell everything, even ice to Eskimos.
The future of B2B sales
Everybody is wondering what the future of B2B sales will look like. So far, we can identify three main trends.
The buying process will become easier
In essence, a more open approach to purchasing is obviously emerging, as well as a multi-channel unified experience closely resembling the B2C experience.
Moreover, along with those two, the need for highly personalized interactions will result in increasing buyer trust and lead to more data becoming available.
The focus will shift to long-term customer value
Businesses will have to focus on customer needs and customize their selling approaches, Also, adding value to products and services will be an indispensable part of every sales process.
In addition, selling will become more intelligent. In other words, sales teams will need to educate customers about their needs and engage with stakeholders and decision makers to discover and highlight those needs.
Data and analytics will play a major role in creating customer value
The days of guessing in sales have long gone. To create value for customers and interact with them effectively, social media marketers will have to use data and analytics through:
- science and sales
- AI and the virtual experience
- sales and the social business
In many of these strategies, social media will play an important role. From the multi-channel approach and market intelligence to education and connection, B2B sales will be impossible without social media platforms.
Finally, from a technical point of view, it is evident that outsourcing social media is becoming increasingly popular. This is a strategy that can be very effective, especially for small businesses. However, if you decide to do this, we advise you to be careful and avoid the most common social media outsourcing mistakes.
How to Sell More on Social Media
Now that you have learned why social media is so important for the B2B sales process, you probably want to know how to use social media to increase sales.
Here are the five useful tips on how to sell more and better on social media.
Choose the right social network(s)
Not all the platforms will work for all businesses. When choosing the best social media channels for your business, you need to consider several factors:
- your niche
- your audience
- your goals
For example, according to a study by Google and Millward Brown Digital published in 2015, the number of decision makers aged between 18 and 34 years increased by 19% in only two years (from 27% in 2012 to 46% in 2014).
This is why you need to find out the favorite platform of your customers and tailor your message to them, the network and your brand.
Remember – no business jargon on Facebook or crazy memes on LinkedIn.
Be active on LinkedIn
Whatever other networks you choose, keep in mind that LinkedIn is a must. When it comes to B2B marketing, this platform is essential and you can’t risk not using it.
To shine on LinkedIn, you will have to be very active. This means that you should:
- use LinkedIn’s Saved Search feature in order to create a search based on your ideal customer profile and be notified each time such a person signs up
- join and participate in LinkedIn groups to build your network and referrals
- connect with potential customers to start conversations
Contribute to existing conversations
This goes for all the social media networks you are active on. When you contribute to conversations about your brand and interesting topics in your industry, customers see this as adding value.
The best way to do this is Twitter and its search function, but you can use other networks too.
Share relevant content
More and more B2B buyers search for information on services and products on social media. Your answer to this should be simple ‒ sharing relevant content.
This is another way to add value, and you can do it by providing white papers, product sheets, case studies, webinars, comparison worksheets and so on.
In addition, you can share useful blog posts, infographics, tutorials and other types of content. In a nutshell, you can share anything that you think could help your customers.
Use the right tools
Finally, using social media for marketing purposes without different kinds of tools is practically impossible. There are so many aspects software tools can improve and so many ways they can help you rock your campaigns that not using them is a real waste of time.
Using effective social media marketing tools will help you find more relevant content, schedule your posts, measure and analyze the effectiveness of your campaigns, as well as use that data to improve your future campaigns.
Wrapping up :
Social media networks are becoming an essential part of every B2B sales process. However, in order to sell more on social media, you need to understand all the benefits and challenges of this process.
This is definitely not a one-time activity. Rather, think of it as of a long journey that includes a lot of small steps. It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock your B2B social media campaigns.
But if you take all the steps that we listed, you will find that the results will follow. This is one of those journeys that you have to enjoy if you want to reach your destination.
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It’s a known fact amongst successful leaders that you must measure and analyze what you want to improve. This couldn't be truer when it comes to social media analysis for the purpose of building brand equity through marketing. It’s the reason why many top brands use companies like Net Base to optimize their social media marketing campaigns. Most businesses have come to understand the critical importance of social media for brand development. What has become even more clear is how valuable social media is for collecting information that can be used to develop marketing strategies.
The key to successful marketing is leveraging the information obtained through analysis to draw conclusions that are actionable. The goal is to understand and reach your target audience. Data collected using Net Base can also help to ensure you choose the right channel. The best part is that it isn’t as time-consuming as other methods of collecting data. You can have an extensive amount of information at your disposal for the purpose of making informed decisions. Let’s review some of the benefits associated with social media analysis.
Understanding the ROI of Social Media:
Social media managers around the world have been challenged for years with trying to figure out if their social media efforts have been effective. Prior to the services offered by companies like Net Base, it was difficult to truly understand the ROI of social media marketing. While it’s crystal clear that social media is important, there are many platforms from which to choose, which means marketing efforts should be strategically based on your target customers. Not using social media certainly isn’t an option.
Optimizing Your Social Media Strategy:
Social media analysis offers an opportunity to have a more focused strategy. As aforementioned, it’s a way to measure what you want to improve. A sound social media strategy is based on real data that helps you to determine which social media platform and methods will yield the best results. It’s a way to avoid wasting your time on channels that simply don’t work for your brand and target customer base. In other words, you don’t want to spend time on marketing efforts that simply will not work because they don't reach the right people.
Another important way in which social media analysis is critical is it improves the way in which you engage with consumers. It can help you create more content based on the results of data from prior marketing campaigns. You are able to ascertain which type of content will yield the results you want. There’s no way around the fact that some marketing campaigns are more appealing than others. By analyzing your social media, you can see how others actually respond to what you might think is an amazing marketing campaign.
Understanding Your Audience:
As you probably know, social media is a crowded place and you have to work to build your audience. Ongoing engagement on social media takes time and effort. Success is more likely when you truly understand your audience and develop content that speaks to them in a way that’s compelling. This includes all aspects of your content, including photos. Net Base provides you with insights that can improve the conversations that you have with your customers.
The information provided by social media analytics enables you to hit the mark in your marketing campaigns more frequently, which results in a much higher ROI. You can review a wide range of information obtained through social media analytics for integration into your marketing strategies.
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You may already be familiar with social media marketing on sites such as Facebook and Instagram, but have you considered growing your business through Twitter?
Many tweeters assume that the word count availability limits marketing potential, but that couldn’t be less true. Businesses that know how to use Twitter to their advantage are able to create successful marketing campaigns that increase traffic towards their sites.
Here are just a few strategies for using Twitter to grow your business.
1. Write Succinct Tweets:
This is arguably the most important for any successful marketing campaign on Twitter.
With Twitter, your words are already limited, but it’s still important to be as brief as possible with your message. Even on Twitter, a massive bubble of text that takes up their entire feed will turn off your targeted audience.
Limit your tweet character count by focusing on your message. Remember that you can always include a link to a longer blog post or text page. Instead of explaining everything to your audience, use your tweets to suggest an offer to them. They’ll be more likely to learn more by clicking on the links you provide and discovering your business.
Let’s look at two examples:
New to the Los Angeles area from The San Fernando Valley to Long Beach? You’re going to need a smog test no matter where you live, and we offer a smog test near you. Click here to learn more.
You can probably tell that this tweet is unnecessarily long and rambling. The user can accomplish the same ideas in shorter phrasing, like this:
New to LA? You’ll need a smog test. We’ve got you covered.
This tweet is succinct. It successfully condenses the same message in a shorter word count, and it entices the reader to follow through by clicking on related links.
A succinct tweet is impactful. It has the potential to entice readers and shows that you are able to get your point across concisely. It also demonstrates that you understand how to use Twitter, which will make you seem professional, contemporary, and appealing.
2. Plan Your Tweets:
Social media users are known to impulsively post content, and it’s easy to think that your tweets have to be thought of on the spot. A great idea towards perfecting tweets for your business is actually planning them out.
You can do this by writing each one down on paper or a computer document. This allows you to plan when each tweet will be posted, edit before the post date, and adjust your campaign if your posted tweets aren’t landing.
3. Engage the Audience:
Successful marketing campaigns are not just brief but capture their audience through engaging visuals and participatory posts.
High-resolution photographs, intriguing logos, and succinct videos go a long way towards making a tweet visually appealing.
You can also engage with users directly by using tweets to ask questions related to your business. To really boost engagement, interact with users in the comments. Use Twitter to offer promo codes or create polls to enhance your relationship with your audience.
4. Plant Hashtags:
Just like with Instagram, it’s important to also plant hashtags. These are a powerful tool that allows readers to find your business through trending feeds. By using a current hashtag, you increase the potential of being found by a user who otherwise might never have become a customer.
Just like your word count, remember to limit your hashtags. Nothing is more off-putting or unprofessional that a string of random hashtags in a single tweet.
5. Consult a Professional:
Adapting to any social media site takes time, so it’s important for users who want to take advantage of business growth potential through Twitter to seek help if they’re unsure of how to approach their ideal marketing plan.
Reach out to an established marketing agency like digital marketing by Edge. SEO and online marketing agencies will understand how to reach an audience via Twitter and will help you develop strategies towards your business goals.
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