What C2C media are we talking about?
WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter are household social media names in the C2C communication arena that have grown prolifically in the last 10 years. They’re traditionally loaded with emotional content that’s most often free-spirited and fun-filled. The Internet carries social media conversations between friends, family, and acquaintances in multiple directions, with previously unheard of speed and intensity (measured in seconds). These channels have opened our eyes to a new world where the ins and outs of intimates from our past and present, living across international borders, are condensed down to village size familiarity.
B2B fitting in with the C2C Social Media formula
What has all this to do with the modern B2B seller? It seems that automated sales enablement programs have seamlessly integrated themselves with social media, often ingeniously, to communicate faster and more efficiently than ever before. In basic terms, a sales rep aims to create brand awareness by selling the way buyers want to buy (i.e. smarter and faster). This long proven formula repeatedly turns new prospects into new customers. Thus, social media hasn’t missed a beat in helping reps to communicate hard-hitting infographics and data-driven content recommendations in a different but meaningful way.
C2C has dictated a mainstay strategy in modern B2B sales enablement programs
C2C social media are today a cornerstone of high-powered B2B strategies. Innovative marketing and all-in-one sales solutions have effectively employed this avenue to differentiate the pitch. One of the standout emerging aspects is the formation of online forums through WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook as a way to connect important decision influencer groups. This strategic shift in emphasis has harnessed all available resources to take omnichannel engagement to the next level. Seller teams, in turn, empowered by the shift are taking new huge strides toward solidifying customer engagement.
The seller should keep it top-of-mind that a B2B audience demands facts in search of a team or company solution – not an individual one. This often means that all members of the buyer team require exposure to proposals, thus channeling innovative on-brand content that builds trust. Social media variations may involve sharing pertinent eBooks, podcasts, webinars, and other collaborative events that fit into the audience demographics and habits like a hand in glove.
The streaming of communications must be intuitive and easy to navigate. If the modern B2B buyer has a stuttering experience in both time and process, even if it revolves around the highest performing content, communication will die almost as it begins. Facebook, for example, facilitates the easy traversing of material by providing direct subscribe-buttons on their pages. This makes joining discussions and attracting new leads a breeze.
WhatsApp – a new C2C social media platform with great B2B possibilities.
WhatsApp is one of the more recently internet-connected social media that’s captured the attention of “with-it” B2B sellers for its exceptional versatility. It easily accommodates conversations between WhatsApp chat-group members across international borders (e.g. USA to the Ukraine) as clearly and easily as if one is talking on a mobile (but notably without the roaming costs). It’s getting a good reputation for onboarding reps quicker to drive a more efficient and effective sales team.
Texting is as simple as counting 1-2-3, and aligned with this, members can post images, diverse content, and links for all to access. WhatsApp group flexibility is a truly strong feature: chat-groups are formed by invitation to include only the relevant company participants. This means that some trusted team players can belong to multiple groups at the same time if their impact is needed in variable places. These can be registered in parallel on a structured basis, all converging on the same business objectives.
Conferencing on WhatsApp facilitates team involvement in the same conversation without limit. Each chat-group is identified by a unique name (e.g. dog food middle Ohio); these can merge into new chat-groups (with a new name restructuring into expanded or differentiated membership) when required (perhaps for an only temporary period) and if so, then dissolved. WhatsApp tends to identify itself along the lines of common interest grouping.
Its biggest disadvantage is that the App sometimes goes off the air for seconds at a time if Internet disruption is experienced. This is a frustrating issue not resolved, especially if the break in mid-conversation occurs at pivotal times.
In summary: WhatsApp has all the convenience of a mobile device; at a fraction of the cost; with the flexibility to text, conference, and attach important items with split-second speed. This combination pushes WhatsApp to the frontrunner position for many sales enablement platforms.
Key considerations in adapting C2C media for B2B purposes
1. Select the right C2C options for adaptation
As a first big step, the seller must determine the favored C2C social media used by the pivot members of the buying team. In other words, determine the ones that have the highest conversation rate through the buying process as liked by the audience, even if not the seller’s favorite. Missing this subtle difference can derail everything. LinkedIn was a hot favorite, considered by many sellers to be most effective, followed closely by Twitter and then Facebook. However, as stated above, WhatsApp is on the tip of everyone’s tongue these days and riding strong.
2. Track and monitor what’s being said
- Cutting edge social media monitoring tools like Hootsuite, Sparkcentral, and SproutSocial are available to B2B sellers in the social media environment.
- These track conversational product hot points as they emerge in audience discussions and may extend to discussions on a wider tangent in the market niche.
- It’s a digitally convenient way to stay abreast on all aspects of your brand as they enter the decision arena, and at the same time create openings to engage buyers in their own language.
3. Call To Action (CTA)
- Every seller is locked on to achieving quickest time to value, and exceeding revenue targets.
- Therefore, social media must feature CTA buttons built to the needs of B2B sellers. Facebook, for example, has 11 different CTAs, many of which align with commercial marketing. In this regard, prompts that call on the audience to “Learn more”, “Contact us,” “Watch more,” “Request time,” or “Download” facilitate sales progression.
- They also give a good idea of where the interest level sits or/and the potential buyer’s sense of urgency.
- In short, it’s advised that sales enablement integrates social media without neglecting to insert the right CTAs in the right places. Customers are resistant to an overcomplicated process if indeed they want to commit in the earlier stages.
- CTAs create short cuts without disrupting the process.
4. Don’t forget about mobile
- As a B2B seller, you know that the buying team moves around a lot and that constant connection is a key cog in their communication wheel.
- Consequently, social media adaptation must consolidate mobile phone and tablet optimization – going back to the point of being “navigable and easy to use”.
- Details like measuring your site speed on these devices and how content reflects on a small screen should never be overlooked.
- WhatsApp is a social media tool seamlessly connected to the mobile device.
Pitcher sales enablement is on the cutting edge of C2C Social Media Adaptation
Pitcher is fully onboard with the move to C2C social media as an effective communication strategy. Differentiating your pitch in many ways ranks right up there with delivering powerful content. As a company at the forefront of sales enablement technology, Pitcher helps industrial clients across a wide spectrum to to maximize ROI by ensuring sales readiness. In every case, Pitcher aligns its recommendations with digital media advancement to interface B2B buyers with diverse needs and work protocols. Pitcher recognizes that C2C social media is a prime facilitator of faster communications: it gets more conversation going between team members, and encourages constructive feedback that keeps all parties on the same page.