B2B Social Media Strategy for E-Book Lead Generation

Executive Summary

This document outlines the social media strategy to promote an e-book as part of an inbound marketing campaign for a B2B software company. The company has data on its target audience and their social media usage, and this information is driving the strategy. The strategy is focused on lead generation and ROI objectives. There will be a mix of unpaid social media posting and paid social media ads, with the objective of generating interest in — and enticing the downloading of — the e-book. The download form is where leads will be collected, and it will form the basis for evaluating this particular social media campaign.

This document covers the following areas: social media platforms, target audience, analysis of current social media usage, purpose of the social media campaigns, mix of tools and strategies, costs, and evaluation.

Platform Selection and Current Presence

Waterdog Software is a business-to-business software company that sells IT asset management solutions to a wide range of small- and medium-sized businesses. The company currently has a presence on the following social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. These accounts were set up by the founder of the company, and to this point there has not been a coherent social media strategy for them.

There are several other social media platforms the company is examining. Instagram is considered a possibility because it is linked with Facebook for advertising and cross-posting, and can be a means to showcase the more visual side of the company. WhatsApp has a new platform for businesses; while it is currently in limited release, it is considered to have significant potential, especially on the customer service side of the business (Perez, 2018). Snapchat is increasingly being used for businesses as well and brings with it 150 million users. At present, it is best used in B2C applications, but the company will explore the use of Snapchat for its B2B context in the coming quarter (Parker, 2018).

The current strategy will focus on the three existing channels and the addition of Instagram. Some time will be set aside to explore the use of emerging social media platforms in a B2B context.

Objectives: Lead Generation and Engagement

There are two main objectives for the social media strategy: lead generation and engagement. For lead generation, Waterdog produces a wide range of content — such as blog posts, e-books, and white papers — as part of a classic inbound marketing campaign (HubSpot, 2018). This content is used to attract the target audience by providing material of genuine interest to them. Social media is one of the primary means by which this content can be amplified to a wider audience, through both paid and unpaid social promotion. There are specific lead generation goals associated with each campaign — particularly paid social campaigns — as it is necessary to weigh campaign costs against lead generation outcomes.

The second element of the social media strategy is engagement. This is where social media is used to engage with existing customers. Content for this purpose includes feature releases and product updates, company news, and direct communications (customers can reach the company via Facebook or Twitter). Engagement therefore has both a marketing and a customer service component. The key performance indicators for engagement are engagement metrics (clicks, likes, etc.), response times, and follower counts.

Target Audience Profile

The target audience for the social media strategy is comprised of both prospects and existing customers. These are small- and medium-sized businesses, generally profitable, located anywhere in the English-speaking world — though the primary markets are ANZ, EMEA, North America, and India. The small business owners targeted are entrepreneurs who are psychographically characterized as risk-takers, often focused on their core work rather than functional business elements such as accounting, IT, or HR. They want to continue doing what they love and do best, so Waterdog provides a suite of solutions to help automate many key business functions.

Customers are usually between 25 and 45 years old, as older business owners tend to be more hesitant about software-as-a-service, cloud computing, and similar offerings. These younger entrepreneurs also tend to run successful, almost always profitable companies. They are 75% urban or suburban, with 25% in rural or small-town areas. The audience skews 65% male, and 55% have some higher education, with nearly all having completed high school.

In particular, the e-book campaign will be focused on a target audience that shares the same demographic and entrepreneurial characteristics as the established customer base but consists of new prospects. Targeting non-customers for lead generation has certain implications compared to promoting to existing customers; however, the best approach is believed to be mirroring the existing customer base. This is considered a substantial untapped market, and one for whom effective messaging and social media strategy can be readily tailored.

References

HubSpot. (2018). What is inbound marketing? Retrieved April 1, 2018, from https://www.hubspot.com/inbound-marketing

Parker, S. (2018). Snapchat for business: A guide for marketers. HootSuite. Retrieved April 1, 2018, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/snapchat-for-business-guide/

Perez, S. (2018). WhatsApp officially launches its app for businesses in select markets. TechCrunch. Retrieved April 1, 2018, from https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/18/whatsapp-officially-launches-its-app-for-businesses-in-select-markets/