It Is Business-To-People In Social Media Marketing

Social Media In International Web Marketing

One of the important keys to successful web marketing is to remember that it is not about the tools or the platforms.  Your business strategy needs to be about connecting with people.

Online players come and go.

• Remember even Google was not around 10 year ago
• New social media platforms seem to pop up every week

Two things happened recently to remind me of this wisdom.

• Twitter is a big part of my online marketing plan.  And it had operating problems for a few days last week.  It did not really effect my Twitter access, but TweetLater did stop functioning for a few days.  This is the service I use for Twitter alerts and to schedule tweets.
• FriendFeed was bought by Facebook.

What Will My Favorite Online Platform Be Next Year?

Facebook buying FriendFeed is very sad news for me.  I love FriendFeed.  I have become too attached to a social media platform.  It is the haven I use to find out what is going on, without the spam and other noise pollution.

I use FriendFeed like others use their Google Reader.  The difference is that I much prefer reading news on FriendFeed.  It is so easy to put people into different folders and read things on the same topic.

Even if Facebook makes things “granular”, everything is set up where you have to turn off the “noise buttons” or block the applications individually.  There are just too many applications.  Too many friends.  I spend too much time clicking buttons on Facebook to maintain my preferred settings.

I dread to think of what will happen to FriendFeed, and I doubt it will remain the “noise-free” environment it is today.  I must admit, I simply have no faith in a company which hides the access to their must-have fan pages under an obscure link called “advertising”.

Facebook does not know how to make things logical and easy for me to use.  FriendFeed did.

One of the ways to go off track on social media is to focus on the tools and platforms.

In Social Media It’s Not B2B or B2C – It’s B2P

When setting up a social media strategy, some people ask questions about the differences in social media strategies between B2B and B2C companies.

This is not a good question.  It shows that people are still thinking in “old-school” practices. They have a learning curve to go through before they will be able to come up with social media marketing with real business results.

Social media is about connecting with people.  Web marketing is a Business-to-People environment.

• People like to connect with people
• People like to do business with people
• People sell to other people
• Social media is about connecting with people

This is why your company needs to find a “human” face to present itself on social media.  Marketers talk about “humanizing” companies.  Corporate speak, big logos and traditional marketing practices are not appropriate on social media.

Why B2P  Companies Win Online

The Business-to-People environment is the connection to understand how to go about multichannel marketing.

First, as a consumer it is easy to see how you use the web in your buying decision process:

• Searching Google for information
• Comparing data online
• Listening to what friends say on social media
• Remembering the brands in fun videos

We all connect with brands online in different ways and with different channels and tools. But the conversation is relevant for each one of these tools and platforms.

Second, once you understand that your business needs to talk to other people as a person, you will discover the web marketing strategy that is right for your company.

Businesses need to make this mental transition and adapt a Business-to-People approach.  This is how you will be able to figure out what to say on each different social media platform.

B2P Also Improves International Web Marketing

As soon as you approach your online presence with a B2P mindset, international marketing becomes a cinch.  You are no longer tackling large unknown markets at a distance.  You are simply connecting with people, one at a time.

Of course, you will need to collect the information you gather from each of these international encounters.  And you still have to do foreign market research and analysis.  This is afterall what international business is all about.  But these first Business-to-People encounters are much easier.

• How does your favorite online platform influence your company’s web marketing?
• Do you think you will use FriendFeed more or less now that Facebook has bought it?
• What Business-to-People international marketing do you do online?

More on Social Media In International Web Marketing

• How Do You Use Social Media For Business?
• The Cultural Divide In The Social Media Evolution
• How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media
• How To Sort Through The Social Media Hype
• It Is Business-To-People In Social Media Marketing
• How Do You Use Social Media For Small Business?
• 12 Social Media Tactics In My Marketing Plan
• 7 Cross-Cultural Skills For Businesses To Master Social Media
• Content Marketing To Reach International Markets
• Choice Of Social Media For International Markets
• Connecting With People On Twitter
• Cultural Differences In Social Media Marketing
• Guerrilla Marketing With Social Media To Enter New International Markets
• Likability For International And Social Media Communication
• New Marketing Taints Old Networking Tactics
• Social Media Marketing Across Cultures
• Understanding Social Media For Stronger International Web Marketing

More in the Get International Clients Business Guides

• Build Your International Marketing Strategy
• Connect With Your International Markets
• International Market Research
• International Web Marketing

Tagged as: business, global, global marketing, international, International Social Media, International Web Marketing, Internet Marketing, social media, web marketing

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