Many B2B companies don't get into Social Media.
But is that prudent? Spoiler... I think they should reconsider.
Why they fear the water...
- Cost - worried it will be a financial drain with little ROI
- Time - "ain't nobody got time for that!"
- Nothing of value to contribute
- Don't know how to get in
- Don't think anyone cares - perhaps due to a boring product or industry
- They're B2B and consider Social Media to be a solidly B2C realm
All of those are valid points, to some extent. Social Media can be a tornado of a time waste...
But wait! Here are some things you should consider before ditching on Social Media.
1. Claim Your Brand
Even if you don't plan on utilizing that Twitter account, it may be prudent to snatch the name up so someone else can't. Down-the-road you don't want to be rocking a regrettably-long and awkward handle. @acme_co_123 really isn't that pretty. With this point I am thinking primarily of Twitter but considering you can get Vanity URLs on LinkedIn and Facebook this can apply more broadly.
Another key consideration, Social Media pages tend to rank really well for brand names. So if the first page of search results for your company name is not ideal, filling that space with some harmless and controlled Social Media pages could be a great strategy.
2. Can Actually be Low Effort
By hooking up your blog to auto-publish to Social Media, you can actually have a zero-effort Social Media presence.
Sure, the auto-generated tweets and Facebook shares won't be as on-point as if you handcrafted each one but better to have shared some than not shared at all, right?
Your community of clients may get notice of your new content via LinkedIn or Facebook when they would otherwise have missed out.
We like the Publicize component of the Jetpack WordPress plugin.
3. Help Your Brand Look Relevant
Ok, this one is a bit pathetic but it could help your brand seem more current and "with it" if you have a Social Media presence. Would you think less of a company if they didn't have an email address? Of course you would! This isn't that severe, but sometimes I judge a company harshly if they don't have key Social Media pages.
4. You Could Be Wrong
Who knows, maybe your customers would actually care what you have to say about your seemingly boring product / service. If you don't test the water, then you can't know for sure.
Further Reading: The Ultimate Guide to Epic Content for Boring Industries
5. Could Help Your SEO
There are many ways this could help your SEO...
- Social shares and likes are seen as "social signals" and could help your posts achieve better trust in Google's eyes. Especially if your stuff gets shared by other non-company accounts.
- Some Social Media entities (e.g. Facebook or Google+) actually have a Local SEO component and could help your company be more findable locally!
Further reading: 5 Things You Need to Know About Social Media & SEO