Every day, 518,400 people join Facebook, 172,800 join LinkedIn, and 44,410 join Twitter. And according to LinkedIn, over 1.5 million users have the phrase “data center” appearing somewhere in their profiles. So it’s understandable that data center sales and marketing teams prioritize social media in their promotional mix.
But there’s a difference between being “on” social media and using social media effectively -- to attract the right prospects, in the right places, at the right time, and most of all: in the right context.
Here are four big social mistakes that data center sales and marketing teams make -- so you don’t have to repeat their errors:
Mistake #1:
Ignoring Buyer Persona Research When Planning Social Media
Most sales and marketing teams spread themselves way too thin with social media. It's a lot easier to set priorities and pick your battles when you know which social media channels -- and specifically where on those channels (such as groups and #hashtags) -- your core buyer personas already hang out.
Mistake #2:
Failing to Map Out the Buyer's Journey for Core Buyer Personas
Most sales and marketing teams in the data center, cloud services, and mission-critical industries make the flawed assumption that all their followers are immediately ready for a sales conservation.
In the modern buyer's journey, where up to 70% of the decision is made before prospects are willing to speak with someone from your sales team, social media needs to primarily focus on prospects in the Awareness and Consideration stages of the buyer's journey -- rather than trying to force everyone immediately into the Decision stage with an awkwardly-timed sales conversation.
Mistake #3:
Little or No Investment in Content Creation (So You Have Something Worth Sharing on Social Media)
Many data center-related businesses that are new to social media spend way too much time talking about themselves and how wonderful they are and too little time talking about their prospects' questions, problems, challenges, and goals.
In a digital-first world, it truly is all about THEM -- your prospects.
Strangers don't want to hear about your awards, how smart your team is, how state-of-the-art your facilities are, or your discounts.
Mistake #4:
No Social Media Training for Employees
On social media, employees are all extensions of your brand. Some help your brand. Some can really damage it if untrained.
And be sure to start from the top down. If your CEO has 8 LinkedIn connections and no photo, rallying employees around actively participating is tough.
What are the biggest mistakes that you see sales and marketing professionals in the data center industry making? Let us know in the Comments box below.
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