For entrepreneurs in the arena, engaging with all the C-suite hasn’t been harder.
A very clear majority of senior business decision-makers are significantly time-poor, with three-quarters claiming “there are not enough hours in the day to do all I want”.
As a result, they have a media repertoire, restricting entrepreneurs’ points of contact. To confuse matters further, of those few media channels they do access, most are unreceptive to the advertisements in them, with just 16.3% claiming advertisements helps them make better purchase decisions.
Alarmingly, 79 say they like technology which allows advertisements to bypass. And, through ad blocking cookie and applications deletion, this technology is now widespread, of course.
In order to overcome these obstacles to engagement B2B marketers are turning.
Are individuals always truthful on social media?
But, it not sufficient to push a stream of content that is unrelated out .
Research by Kantar TNS indicates that Brits are choosing to ‘dismiss’ content on the internet, with many beginning to feel as though it’s becoming overly intrusive. Certainly, for the possibility of earning connections with prospects, significance is paramount. 56% of UK business decision-makers assert “I only have time for advertisements if it’s relevant to me personally“.
But how can B2B marketers always serve content that is relevant? How can one keep an eye on the growing needs of the c-suite and understand what motivates and excites them at any given time?
Marketers are turning to social listening tools in an effort to gather this insight, with a view to keeping their content fresh and relevant. However, I believe that auditing posts and discussions in the arena isn’t a reliable means of appraising consumers’ sentiment about the brand of one, or their existing need states.
Recent study by the Future Foundation indicates that most social networkers aren’t currently presenting a true portrait of themselves and are putting a gloss in their own lives — that is creating a culture of intimidating social contrast.
To bolster their social profile, many can claim false allegiance to more stylish brands or thoughts (or feign distaste for less trendy ones) producing noise which any sensible marketer must surely distrust. As the widely-hailed Father of Marketing, David Ogilvy, once stated: “People don’t believe how they feel, they do not say what they believe and they do not do exactly what they say.”
Why, then, should we expect them to act based on what they’ve communicated through social chit-chat’s safety screen?
Detractors and urges
It’s a lot more beneficial to possess presence on platforms for client involvement than to inform product development, business strategy or material generation.
Consumers who have experience of a new will go back to networks wearing among two hats — that of their detractor or the urge. The conversations they have to people will signify the brand in the digital space researching products on the internet – the online moment that Google calls for the ‘Zero Moment of Truth’.
Brands must listen to these discussions so that amplify those of advocates they can act, on the 1 hand, to lower the effect of detractor conversations and, alternatively.
This is merely management of brand picture.
As soon as it’s ill-advised to base content plan or an whole company on opinion there is little harm in tracking popular sentiment around bigger political or cultural difficulties. This could help brands expect any shifts that might impact on their company and act to protect themselves.
During the EU Referendum, for instance, the official pollsters and bookies signalled a conclusive victory for Remain but societal media analysts were celebrating that #VoteLeave was mentioned 1.4 million times, in comparison to #Remain’s 800,000 mentions within the same period. History tells us that this was a reflection of public opinion.
Any brand that perceived this could surely have been prepared on 24 June.
So, for future-proofing one’s company, don’t hesitate to track the sentiment of the national conversation around financial troubles and bigger socio-political. There is safety in these numbers.
But for framing a more compelling and — critically — authentic content strategy, speak with your present, most faithful clients, face. Ask them what’s keeping them awake and what penetration would drive their business forward.
Should they know and trust you, they’ll tell it as it is.
