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What Information Are People Looking for on Twitter?

Focus on Your Customer

A lot of B2B online content is internally focused, have you noticed? Here’s why we are so great, here’s what we’ve accomplished, here’s our latest news.

By and large, people don’t care. They’re hard at work making their organizations great, pursuing their goals, and making their news.

One reason B2B firms are quick to dismiss Twitter is their inward directed content mindset. They limit themselves to a choice between pushing company information or talking about the weather. Neither approach, in and of itself, will get great results for most companies.

If you want to build a presence on Twitter, talk about things that matter to people that matter to you. Here are a few ideas.

Events and Conventions. When folks in the B2B world participate in an event, they scour the web looking for information about it – before, during, and after attending. Who’s going to be there? What new products are going to be on display? What is the speaker saying at the symposium I couldn’t make? How was that big cocktail party last night? Tweet about that and you’ll be relevant. Relevance is the coin of the realm in social media.

Companies. There is no doubt whatsoever that all B2B professionals are interested in two things – what’s being said about their company, and what’s being said about competitors. Do you have insight, opinion, or information about companies in the market for your products or services? Tweet about that, and name names, so people searching for a given company will find your content.

Case Studies. B2B loves case studies. You can talk about your product’s 6000 benefits until you’re blue in the face, but saying, XYZ Corp. saved 30% with our product will get you more business. Tweet about that, with emphasis on the company and industry you served, rather than the product or service itself.

What other content approaches can you think of? I’m sure there are many. The key is to think from the customer’s point of view. What are people searching for on search engines and social media? On rare occasions only, they search for your products and services. But frequently, they search for ideas and information about themselves, their industry, how to be more productive, how to reduce cost, how to be more profitable.

How well does your website or Twitter communication speak to those topics?
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word sell inc chicago online marketing servicesChicago based SEO copywriting, blog consulting, and content marketing.

Dennis Salazar

Interview with Sustainable Packaging Specialist Dennis Salazar

Dennis Salazar is the founder and president of Salazar Packaging, Inc. He recently invented and introduced a new industrial product, the Globe Guard® Reusable Box. If you’ve ever tried, you know how difficult rolling out a new product is. Still, innovation is a phenomenal way for a small firm to differentiate itself and penetrate new markets. Here, Dennis shares some… Continue reading

You Can Walk Right By a Colorful Character

This is my contribution to Robert Hruzek’s group project, What I Learned from Colorful Characters, on Middle Zone Musings.
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All people are colorful, but many relationships are black and white.

I knew a salesman, a rather hefty fellow, whose breakfasts consisted of pancakes smothered in butter, syrup, and grape jelly. He worked ten-hour days into his eighties.

Yogi Berra, a long retired catcher for the… Continue reading

Twitter for B2B Can Look Like This

This is the first in a mini series on Twitter for B2B.

A B2B Twitter Presence Should Balance Experimentation with Discipline

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Brad Clemmons

Interview with Brad Clemmons, Apex Pumping Equipment

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Kay Plantes

Kay Plantes is a brilliant strategic thinker and writer, published author, consultant, speaker, entrepreneur, and on top of that, a genuinely nice human being. I’ve gotten to know Kay over the last couple years helping her launch her blog. Thank you, Kay, for sharing your ideas with us today. Note: This is the first in a series on Innovation in Small Business.

Like you, I run a small business… Continue reading

Look before You Leap into B2B SEO

[/caption]SEO is important, no question about it. But there are several things that SEO is not.

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  • It is not a miracle cure for a sick web presence.
  • It is not a starting point for marketing.
  • It is not a stand alone marketing activity that can be divorced from other marketing and sales functions.

B2B companies sometimes make the… Continue reading

Two Heads Are Better than One, and I Can Prove It

Yes, two heads are better than one, and it’s one thing you have to love about social media.

Case Study – How Blogging Expands Knowledge and Solves Business Problems

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In the post you’re reading now, the headline is How to Customize Title Tags… Continue reading

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