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I was recently discussing the changing tide in business to business (b2b) marketing with a colleague. We talked about the different forms of advertising, how print has been usurped by digital media and that many businesses are overlooking, or not quite sure how to use, content creation and social media effectively in their marketing strategy.

Social media is an extremely effective and viable form of marketing today. It’s a perfect extension of the sales process. Let’s face it sales is all about relationships. Business relationships are social interactions that enable people to get to know one another better, build trust, and ultimately do business together.

Why do we do business with some people and not others? Most people will say because I like that person, I trust them and they take good care of me. How did they get to that place? Through social interaction. It’s the same with social media. Social media expands relationship building to the internet. For business it isn’t about posting the latest movie you went to or what you’re eating. It’s about exchanging ideas, getting to know people or a company and trusting their ability to do what you need.

So how does it work? Social media works in the form of extending your reach through content creation. When a company creates content that helps their prospects do their job better, solve problems and exchange new ideas it builds brand awareness and a trusting relationship with your audience.

Here’s an overview of 5 of the top business social platforms you should consider in addition to a blog.

YouTube – The second largest search engine in the world – create your business page and start posting videos that will help your customers and prospects.

LinkedIn – Your direct line to the business community worldwide. Create a page for your business. If you don’t have one for yourself create one as well. Post original content and repost interesting content you come across. Google indexes content from Linkedin.

Google+ – A Google+ page for your business will help you rank higher in Google searches by using the business tools such as Hangouts, Communities, YouTube, Google Maps and others. Getting reviews on your Google + page will increase the importance of your page and rank you higher in local searches.

Facebook – Create a business page. Post content about your company, the industry, your people and items of interest to your prospects. Facebook also has powerful marketing tools that can help you specifically target your audience.

Instagram – Create a feed for your business. This visual social media platform focuses on photo and video posts. It is primarily mobile based so you can take photos or videos with your smart phone or tablet and write a short caption to post to your feed. It can also be integrated with Facebook enabling you to post to your business page on the fly.

The key to an effective social media strategy is to remember it’s social which gives you the opportunity to interact with your audience. Ideally you want to post items several times per week, this can be done in-house or with outside vendors.

Remember you’re building relationships, interaction and trust with your followers, improving your search rankings and ultimately driving new business to you.

Explore how The Rico Group can help your business increase your sales volume through targeted marketing that gets you results. Click here for a free marketing blueprint ebook

Many business owners don’t really have a plan for attracting new customers. They may have put together some sort of website, postcard or flyer in the hopes of “getting some business” but not much thought beyond that.

In my 30 years working with companies I’ve seen many of them fail because they didn’t have a consistent marketing strategy or they just cut out their marketing after they got busy, figuring it was an unneeded expense. Marketing the lifeline of your business that keeps your pipeline filled consistently. Yet many business owners look at it as an expense, a luxury that might be implemented once the business is successful. The truth is that marketing is an ongoing process and is the most important investment you can make in your business.

Here’s 4 basic tools for your sales pipeline:

Website – Every business needs a website. It’s the hub of all your marketing. The place where prospects can find out who you are and why they should do business with you. It needs to be a responsive design which means that your site will work across all platforms. Make the navigation simple so your prospects can easily find the information they’re looking for. If possible give them a roadmap showing them where they can click next to find what they are looking for. Use your story to separate you from your competitors. Your story is the foundation of what makes you unique and lets visitors get to know who you are better and begin to form a connection to you. Have a call to action on the site and a newsletter sign up to allow you to stay in touch with your prospects on a consistent basis. Lastly add a blog to your site. This is good for search engines and also to help establish your expertise in the field.

Social Media Strategy – If you’re not taking advantage of social media you’re missing a huge opportunity to connect and attract new prospects. Start with Facebook and LinkedIn – each of these platforms allows you to put up a page about your business where you can post items that will be helpful to your customers. Mix it up – remember it’s not about you it’s about your customer. My motto is “how can I be of service to my customer”. When I’m thinking in those terms it focuses me on my customer and how I can help them out and build a relationship. Let your audience know about the latest trends in your industry, some funny links you’ve found and who your influencers are. I like to use the 80/20 rule for this – keeping the content about you and your new products on the 20% side. Remember the more you give the more you will get in return.

Content Creation – Is all about the content you provide to help your customers. It can be written and visual. Today it’s so important to create consistent content for your company that appears on your blog, website and social media channels. You can also use the content you create to submit to publications that will further extend your reach. Let people know about products or programs in development, lists of things to consider when… how to navigate the holidays, items or articles you’ve come across that will help them and also upcoming events of interest. These are just some examples to get you thinking. The important thing to remember is that all your content reinforces your expertise in your field and builds relationships with your prospects.

Email Marketing – Email is one of the best ways to stay in touch with your prospects. It gives you an opportunity to connect with them at varying intervals throughout the year. The important thing you want to remember with email is to make sure that you give your list what they signed up for. If they signed up for a monthly newsletter then that’s what they should get – if they signed up for weekly tips then they need to receive the tips weekly etc… To make email easier on you – pick a day of the week that you can write all your emails and then schedule them to go out according to the timing you’ve defined. You can use an email client such as constant contact, mail chimp or sendlane to schedule your emails and manage your lists. It’s also important to remember that your email list is one of your most valuable assets. These are your followers, those who love your products/services and want your expertise.

These are some of the basic tools to use in your marketing toolbox. I know for many small businesses this can seem like a daunting task. I recommend assigning one person in your organization to take care of these items or to get help from an outside company such as The Rico Group to help you create and implement a strategy that will work for you.