This is an excerpt from a piece in PrintWeek Magazine. Full article linked below.
“As a B2B supplier of spare parts for printers, you might think our business isn’t fashionable enough for social media, but you’d be wrong!” says Christie Harman, marketing communications manager at Bluprint UK. “We use Twitter and LinkedIn to good effect to support company objectives and corporate mission.”
Twitter, say Harman, is great for “reading the now” and joining a conversation. In his view, it’s perfect for events, finding the latest news and growing brand reputation through opinion leadership. “Twitter is our heartbeat, it shows we’re still alive. It is also one of our best branding tools, communicating our values and corporate character through what we choose to post and how.”
LinkedIn, on the other hand argues Harman, is good for adding a personal voice to corporate messages, humanising them and sharing with a wider network. Bluprint encourages its employees to be active on LinkedIn, developing relationships and generating leads through engaging with their connections.
At Drupa 2016, Bluprint was crowned one of the exhibition’s daily social media champions for its contributions about the event on Twitter. Having the trophy for the day was “great fun and enabled so many conversations, relationships and kudos”.
KPI watch
In terms of judging performance, Bluprint UK follows its analytics closely and generates reports monthly. Harman says he keeps an eye on key performance indicators, without getting carried away by the ‘vanity metrics’ (likes, follows, etc) and tries to understand the significance in each interaction.
“Social media is only successful if you enter into it with purpose and planning. Know your goals and think about how you might reach them,” says Harman. “Social media is not only about spontaneity and being ‘in the moment’, it can be planned and scheduled too.
“Beware the loud voices and find your own. As we learned from GDPR, the nosiest users were often those acting unnecessarily and with little impact. Don’t copy the loud voice through fear of being left behind; find your own. Imagine you didn’t have anything to sell, what might your business talk about? Your brand has its own voice and audience.”
It’s vital not to forget the social aspect of social media. It’s about conversations. You’re not only there for yourself. So engage with what others are posting. Enter into the wider community and exploit relevant opportunities as they crop up.
“On Twitter, make good use of lists and advanced searching to cut out noise that can become an irritation,” concludes Harman. “Create content that is worthwhile and adds something to your brand or a wider conversation. Think: why would someone like, share or click on this?”