In her June 27th article, Leah Hoppes of Marketing Musings writes “An Open Letter to Manufacturing Companies.” In the article Leah makes the case that the B2B world has turned the corner and found a legitimate venue for social sharing. Google Plus (as the name implies) owned, operated and heavily relied on by “The Google” gives verified authors a leg-up in credibility – one of the cornerstones of success in rising to the top of search on Google.
And while we at NetTrack Marketing are all about our clients being first on Google – that isn’t the underlying point of the real value inherent in developing your GooglePlus content and relationships.
Leah posits that industrial companies have largely avoided (correctly, in my opinion) paying attention to or participating in social media. The logic of this she points out has rested on the impression/reality that existing outlets encouraged inane content which never really served the industrial sector. “Our customers aren’t on “ ______” so we don’t need to be there.”
In her “Open Letter,” Leah references another great article: If Facebook is like High School, and Google Plus is like College, then Who Sits at the Cool Table? in which Michael Bennett points out that the folks sitting at this cool (Google Plus) table are the thought leaders within their industries. This is not a place for sophomoric humor or corporate rhetoric, rather it is an environment conducive for information sharing and genuine engagement.
Her summary take: Google Plus is replete with intelligent business-minded people who have vigorously taken the reigns. The leaders in this platform are smart, business savvy and articulate. Community leaders actively participate and monitor group activity which means spammers and self-promoters are almost non-existent. The dialogue is authentic, useful and helpful. Interactions are diplomatic and professional and yet uncensored from corporate drivel because in these communities people interact as themselves, not as a company.
The important thing for our industrial manufacturing clients is to heed the advice to get onto Google Plus before YOUR CUSTOMERS do. Build up a body of knowledge and use that to help showcase your company as a thought leader. if improvements in Google rankings follow – so much the better. But as we always point out – the real reason to rank well is to gain customers. And what better way to have people want to work with you than being considered a thought leader in your industry.
Have some experiences to share? We would love your feedback – just comment below.
