Social Media for Distributors
For many distributors, managing social media accounts is not a primary focus of day-to-day sales and marketing strategies. However, distributor social media can be an effective way to build your brand, reach new clients, and foster inbound leads for companies. After all, behind every organization are people – and people drive buying decisions.
Why use social media as a distributor?
Although sites like Facebook and Twitter were once considered only valuable for personal use, reports and surveys tell a different story.
According to a Nielson study, members of Generation X – those born between the late 1960s and 1980 – are using all forms of social media more frequently than millennials or baby boomers. And considering that these users make up a large portion of your target audience, it makes sense that social media is a useful tool for distributors and other industrial companies.
With the right strategy, you can use your distribution company’s social media marketing to reach new customers. On this page, we’ll provide a basic overview of how to get started.
You do not need to be on every social media platform to succeed. For instance, Snapchat, while incredibly popular, is most valuable for B2C companies with a younger target audience.
What are the best social media platforms for distributors?
In general, the best social media platforms for distributors are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Certainly, others will come to the forefront in time – but for now, it’s best to focus your attention on the most relevant ones.
If you do not already have a Facebook business page for your distribution company, this should be your first priority. When people look for your company on social media, this is the first place they’ll check.
How to get started with social media for distributors?
Don’t make people guess at your company’s abilities. Tell them upfront who you are and what you do. Be incredibly clear about what you offer and who you serve, because this makes it immediately clear to a visitor whether they can benefit from following you.
At the same time, remember that you have room to be less formal than usual on social media. Add personality to your page by emulating the corporate culture of your distribution business, and pick images that will tell a story rather than make your company seem one-dimensional or impersonal.
After setting up – or improving – your Facebook business page, do the same with Twitter, LinkedIn, and any other social media platform you choose to make part of your distribution marketing strategy. Make sure you are clearly and consistently representing your distributorship across all forums. For instance, a visitor to your Twitter profile should have the same understanding of your company as a visitor to your YouTube channel.
After you’ve established your distributor social media accounts, you’ll need to add content on a steady basis. This is one of the key factors to success in the social media world. Unfortunately, many businesses neglect their social media during busy seasons.
If you’re concerned social media could go by the wayside, you have two options.
The first is to establish a calendar that indicates when each distribution social media site will be updated. Then, assign the social media posting to someone within the company who can dedicate a few hours each week to this task.
Not sure this is practical for your busy distributorship? The second option may work better: Hire a Digital marketing agency that can write and post the information on your behalf.
The critical element is not who posts, but that you keep up with a reliable flow of information.
Building a following doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you add relevant content that interests your target audience, then engage with your followers. Some ways to initially begin the process of reaching new followers are:
- Asking everyone in your distribution company with personal social media accounts to follow your company’s accounts
- Asking your trusted business partners, such as vendors and clients, to join your social media pages (then return the favor)
- Adding social media widgets to your website so visitors can easily connect to your social media pages
- Following people and businesses on social media and interacting through social media communications including sharing, retweets, and likes
Remember, the more followers you have, the more people you can potentially reach. As they share your content, their followers will see your name. This increases your brand awareness, as well as your chances of generating new customers via social media.
As part of your social media campaign for your distribution company, you may want to consider paid advertising options. Most social media platforms offer a few choices, such as Facebook’s native ads, which mimic the look and feel of Facebook content, or YouTube video ads, which allow you to reach users with both video and text content.
Social media advertising for distributors can be extremely cost-effective and exceptionally trackable as long as you have an intended path and clear-cut goals. Again, this is where it’s beneficial to partner with a Digital marketing agency that can guide you toward successful advertising based on your target market.
Social Media Marketing Services for Distributors
Social media isn’t going away, and its large audience makes it a valuable tool for any business looking to reach new customers. If you’d like to learn how WebFX can help your distribution company grow using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact us today for more information and a free quote!