7 theses for a meaningful company presence in the social network
Almost every company has one these days: a Facebook fan page. Nevertheless, the prejudice that Facebook is a consumer platform on which primarily private exchanges take place persists. Many company managers and communications managers cite the fact that their dutifully designed page practically does not perform as proof of this. In reality, however, this is usually proof of itself. Anyone who only posts boring product news or uses a page automatically instead of taking care of actual user needs and entering into conversations will not be successful on any platform. Current reports about the loss of reach of Facebook posts are ostensibly grist to the mill of the doubters. But digital communication is indispensable today. But how can it be successful?
It's amazing: While the digital transformation in companies is progressing and we are all being drawn along with it, more or less imperceptibly, the gap is widening. This also applies to the use of digital media and online marketing. This gap is widening between the companies that are successfully present on social networks and those that are still not very strategic. The number of companies that are not present at all or hardly present on social media is steadily decreasing. But presence alone does not make for even halfway sensible action.
Interestingly, typical reasons for saying that “Facebook is not instagram data for business to business” are almost the same today as they were several years ago:
"It's only consumers who are out there. That's how you sell fashion or lifestyle to end customers. But not machines or business consulting."
“Our target groups aren’t even on Facebook. They wouldn’t see this.”
"I have serious concerns about data protection and am therefore not on Facebook. My customers are like that too."
“My time is too valuable for that.”
“There are only young people there, no decision-makers.”
I would therefore like to briefly explain why Facebook can be useful in the B2B sector. However, this does not mean "just use Facebook". It must be part of a larger strategy and details are subject to constant change. Here are my seven counter-theses to the common prejudices against B2B companies' presence in social media and specifically on Facebook.
Facebook, the largest social network (at least in German-speaking countries), serves as an example here. The mechanisms described here also apply to other platforms on the web. I will soon take a closer look at the possibilities of Instagram for companies.