The world has gone Twitter crazy and this guide will show you how to cash in and use this social media site to generate B2B leads, sales and revenue.

1. How-to Guide:
B2B Social Media Marketing (Part II)

2. Kenneth has enjoyed a marketing career both agency
and client side. With over seven years experience
writing B2B and B2C copy, Kenneth has created
content for a wide variety of industries.
Enthusiastic about all things copy, he has a proven
track record of creating content capable of generating
leads, sales and revenue.
In the role of Head of Content at Really B2B (a
Sunday Times Top 100 firm and ranked agency in
B2B Marketing‟s Agency League), Kenneth is
responsible for creating a strong brand personality
and crafting content for our B2B clients which
generates action and solid ROI.
Kenneth is passionate about writing that gets results.
The Author
Kenneth Connolly
www.reallyb2b.com

3. Ok, so comparing this series of how-to guides to The Godfather trilogy is a little
far-fetched. But, if you are looking to expand your social media reach; create a community of followers; easily
communicate with your prospects, leads and customers and generate revenue for your business, then this
guidebook is for you.
In this how-to guide we‟ll not only discuss how to set up a Twitter business page, but also how to gain followers
and use this social media site as a marketing communication channel to generate leads. There‟s also information
on the frequency of your posts and how to deal with feedback and comments in a public environment.
Read on to find out more. (Consider this an offer you can‟t refuse)
Like The Godfather Part II, this second instalment in an epic
trilogy is likely to equal the quality and impact of its predecessor” –
Really B2B
“
www.reallyb2b.com

4. • 500 Million (500,000,000): Total Twitter users worldwide
• 340 Million (340,000,000): Number of Tweets per day
• 39 Million (39,000,000): Unique visitors per month
Looking at the information above, it‟s hard to believe that a social media site based on communications of just 140
characters has managed to achieve such large market penetration... but it has!
By creating a business Twitter account you have the opportunity to create a lively, instantaneous, productive
dialogue with prospects, leads, key influencers and customers.
Twitter provides an effective tool to engage in real-time conversations with prospects and not only allows
companies to publicise corporate information, but allows the business to build relationships with individuals and a
larger community. It is also a great opportunity to promote your content and comment on the wider market.
How-to: Twitter
www.reallyb2b.com

5. As with all things Twitter,
you‟d better learn to write
in short, sharp and highly-
interesting bursts
Like your other social media pages (such as LinkedIn), your profile on Twitter
should:
• Represent your company in regards to branding and appearance
• Include your company logo
• Include a link to your website and also links to your other social media
pages too (such as „Follow us on Facebook‟ or „Connect with us on
LinkedIn‟)
But, as with all things Twitter, you‟d better learn to write in short, sharp and
highly-interesting bursts... even in your profile data. When describing your
company, make the text as interesting as possible to your prospects. Mention
who you are and how you can help with their issues/concerns. Ideally mention
your USP (unique selling point), but remember to prioritise.
The fundamental idea with Twitter is micro-blogging. People who use twitter
don‟t want to read a lot, so don‟t bother writing a lot. Keep it all short and
sweet. If you have a lot of information to give your prospects, then link them to
your blog or newsfeed, or if you have a new piece of content, then link them
directly to your landing page.
When adding an image to your profile, keep it professional. As much as
Twitter is more fun and relaxed than LinkedIn, it doesn‟t mean you should
upload a photo of a donkey wearing a funny hat as your profile shot. Just stick
with adding a corporate logo to your page.
People generally don‟t want to do business with a faceless corporation
though, so by all means post photos of your staff or office space to add a
human touch... just make sure they are not the first things a prospect sees
when viewing your page.
Twitter: Business Page Creation
www.reallyb2b.com

6. If someone „follows‟ you
and you work in the same
industry or have
something professional in
common, then you should
follow them back
When using Twitter for your business, there is one key requirement:
you MUST get involved! You can create the sharpest, most
appealing profile page, but if you‟re not tweeting and getting
involved with what‟s going on (such as industry updates), then you
may as well be invisible.
As the simplest of the top four social media sites, Twitter is all about
Tweets, retweets, replies, hashtags and followers. At first, the whole
thing may just seem overwhelming, but fear not. If you‟re looking to
build a community which includes prospects, leads and customers
who openly communicate, then this is a great social tool.
Start by „following‟ your customers, your leads and your competitors,
As you start to read their Tweets (posts) you‟ll begin to see what the
hot topics and discussions are all about. At this point, you can chip
in your 140 characters worth of knowledge and begin to gain trust
and show thought leadership.
People who follow you on Twitter are likely to be:
• Interested in your products/services
• Interested in your industry
A piece of Twitter etiquette which is worth remembering is that if
someone „follows‟ you and you work in the same industry or have
something professional in common, then you should follow them
back.
Twitter: Uses of micro-blogging
www.reallyb2b.com

7. Use hashtags to measure
and monitor your
responses and popularity
during a campaign
When you see a hashtag (a word or phrase preceded by „#‟ which
identifies messages on a specific topic) that relates to your industry
or your prospects pain points, add it to your posts too. This will
show people that you care about what‟s going on and that you are
willing to offer your opinion/support.
Along with „hashtagging‟ your industry, another good use for
hashtags is the ability to measure and monitor your responses and
popularity during a campaign.
For example, if you are tweeting about your new ebook on
„manufacturing software that increases operational efficiency‟, then
consider using a hashtag like #manufacturing or #efficiency.
Or if you are attending a key industry event, hashtag around the
event too. Perhaps you‟re attending the Chartered Institute of
Marketing Awards (or are lucky enough to have been
nominated), then hashtag your related Tweets with the relevant tag -
#CIMAwards. This will get your Tweets in front of likeminded peers
and will increase your followers.
As with all social media, once you have established a community of
followers and gained their trust through displays of expert
knowledge, you can begin to promote your own content through
well-placed and well-timed posts.
Twitter: Uses of micro-bloggingContinued
www.reallyb2b.com

8. These features are a
great way to extend your
reach within the Twitter
community
Marketing is about getting your products and services in front of people
who require them, and promoted Tweets and accounts are a great way to
do this.
Promoted Tweets are ordinary Tweets purchased by advertisers who want
to reach a wider group of users or to spark engagement from their existing
followers. A promoted Tweet will appear at the top of relevant search
results pages and in a user‟s timeline.
But importantly, the users who will see your promoted Tweet are
determined by Twitter themselves, who say „A Promoted Tweet will appear
in a user‟s timeline only if the Tweet is likely to be interesting and relevant
to that user... based on a variety of signals such as what a user chooses to
follow, how they interact with a Tweet, what they retweet, and more‟.
Promoted accounts work in a similar fashion in the sense that they become
part of the „Who to Follow‟ section of Twitter. This tool will suggest your
account to users that don‟t currently follow you, based on the accounts they
do currently follow. For example, if you follow Lord Alan Sugar
(@Lord_Sugar) then the system would suggest someone like Richard
Branson (@richardbranson).
These two features work on a CP (Cost Per) basis and you only pay when
people click on, favorite, reply or retweet your post. They are a great way to
extend your reach within the Twitter community, gain more followers and
publicise your content to a wider audience.
Twitter: Promoted Tweets & Accounts
www.reallyb2b.com

9. With Twitter, feel free to
experiment with your
tone of voice and sense
of humour too
In order to really gauge the success of your activities on Twitter, you
are going to need more than just Twitter itself. The reason for this is
because the only data you can find on this particular social media
site is number of followers, replies and retweets. However, with the
right tracking tool or marketing software, you would be able to
determine all of the following:
• Number of link clickthroughs
• Reach: 2nd-order followers (follower‟s followers)
• Cost per click if using sponsored/promoted Tweets
• Conversion to Follower
• Cost per Follower
• Conversion to download
• Cost per download
• Leads
As with almost every aspect of online marketing, you need to test
regularly. But with Twitter, feel free to experiment with your tone of
voice and sense of humour too. Tweets have such a short lifespan
(before they are pushed down a follower‟s timeline by more recent
Tweets), it‟s possible to give regular updates and gauge the
responses very quickly.
As the most „reactive‟ of our top 4 social media sites, Twitter is the
place to post things such as photos from recent events or even
references to stories in national newspapers. This approach creates
a more „social/human‟ feel and is more likely to generate
engagement with your followers.
Twitter: Measurements and KPIs
www.reallyb2b.com

10. You‟ve got yourself a blog and you‟re present on social media sites. Now all you need to do is work out how often
you should be posting updates and tweeting. Well, there‟s no right answer here.
Opinions on this subject vary from „post as often as every 3 hours‟ to „only post if you‟ve got something interesting
to say‟. So where does that leave you?
The simple answer is test and work out what gets the best results. Try updating your social media sites in the
morning, then at lunch, then in the afternoon and then again before you leave the office. By using the metrics we
have already discussed, you should soon be able to see a pattern emerge which will determine the best frequency
of your updates.
Frequency of Social Media Posts
www.reallyb2b.com

11. Respond in public and
ensure that the brand is
seen as honest and
transparent
Once you have established a presence on the social media channels,
you obviously leave yourself open to public comments and feedback from
prospects/clients/customers – whether they are positive or negative. This
can be a huge fear for some businesses who feel that negative
comments can tarnish their reputation. In actual fact, this can be an
opportunity to show just how good you are.
There are tools available such as specialist social media monitoring tools
which provide in-depth analysis of your social media pages and report all
comments and feedback whether they are positive, negative or neutral. If
you don‟t want to invest in such software, then the process can be done
manually, you‟ll simply have to devote more time to it.
When responding to comments on social media pages, be sure to do the
following:
• Respond in public and ensure that the brand is seen as honest and
transparent with its communications whether they are positive or
negative
• Create a library of „generic‟ responses which adhere to your brand
guidelines and tone of voice
• If the situation cannot be resolved, offer to take it „offline‟ and don‟t get
caught in a public argument.
Responding publicly on social media sites
www.reallyb2b.com

12. Twitter can generate
leads. Fact
Twitter is great for engaging your community of followers in a real-time
conversation, but how do you actually go about turning them into leads?
Well, we‟ve established two successful methods through our own
experience with our clients.
Firstly, drive your followers to your blog/website/landing pages to
download your latest piece of content. By posting regularly on the social
media site, you should have proved to your followers that you are a
thought leader and that you have the solution to their issues and concerns.
This means that they are more likely to be interested in your larger content
such as an ebook or white paper.
By using marketing software and driving your followers to your website
and landing pages to download your content, you will be able to track the
conversion rate of prospects to leads. The leads may not be sales-ready
but they have given you their contact details so you know they are
marketing-ready and more open to other channels such as email and
telephone follow-ups.
You may well have found our B2B Social Media Marketing (Part I) guide
via Twitter. Over 79% of people who downloaded it came from our Twitter
feeds!
The second method of turning followers into leads is by monitoring their
engagement. When you notice that one of your followers regularly
retweets your posts or references your company name, then consider
making direct contact. Send the follower a direct message or an email (if
you have their details) and start to engage on a 1-to-1 basis. This level of
contact may be enough to generate a lead.
How to generate leads from Twitter
www.reallyb2b.com

13. Conclusion
When you consider that there are more searches on Twitter every month than Yahoo
and Bing combined (Wallblog.co.uk), it‟s difficult to ignore this social media site.
Granted, it may not have the targeting abilities and obvious B2B marketing benefits that LinkedIn does, but with a
more laid-back and „social‟ feel to it, there‟s still a great opportunity to show your company‟s personality and build
a relationship with prospects, leads and customers.
In the next (and final) how-to guide in this series, we‟ll be discussing the social media behemoth that is
Facebook. Many B2B companies shy away from this particular social network because they feel there is no
intrinsic value to their business, but we‟ve proved it can help generate revenue, and we‟ll show you how.
We‟ll also tell you how videos posted on YouTube can not only be a great way to show thought leadership, but
can also have a great effect on your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and web traffic.
Keep your eyes peeled for „How-to Guide: B2B Social Media Marketing(Part III)‟ coming soon. But don‟t
worry, we‟ll email you as soon as it‟s available.
www.reallyb2b.com

14. LOOKING FOR BUSINESS
GROWTH?
If you‟re interested in improving your lead generation
processes, request a meeting.
We‟d love to discuss your objectives and how our
social media marketing services can help support your
business growth.
© Really B2B, 1000 Lakeside, Western Road, North Harbour, Portsmouth, Hants, PO6 3EN
Call us on
0845 519 8517
www.reallyb2b.com