How to use social media to support your ABM strategy image

How to use social media to support your ABM strategy

While social media marketing is now arguably one of the most familiar faces strutting the streets of B2B land, the mysterious figure of ABM remains the proverbial new kid on the block.

It goes without saying that any new concept takes time to perfect, and this, coupled with the fact that a vast number of B2B brands are still struggling to prove the value of social in the first place, forces us to ask: how do marketers combine ABM and social media into a successful marketing mechanism? And in doing so, does this finally put to bed the ‘social ROI’ dilemma once and for all?

Welcome to the world of account-based marketing

To avoid getting bogged down in semantics, we’ll swiftly define ABM for those unfamiliar:

“At its core, ABM is the process of identifying specific accounts a marketer desires to close, then building campaigns to generate or engage leads associated with each of them and finally measuring the results. The process focuses on strategy, technology and insight. “

This definition is lifted from our three-part ABM series, for those with a penchant for subject mastery.

Social media marketing and ABM

So, what are the tangible benefits of taking an account-based approach to social? Put simply: “[ABM and social] provide a direct route to a specific and identified set of stakeholders,” says Matt Neal, senior partner, Gilroy Corporate Communications.

“Importantly, understanding more about your targets via social can be used to inform the strategy from the outset.”

In other words, using social as part of an ABM strategy allows marketers to identify and engage with individuals, rather than churning out generic, corporate-level communications. Even if this approach results in fewer leads, the quality of said leads will assuredly placate even the most demanding of sales teams.

And a social approach to ABM must be implemented from the outset. As Niklas Sluijter, head of marketing at Smarp, asserts: “When beginning to implement an ABM strategy, you have to carefully consider your channel mix. Each of them supplement each other, and leaving something out may cost you in terms of efficiency.”

On a practical level, update your CRM system and make sure your web analytics are fully prepared for a lead onslaught. This will make entering and maintaining prospect data an absolute breeze for your sales team, and ensure there are no open loops to trip over further down the line.

Which social channels reign ABM supreme?

The only social platform really capable of supporting an ABM approach is LinkedIn, as it’s currently the only channel that allows marketers to upload lists through its Account Targeting tool. But that doesn’t mean other networks can’t complement your ABM efforts, with Twitter and Facebook the unsurprising main contenders.

Start following your prospects on Twitter and LinkedIn, and identify whether they post LinkedIn Pulse or advertise content through Twitter. This will allow you to pass invaluable information to your sales team on what your target companies are talking about.

And here’s where your content marketing can neatly tie everything together. You’ve acquired social insight into what content your prospects are producing and engaging with, and you’ve identified the platforms on which they’re most prolific. Now you can begin producing content that reflects their interests and needs while addressing their painpoints.

"Start following your prospects on Twitter and LinkedIn, and identify whether they post on LinkedIn Pulse or advertise content through Twitter"

“Community managers can create lists with these thought-leaders, prospects and influencers, and engage with content produced by them on Twitter or LinkedIn,” says Leticia Borges, senior digital content and social manager, Pulse.

“That’s always a great way to start conversations, build relationships, thought leadership and ultimately generate leads.”

However, as Alice Bartram, VP marketing at Avention points out, your target company’s promoted content will predominately be based around their own products or services. “With ABM, one is striving for a full view of the account and relevant contacts, but so far we haven’t experienced social providing that full view – rather a ‘slice’.” It’s a theme we’ll keep returning to: combining social and ABM can’t be construed as a panacea for customer insight, and to rely purely on the information gathered by methods such as social listening will severely impede your efforts.

Social listening

Saying that, social listening is an integral aspect of successfully combining ABM with social, and both your sales and marketing teams need to be well-versed in its intricacies. Ensuring your team spends a set hour or so per day monitoring their key accounts on social is a great way to achieve this.

At a base level, social listening in ABM is all about paying close attention to the people that matter the most to you within your key accounts. By tracking the conversations your targets are having online, you can learn what they’re working on, and tailor your approach accordingly, either through invitations to relevant events, bespoke content or recalibrating the timing of your comms plans.

If you’re doing it well, you’ll be speaking to the right people about the right subject at the right time. Doing it perfectly means you never miss a great opportunity to make a positive impact on your target accounts.

As Matt supports: “Understanding what topics stakeholders within the organisation you’re targeting are discussing and responding to, on a corporate and personal level, is critical to informing what you engage them with.”

Overcoming the challenges of ABM

While an account-based approach to social has the potential to make the sales team’s lives easier, the saying ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ rings true. As Niklas explains: “Getting your sales reps to remain engaged can be a challenge. Reps are often looking for instant turn-around, and may struggle with continuously nurturing relations online, which may lead to a decrease in the quality of the outreach.”

The best way to avoid teething issues between sales and marketing is through fastidious preparation. By involving the correct stakeholders from the outset, and viewing the entire process as a shared responsibility across the business, marketing and sales can work harmoniously to achieve ABM perfection.

Additionally, as Alice at Avention explains, not every decision-maker is operating on every social channel. “Like any part of an ABM programme, social does not stand on its own; it’s a part of the outreach and engagement mix.” The key here is not to treat ABM or social (or indeed the two combined) as a silver bullet.

Other logistical difficulties will inevitably arise, such as siphoning the correct data and making sure an account prospect is put in front of the appropriate person. “Research and information are key,” explains Sarah Knight, social media channel executive at The Marketing Practice. “Before the campaign can begin it needs to be clear that your insights and contacts match up, and you need to make sure you’re approaching the right people. Once you have that, your messaging must be individual to that user – a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t work with ABM.”

Finally, the breakneak speed at which ABM has charged onto the marketing field of play ultimately works against marketers. As mentioned earlier, because LinkedIn is currently the only platform capable of supporting ABM, working through other platforms can be a painstakingly manual affair. However, as Leticia predicts: “Paid social is definitely evolving, and we should start seeing new ABM-related capabilities very soon.”

Proving the ROI of social media and ABM

Here comes the really tricky part: how do you definitively prove the value from ABM on a social level? Matt believes it’s all about creating a transparent, commercial relationship with your target company, tracking the entire journey from the moment the lead is generated all the way through to the eventual purchase. “That means marketing and sales tools for measurement need to be aligned,” he explains.

“So, for marketing that means tracking interactions to an individual level throughout the entire process, and for sales it means connecting the opportunity to the marketing strategy within their CRM tools.”

And how about tangible example of ABM being executed through ABM for bottom-line results? As Matt lays out: “We focus on working with customers to create or influence specific customer relationships at an account level and then close on major deals by changing the environment in which they are conducted, and social and ABM principles play a major role in this.

“Where we have seen the most significant successes are where marketing and sales have been tightly aligned, and the objectives of both are the same. As a result, all activity is coherent and coordinated.

“One of our customers achieved a multi-million dollar pipeline in one quarter from doing this. They had made previous attempts at applying some of the principles, but not through a coordinated programme. As soon as they did, they saw rapid results.”

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