Maximillian Hughes-Williams, senior social media account executive at CIB Comms, discusses if social media really is reserved for the young
Tell us a little bit about what you do.
A big focus of my role is keeping everyone informed on everything social. My first job of the day is always checking my huge list of social media blogs in Feedly and then sharing any relevant updates with the other teams. I do a bit of everything, I could be the social analyst, social advertiser or community manager.
What are the biggest mistakes B2B brands make on social?
Not knowing how to use the platform. B2B brands come across as clueless due to simply not understanding the difference between each network. And failing to engage is a huge one. So many brands just churn out sales-centric self-promotional content and they don’t engage when people reply or mention them. They fail the social part of social media.The construction industry is known for lagging behind other B2B sectors when it comes to social media, why?
My theory is that the industry hasn’t been as affected by the internet and digital as most other industries have been. This has meant there hasn’t been as much pressure for people to become digitally savvy, leading to a slow realisation of the usefulness of social media.
What are the three top pieces of social media advice you would give a client?
1. Use it in your personal life before you use it professionally. You don’t have to be a power user but you’ll never appreciate the potential of social until you dive in.
2. Don’t be so scared to have an opinion – if you have nothing interesting to say, no one will pay attention to you.
3. Know what you want to achieve – I cannot deliver results if I don’t know what your goals are.
What trends in B2B social do you expect to see emerge in the future?
Virtual reality (VR) is the huge one; Mark Zuckerberg has made it clear he sees VR as the future of social. We’d be foolish to think this will only impact the B2C brands. I’m already seeing companies looking into ways to integrate building information modelling into VR to free architects from designing in 2D.
I expect the next decade will see B2B social become indistinguishable from B2C, especially as the under 30s move into more senior roles.
What would you say to people who insist social media is only a young person’s game?
Having grown up with the internet and social media, it’s certainly easier for young people to use. But anyone who says it’s a young person’s game ignores the fact that social is just a new platform; the marketing principles remain the same, as do many of the tactics.
I know plenty of young people who are awful at social and I wouldn’t let them within a mile of a client’s account. A good marketer is good no matter the platform, they just have to be prepared to learn how to use the new tools.