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15 Powerful Social Media Questions for B2B Sales

?In this world of crazy busy buyers, the road to relevancy is often the road to success. Having your finger on the pulse of what is happening in your buyer?s world and then incorporating it into your messaging is a key component of success. The InsideView Company Buzz feature provides sellers with rich social media insights and information they need to deliver the right message at the right time and to the right person at the companies they are targeting. Our sales organization considers Company Buzz an essential part of their sales process.? -Trish Bertuzzi, President and Chief Strategist of The Bridge Group

Preparation for Buyers 2.0

Today?s buyers are web and social media savvy. They are informed about your offering ? and your competitors? ? and they are starting the sales process without you. In the last few years, social networks have tipped the balance of power to the customer. To compete in this new era of the social customer, sales leaders must take an offensive approach on the social media playing field.

?Leads are no longer just second and third party referrals or first party requests. A lead today can be a complaint on Twitter, a question on LinkedIn, or a discussion on a Facebook page.? -Jim Keenan, Sales expert and author of the blog, A Sales Guy

Relevancy in your message is absolutely critical. Many sales professionals spend their time on their prospects' website digging through content or skimming through thousands of search engine results. However, the most vital information about your prospect is not through Google but through social media. Platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and company blogs are huge, up-to-date resources that you can learn from.

Check out: 6 Simple Steps on Preparing for Your Next Sales Meeting and How Technology Can Improve This

Twitter

InsideView's new Company Buzz tab empowers sales professionals with the ability to access Company Twitter profiles along with highly-accurate business data.

Twitter is the direct line between a company and their customers, prospects and clients. This is a critical resource when it comes to pre-call research or tailoring your message when reaching out to a prospect. Here are a couple of questions you should ask yourself while researching prospects on Twitter and tailoring your message:

1. What kind of content are they tweeting about? (ie. product releases, blog posts, upcoming webinars, news articles)
2. What is the interaction like with their followers?
3. 70% of businesses ignore complaints on Twitter. Does your prospect fall under this category?
4. What is going on in the industry? Companies are always talking about the state of the industry and tweeting articles. Do your homework.
5.Are they using specific hashtags? These hashtags (such as #b2bsales, #mobile, #socialmedia) will determine if there are specific trends about the content they are tweeting or if they are attending any upcoming events.

Facebook

When it comes to interacting with customers and prospects, announcing new releases, posting interesting blogs or articles, Facebook takes the cake as the main domain. When crafting your message or initial touch to a prospect, make sure you take a fair amount of time on Facebook studying the content and culture of the company. Social marketers work hard to create an intriguing and somewhat transparent window into the life of the company. In many ways you are checking under the hood to see what they are made of.

Here are a couple of questions you should be asking yourself when look at the Facebook page:

1. Is their a trend in the content that is being posted? (ie. quotes, funny material, blog posts, facts, photos)
2. Are there any recent press releases? Facebook is one of the prime locations to post updates about the company's new product releases or announcements.
3. Are they going to be at any upcoming events?
4.  Do they post pictures or updates about life inside the company?
5. What is the frequency of updates on their Facebook page?

The Company Blog

The company blog is the voice of the corporation. Most likely, they are writing on the basis of thought-leadership in their industry or information about their company (press releases, product announcements, events, etc.). You can learn almost everything you want to know about your prospect just through their blog. Here are some questions you should answer when studying a corporate blog:

1. Are they taking a thought-leadership role in their industry? What is it about?
2. How often are they posting on their blog?
3. Who is their targeted audience in their blog posts? Can my product or service reach out to this specific group?
4. Are they writing about the state of their industry?
5. Are they writing about their product or service frequently? Do your homework on what they have to offer.