SoCon13: Highlights and Key Takeaways for B2B Business Owners

Several Carabiners attended this year’s SoCon, the Southeast’s longest-running social media conference. The event included an interactive keynote panel of social media managers and executives spanning various industries, numerous breakout sessions and networking opportunities. Although the event was consumer-centric, we gathered the following key takeaways for B2B business owners:

#1: Take your time and prioritize. It’s important to invest the time to listen to your market before jumping into any social media platform. Be sure to also evaluate your competitors and prioritize your efforts. Once you have a good idea of your audience and you feel you can connect the dots, then it’s time to pick a platform and jump in with both feet.

#2: Identify influencers and build relationships. No matter which platform you decide is best for your business (Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ etc.), be sure to find the people who influence your audience and work to build relationships with them.

#3: Content is still key. This year is trending to become the year of content creation. We’ve learned that content is key AND king. It’s important to remember when creating social media content to engage with your audience. Social media relationships are an investment and take time. Like any relationship, it takes work. Be sure to give more than you get. This can be free knowledge in the form of whitepapers, case studies, webinars, etc.

Are you employing these takeaways as part of your social media strategy? We’d love to hear from you. What trends are you seeing in social media this year?

Want to learn more about the conference? Check out #SoCon13 for updates from the event, and follow the Center for Sustainable Journalism on Twitter for updates on SoCon14.