You want to market your B2B tech company but your marketing budget doesn't have much wiggle room. Sound familiar? Consider a thought leadership strategy as you're starting out.
Chances are, if you're not working for a multi-billion dollar tech corporation, then you’re probably working with a limited budget. And because B2B companies gain 14% of their leads from SEO alone, it stands to reason that a huge budget isn’t necessary for your tech B2B brand anyway!
So, how are you supposed to help grow your business with little-to-no extra marketing budget?
Check out a few of our creative and budget-friendly ideas that will help showcase your industry expertise, build brand awareness and attract organic leads so that you can grow your case for an increased future marketing budget.
Online Community Engagement
Use the most relevant and active online communities from your research to start engaging directly with industry thought leaders, tech influencers and especially potential customers. Identify your best subject matter experts to become frequent users who post answers to questions, provide industry knowledge and act as advisors to current and potential customers. Think about how you can share best practices and product value that will resonate with your audience and, ultimately, build trust through online communities like the ones below.
Facebook Groups
Facebook isn’t dead, it’s evolving. And where LinkedIn used to have the business advantage, Facebook is getting stronger when it comes to group engagement. As Facebook marketing expert Mari Smith says, “People love to belong, especially to a community of like-minded individuals and businesses. They like to have a safe environment where they feel they can open up a bit more, be among the first to hear breaking news, or share fresh ideas with one another.”
In a nutshell, people join groups because they’re interested in or passionate about a particular topic. And, because passion and interest incite engagement, members of such groups actively respond to questions, comment on posts and ask questions that prompt discussions.
For instance, several Kiwi Creative staffers are members of a private Facebook group created by HubSpot for its agency partners. In the group, we’re encouraged to ask and answer questions posed by fellow agency partners and learn from each other by engaging in daily discussions. The best part? Agency partners in this group don’t view each other as competition, but rather as resources for helping each other grow their businesses. We’ve even seen this lead to referrals when agencies have a prospect needing work that’s outside of their normal skillset!
So, whether you start your own group or join an existing group, learn how you can use Facebook Groups for Business. Make sure to engage on a regular basis and keep the conversation going. Answering your audience’s questions is the best value you can provide. And what better way to know what your audience is interested in than following their interest group?
Quora
In the tech industry, Quora continues to be a platform where technology questions are asked and answered. Users can post questions for just about any topic and contributors can answer based on their expertise.
As a tech marketer, Quora could be part of a smart strategy for several reasons:
- Increase reach and brand awareness by tapping into a new audience
- Build thought leadership and industry expertise by contributing thorough answers
- Develop your content calendar with insights from browsing audience questions
- The questions act as inspiration for long tail keywords for your SEO strategy
Plus, the more you participate, the more Quora suggests you as a potential expert to answer industry-related questions. This means, you get notified when a relevant question is asked, and relevant content digests are delivered straight to your inbox each box. So, you’ll never miss an opportunity to engage and will build your reputation as a trusted source and advisor.
Capterra
As a tech marketer, if you’re not already familiar with Capterra, jump on the bandwagon today! Touted as “the Yelp of business software,” Capterra is a free website where businesses can research and shop for all types of software from just one location.
For no charge, you can list your software platform in relevant categories and even collect product reviews. Or, just like with Google Adwords, you can bid on PPC advertising to jump to the top of category lists.
And, while PPC may not be a budget-friendly option for your company, Capterra also offers free guest-posting opportunities on their blog. A tech-specific research site, Capterra’s blog can be the perfect opportunity for you to reach “warm” prospects—buyers you know are in the awareness and consideration stage toward their software purchase. Become known for your industry expertise, share purchase tips and show the value of product benefits in a way that doesn’t sell, but shows prospects how your product can ease their pain points.