Social technology has developed a new type of marketing professional who is tasked with reaching a more sophisticated audience of customers and prospects. This professional is called a online social Community Manager.
As social media continually changes more credence is given for businesses to bring on board someone dedicated to managing the changes in a business’ digital footprint. This seems to be the missing link in many golf businesses, or businesses marketing to golf. There is nobody watching or listening to what the buzz is on their business online image. The result is..missed opportunities and…failure.
Community Manager Vital
This relatively new position in business really serves a valid purpose in today’ pursuit for new business. Many businesses feel having a community manager in-house is not necessary and in some cases this many be true. However, on the most part, for an effective social media campaign to work, someone has to be dedicated to the business’ mission, and also present at every decision being made. Out sourced community managers work as long as communication from the business is made to the CM frequently.
Business-To-Business Improvement
The B2C golf industries have caught on for the need of a community manager to enhance their approach to marketing. For the B2B, there is some reluctance to make a wholesale change of their marketing plan to embrace social media since most B2B companies do not understanding how social media works for them.
In many of the businesses who service the golf industry the online social savviness responsibility typically is given to the CMO. This decision is usually based on the business’ management initial perception of a community managers being too expensive to bring in house. In reality what happens is the CMO ends up spending all their time staring at a computer screen trying to figure out Twitter and instead of overseeing the overall marketing plan for the business. As a result, the CMO will deem social media a waste of time and will reject its effectiveness after only a couple of weeks.
Dedication to the Mission
A community manager smoothes off the rough edge of social media so the CMO and CEO of B2B businesses can better understand how social media is benefiting them. The CM also oversees the people who daily monitor the digital footprint the business has established and who are making first hand connections to consumers or business representatives.
In the B2B arena the CM develops the strategies for the business management team to use in their development of business leads through social channels. The key is in what channels the B2B business fits. Again, the CM is the person dedicated to testing the social water to find where the business best fits in the social space. It serves the B2B business to have someone on board who is familiar with each social channel so the business can move rapidly into developing its digital footprint.
The community manager of a business is an important position and needs to be filled with someone who has a balance of practical business experience and practical knowledge of social media. Having a CM onboard offers the flexibility a business needs to quickly react to the changing market and keeping up with their competition.
Golf Market Needs Monitoring
In the golf industry, businesses who service golf businesses and facilities need to have someone who represents them online. Throwing up a web-site with an informational videos provides substance, but until the consumer is connected with the web-site it serves little purpose. Having a sales professional make cold calls to these market savvy businesses also does not have productive results. Old school methods of marketing just are not enough to grab the B2B customer’s attention.
The community manager captures the interest a customer may have for a service and focuses that interest to the information the business has to meet the customer’s need. The more focus the community manager has developed in the golf market the greater the opportunity they have to provide the sales professionals with a solid lead.
If Golf B2B’s are to survive they need to step up their efforts in finding community managers with golf, business and social media knowledge. Let me know how I can help.
