Olivier Choron
For those of you who operate within a complex channel, relying on resellers, distributers or other partners to promote your brand to end users can be a real challenge. So I have outlined below some of the common issues/scenarios faced in the channel, and have suggested some ‘Top Tips’ on finding a resolution:
- ‘My resellers don’t share my posts’
Let’s not forget, your resellers do not only work with you, but with your competitors, who like you, are fighting for their attention as well. It’s not surprising that your social media posts are probably not receiving the attention they deserve. Especially when sharing your posts is not the most straightforward task, nor top of the priority list!
TIP 1: MAKE IT EASY, USE A SOCIAL MEDIA PROGRAM
If it was simple and straight forward – and only took three clicks, then your resllers would be more inclined to perform this task. Not only will this benefit you through increasing your potential reach, but it also allows your resellers to be socially active. Let’s not forget it will also help them to develop their ‘thought leader’ status helping boost their sales potential.
There are a range of social media programs out there for you to try, each with varying levels of success. I obviously favour my own, socialondemand, but you could try Hootsuite, Buffer, or Sprout Social too. Explore this market further and see what works for you.
- ‘The post doesn’t sound like my brand’
So your resellers finally get around to posting content onto social media about, for example, ‘your new product launch’, but their post title does not portray your brand very well at all, and they do not include a crucial piece of information. This is an issue I hear time and time again.
TIP 2: CREATE PRE-POPULATED POSTS FOR ALL SOCIAL NETWORKS
I’m sure you’ll agree portraying a consistent brand message that cannot be diluted is highly important. As previously mentioned, a social media program is a great way to achieve this. Alternatively, why not create an email newsletter where articles can be shared to their social media accounts? The slight issue with this is your posts cannot be scheduled throughout the day, and instead will rely on each post being manually shared. A task that may be forgotten. But let’s not be pessimistic, it’s a step in the right direction.
- ‘My resellers are sharing out-of-date content’
So by the time your resellers finally manage to find the time to share your posts, the content is out of date. This is a real bug-bare, particularly if the post was to, for example promote an event/ sale that has been and gone.
TIP 3: DISCONTINUE POSTS
To ensure this does not occur, by using a social media management system, you can discontinue posts that are no longer appropriate. If however the management tool you have adopted does not enable this feature, a simple approach of labelling posts with the end date could stop this from occurring. Simple but effective.
- ‘I want to reach a wider market’
Resellers, distributors or other partners, whatever channel it is that you sell through, you want to get your message out there to the widest possible market, so that it can be heard by all of your target audience, but how?
TIP 4: ADOPT EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY
If you have not attempted this before, this is a great way to increase your potential reach. Simply put, it’s the promotion of a brand through its employees. When done correctly, these key influencers, who have huge social networks, have the opportunity to sway potential customers’ decisions to buy or not to buy from a brand. This is a fantastic avenue that you must explore further to see how this could work for your brand. Read this Employee Advocacy to discover more.
So if you are a channel marketer, there really is an easier way – but it does take time and effort. Try these tips, and discover an easier way to encourage your resellers, distributors and other partners – and maybe even your employees – to share your content, and reach a wider audience. It will all be worth it in the end.
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