Social media marketing for B2B does not need to be dull if used effectively. In fact, it can be highly successful.
Even though instant and direct sales may not be top priorities for many B2B companies, strong social media presence can still play an integral role in building brand recognition and trust among customers.
1. Develop a Content Strategy
Successful B2B companies produce content that both informs and engages their target audience. Instead of simply broadcasting their products and services, these businesses emphasize showing their human side through customer stories as well as offering advice.
Understanding your audience and their needs are the cornerstones of creating an effective social media strategy. To do this, create buyer personas for your business to help determine what content to publish when.
Social media marketing strategies for B2B companies must also incorporate industry research and analysis, using keyword tools to discover current trends and join conversations on social media. By staying ahead of competition and generating more leads with this information, you can stay one step ahead. Likewise, aligning your social media goals with overall marketing goals makes ROI measurement simpler – for instance if your company has an upcoming product launch you can promote it on social media to generate buzz and create brand recognition.
2. Engage with Your Audience
B2B businesses may seem dull or boring at first glance, but social media provides the perfect platform to change this stereotype. B2B companies should create engaging and informative content such as blogs, white papers, case studies, webinars or even just teasers of this longform content on their websites; then post teasers on social channels in between!
Social media offers various tools that can be leveraged to engage audiences, including videos, photo collages and gifs. By including these types of posts in your strategy, you can make posts stand out among their counterparts in a competitive marketplace. Furthermore, it’s also essential that these posts reflect both people and brand personality; doing so shows potential customers that you care for their needs.
3. Optimize Your Content for Search
B2B companies don’t necessarily seek immediate sales through social media; rather, their goal is to build an audience interested in what they have to say and offer, while simultaneously building credibility or trust with them.
Content creation and search optimization go hand in hand. Doing a read aloud test of your copy to check for keyword stuffing, grammar mistakes and whether or not it sounds natural when read aloud is essential to creating great posts that resonate with audiences online.
If your business is having difficulty creating content for its website or blog, hiring a writer or team to produce unique, experimental posts that appeal to younger generations could be beneficial. Sharing behind-the-scenes photos, team snapshots and pet pics may also help create more of an intimate connection between audience and company that showcases human side of what they do.
4. Create a Call-to-Action
Create a call-to-action that encourages customers to complete their sales journey and become customers of your product or service. Consider including personalized elements like discounts or sense of urgency in the call-to-action – Nike’s #JustDoIt campaign uses these strategies effectively, tapping into social issues while encouraging viewers to adopt healthier lifestyle choices with their product.
B2B marketers must remember that their target audience consists of individuals rather than businesses, meaning their content must be engaging. If the product or service offers is complex or technical in nature, their message needs to be engaging.
Be mindful that B2B buyers tend to be independent researchers who strive to verify the legitimacy of companies they support. One effective way of building credibility among B2B customers is educating your target audience with practical, actionable content such as blog posts, e-books, first-person reports or how-to videos. Finally, set SMART goals for your social media marketing strategy as this will enable you to measure campaign effectiveness more easily and achieve more conversions.
