B2B companies use social media for various reasons; it is not exclusive to B2C companies or influencers. However, B2C companies and influencers tend to dominate social platforms like Instagram and Facebook. If your B2B company is considering a social media marketing strategy, view it as a tool to enhance results rather than a replacement for other marketing strategies. Before delving into social media marketing, establish your goals and desired approach.
5 Tips to Get You Started and Keep in Mind
- See what your competitors are doing, figure out how active they are and how engaging their content is. This will give you an idea of what is expected in your industry.
- Take advantage of user-generated content. Reposts are a great way to connect with your audience, build relationships and loyalty. People love knowing their content has been seen and repurposed.
- Highlight your employees. A campaign like this is specific to your company and can last a few weeks, even months.
- What would you want to see from your company if you weren’t an employee there. Step into the shoes of your audience and build your strategy that way.
- Include a call to action that leads your audience to your website or encourages them to learn more.
Build your B2B Social Media Strategy
Now, let’s delve into building your strategy. Like any marketing strategy, you must plan and set goals to track results. The primary goal of social media marketing should be branding, increasing awareness of your company. Social media platforms often provide built-in result tracking features. When focusing on brand awareness, monitor reach, impressions, followers, and engagements. For lead generation goals, pay attention to clicks and conversions. Although social media may not suit everyone, each platform attracts a different audience, so tailor your strategy accordingly.
LinkedIn is the preferred social platform for B2B companies with 94% of marketers using this platform to distribute content, but that doesn’t mean other channels won’t work for you. Just like goal setting, you need to spend some time setting up your strategy because results won’t happen on their own. Two key elements to think about when building your strategy are frequency of posts and the kind of content you want to produce. Whether you want to post once a week or once a day, be consistent in your approach and build a strategy you can maintain. What content do you want to post? Do you have enough to last you a while? What will you post next? These are questions you’ll want to ask yourself when building your strategy.
Most people turn to social media for entertainment, so our job as a marketer is to find those with an interest in your industry and connect with your audience. Don’t be afraid to experiment, even branch out from industry focused content, but above all else, be genuine.
Now that you’re set to start building your strategy, don’t forget to connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.