6 Tips To Succeed With Social Media For B2B Marketing

There are so many componentsto consider when planning your marketing strategy for your B2B business that it’seasy to let social media fall by the wayside. You may not use social media formuch more than checking in on your family or following consumer brands, and ifyou don’t love LinkedIn, you’re likely in the 30% of people who use it at leastmonthly. Ifyou narrow your focus to LinkedIn alone, you may not find that statisticstimulating enough to dedicate resources to building your social mediapresence.

But social media is essentialfor B2B businesses, and it can be done in a way that builds yourfollowing easily and seamlessly. Let’s take a closer look at why you shoulddedicate time to social media and strategies to start seeing success ASAP.

Why You Need Social Media for B2B Marketing

Here are the top reasons notto discount social media as a B2B business:

• Reach people on a personal level – people are typically using social media intheir downtime; on their lunch breaks, on transport, and while relaxing in theevenings. This gives you an opportunity to reach them and connect with themwhen they’re looking for opportunities to do so.
• You prevent your competitors from having a monopoly – even if you’re not onsocial media, chances are, your competitors are. If you’re not on social media,any potential clients on those platforms will find them and start building aconnection with them instead of with you.
• Build trust – active social media profiles are markers of legitimacy andauthority. Not having them can often cause potential customers to questionwhether you’re still in business or a company worth working with.
• It’s an opportunity to showcase your best side – from your best work andchampioning your clients’ success to handling any queries and customer serviceissues with aplomb; your social media profiles are a great venue to showcasewhat you’re most proud of.
• B2B customers use social media when making a purchasing decision – 75% of B2B customers are influenced by socialmedia when making purchasing decisions.
• You can access essential insights – most social mediaplatforms will give you access to analytics tools, but the real gold is inengaging with customers to gain insight into how they think and feel.

6 B2B Social Media Marketing Tips to Help You Find Success Fast

1.    SetClear Goals

One of the biggest mistakesbusinesses make when they start out on social media is doing so without anygoals. When we use social media for our personal lives, we upload pictureswhenever we feel compelled to, and the only constant in what we share is us.

That’s not how you shouldrun your business accounts. Your business social media needs to have a strategyand goals that match your overall objectives. Remember that social media is apart of your overall marketing mix and should support your business, not be adrain.

What targets or goals areyou aiming for this quarter? How can social media support and help move youtoward achieving these goals?

2.    Don’tOvercommit

It’s tempting to be all ornothing about social media – we often feel like we need to be on all theplatforms, or it’s not worth doing at all. Fortunately, trying to be on themall will likely do more harm than good. Why? Because your audience may not belooking to interact with you on all platforms. It is important to figure outwhich social platforms are right for your business and your products.

3.    CreateAll Content for Your Top Clients

Yes, you want to reach asmany people as possible with your social media marketing – that’s why you’redoing it. However, it’s easy to cast a huge net and end up missing theclients you actually want. Look at your client list and find what they have incommon. Create an ideal customer persona (if you haven’t already) and createall content as if you’re sending it directly to them.

When you create content thatspeaks to your clients, you’ll attract more of them – you’ll show clients whyyou are the absolute best choice for them and not one of all the otherbusinesses that are casting their nets wide. Having focus within your contentwill give your message clarity.

4.    Shareand Create Content Worth Paying Attention To

If you’re doing the pointabove well, then this should follow inherently, but it’s so important that it’sworth highlighting. Don’t throw up content just to ensure you upload somethingthat day. It’s easy to get caught up in how many posts need to be uploaded eachday and certain times of day, but the content is what matters. You can nail allthe perfect times of day to upload and get seen by the maximum amount ofpeople, but if your content lacks substance, your audience will scroll straightpast.

Return back to your idealcustomers and consider what they might like to see from you. Do they want quicktips? Shared resources? Something funny to brighten their day? Try a fewdifferent things and do more of what they engage with. Continue to experimentover time.

5.    FeedYour Social Media Following into Your Advertising

Organic marketing isincredibly valuable and is well worth investing time and money in to build overtime. Its only weakness is that it often takes time to see good results. Ifpaid marketing is a part of your strategy, then social media platforms likeFacebook and LinkedIn offer you a huge opportunity to retarget and create custom audiencesso you can advertise to those who are already familiar with you.

6.    BeHuman

One of the reasons youhaven’t been excited about B2B marketing in the past is the idea that it isgoing to be dry and boring. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter which industryyou’re in or what you’re competitors are doing, you can be human in yourmarketing, and you can have fun.

Think about the B2Bcompanies you engage with; whether it’s Google, Adobe, Slack, or a smallcompany you can’t wait to tell everyone about, you likely love to follow thembecause 1) they have great products or services and 2) they are approachableand conversational.

Once you’ve considered all the benefits and your time available, you may decide that you can’t possibly fit any other tasks onto your plate. If so, we’re here to help. We can help you manage your social media set up, offer templates, and more so you can succeed online. To find out more, visit our Digital Marketing Services page or fill out the form below

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