While most people may know and understand social media marketing when it comes to business to consumer (B2C) companies, these tactics are slightly different when it comes to business to business (B2B) companies. This is something a business to business marketing agency needs to keep in mind. In fact, with more people online than ever before, a B2B social media marketing strategy is one of the most effective ways of reaching prospects. According to LinkedIn, 84% of B2B buyers said they used social media as part of their decision-making process. Additionally, social advertising is also practised by 83% of B2B marketers, making it the second only to search engines in terms of success.
However, dealing with social media can be tricky in and of itself. After all, with more than 58 million businesses on sites like LinkedIn currently, it can be incredibly hard to stand out from the crowd. It can also be challenging to drum up enthusiasm for a ‘boring’ or technical product. If you want to be effective with B2B marketing, you will likely require a different approach. You may have to think more strategically about how to reach business owners, as well as nurture relationships over a longer period of time. Fortunately, we have detailed a few tips to keep in mind if you want to come up with an effective B2B social media marketing strategy that also aligns with your business goals.
What is B2B social media marketing?
As mentioned above, B2B stands for business to business. Therefore, B2B social media marketing focuses on using social media channels to promote and market a B2B company’s products and services to its clients and target audience.
The main difference between B2C and B2B social media marketing is that the former tends to focus on selling to consumers, while the latter focuses on selling to organisations. Most B2C businesses will usually use their social media channels to directly sell or advertise their products and services. Whereas in B2B, social media is more commonly used as a side tactic supporting other marketing strategies such as Email marketing or direct sales. B2B social media channels are also more likely to focus on lead generation and brand development, alongside growing partnerships and gaining competitor insights.
These crucial differences play a huge role in how marketers craft B2B social media marketing strategies, and why they may use their social media platforms differently. Below, are a few things to keep in mind when crafting your very own B2B social media marketing strategy.
Make sure goals and business objectives are aligned
Just like with any marketing tactic, you need to spell out your goals and make sure that your goals and overall business objectives align in order to be successful. After all, competition in the social media landscape is extremely fierce, so you need to know exactly what you are doing. Instead of focusing on simply selling, most B2B companies use their social media channels to publish top-of-the-funnel marketing content, in order to promote awareness of their products and services.
Recent research has found that the usual goals B2B businesses have are: creating brand awareness, building trust and credibility, and educating their target audiences.
Identify any potential opportunities
An effective B2B social media marketing plan will outline opportunities in the market that the company can take advantage of. This can be done by using the SWOT framework. This table highlights the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within your industry and market. You should also keep an eye out for what your audience is looking for and what is being said across social networks within your industry.
Adopt customer-centric approach
Currently, most people want brands to seem authentic and ‘human’ when engaging with them. Although B2B companies’ target customers are other businesses, this is no exception. As such, it is highly recommended that you put your customers front and centre in every campaign. This is because having a customer-centric approach makes your business a lot more personable and empathetic to your customer’s plights. For instance, Twitter can be used to deliver transparent back-and-forth conversations with your customer, whether it be compliments, feedback or questions.
Beyond just simple customer service, you may also want to consider implementing customer stories as part of your content strategy. This can be done in the form of promoting reviews and testimonials. Sharing them not only makes your brand seem more trustworthy but also creates a sense of loyalty in your customer base too.
Use the right platform and channels
Generally speaking, you should be promoting your content in the same place your customers tend to gather. After all, if they are not even on the same platform, then they will not even see your message! When it comes to B2B businesses specifically, most content marketers (around 96% of them) use LinkedIn. For paid social posts, while LinkedIn is in the first place (again), coming in second is Facebook, which is followed by Twitter and Instagram.
Additionally, certain channels may be more relevant to certain industries, products and markets. For instance, if your business is selling furniture or tools, you may want to use a more visually based social media channel like Instagram. Whereas if your business is focusing on selling digital marketing services, then maybe creating a YouTube channel educating your audience on digital marketing may be a better way to go for you.
Have a particular brand voice
Whenever you post any kind of content, whether it is a blog, social media post, or video, you have a chance to showcase your brand voice. So, that means don’t talk like a robot! In fact, having a more conversational brand voice can highlight the ‘humanness’ of your business to make you seem more approachable. Despite what most people believe, being ‘professional’ does not equal to being boring, pretentious or stuffy!
Of course, your brand voice should always be aligned with your company’s brand and perspective. So, consider, does your company like to be sarcastic or have a dry and witty sense of humour? Or is your company friendly and helpful? Having a unique brand voice gives your company another opportunity to stand out in a crowded market landscape.