Marion Barnham • January 13, 2025
Social Media are platforms that enable people/users to interact with each other, socialise, as well as create and share content. They could also be used as channels that help businesses promote their products to customers.
The first ever recognisable social media site, Six Degrees, was created in 1997. It enabled users to upload a profile and make friends with other users. In today’s constantly evolving climate, we have numerous different social media platforms that serve different purposes. The ones that I have found to be the most efficient tools for B2B Social Media Marketing are: LinkedIn – Founded in 2002, Facebook – Founded in 2004, Twitter – Founded in 2006.
However, some of them, like Facebook, are mostly associated with B2C Marketing but it would be unfair not to use them in their full potential for our B2B marketing efforts, as well.
B2C Social Media Marketing Goals:
- Community engagement and awareness
- Virality
- Customer service
- Online selling
When working with retail customers, you have a smaller profit from each client but a much bigger audience. That’s why you need virality. You need to gain new customers everyday. Facebook and Instagram now have integrated online selling to help you achieve this and your customer doesn’t even have to leave the platform.
B2B Social Media Marketing Goals:
- Lead Generation
- Increase Web Traffic
- Increase Conversions
- Increase Brand Awareness
When working with other businesses, you can not expect to close a new deal everyday. You need to plant the seed so it can grow day by day and that’s how social media can help you stay connected with your targeted audience. You can show them what you have to offer without being aggressive and make your company stand out from the competition as a thought leader.
How to maximise your B2B Marketing Effectiveness with Social Media?
Just follow the 4 steps below:
1.Content
Content needs to be planned and executed to align with business goals and customer journeys. Content should be planned, approved, and scheduled in advance to:
- Educate leads
- Boost conversions
- Build relationships
- Connect with the audience
- Create brand advocacy
Your content should follow the rule of thirds: ⅓ content should educate leads, ⅓ content should share ideas and stories from thought leaders, ⅓ content is original brand content.
Types of content you should be distributing via social media channels are:
- Blogs
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Whitepapers
- Ebooks
- Infographics
- Landing pages
- Lead nurture campaigns
- Case Studies
Don’t forget to set your tone of voice and always include a Call to Action (CTA).
2. Imagery
It is very important that your posts have consistency. People need to be able to recognise your brand among others when they see it. Create good aesthetics with a photo or image and make your brand memorable.
3. Scheduling
If you post every now and then, this will get you nowhere. You need to create posts frequently. This will allow you to be visible to your audience and build a relationship. Another great benefit is that it will boost your website traffic.
My advice would be to use one of the many tools that are out the other to schedule your posts, so you can create your content with consistency and efficiency. Populars tools are: Hubspot’s integrated social media tool, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Canva’s integrated tool and Ripl. Just take your pick.
4. Analytics
Don’t forget to check where your efforts lead you. You are able to do that by going to the analytics tab of each platform or you could use your social media scheduling tool and have them all in one place. After you do this, you can adjust your plan and give your audience what they want the most and therefore boost your conversion rate.
What are your thoughts on B2B social media marketing? Leave a comment below or connect with us on social media for more great content.