According to the Content Marketing Institute, more than 95% of B2B marketers use social media as part of their marketing strategy. B2B brands must take a strategic and methodical approach to social media to thrive in a crowded space. Here are four recommendations for social media strategies for B2B services.
1. Use buyer personas to personalize your contacts
For a successful social media presence, you need to know your audience. Marketers often use buyer personas, that is, semi-fictional representations of their ideal customers, to tailor their marketing.
Understand your specific ideal buyer(s). For example, your buyer persona could be a technical director tired of integrating new cybersecurity tools that weigh down their technological toolset. Describe what they like and don't like, what they struggle with, and what they need to excel in their role.
You will also need to know where to find your target audience. According to HootSuite, 96% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn for their social media efforts. It is the most successful organic and paid social platform for B2B. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are other popular B2B platforms.
2. Create and share content that piques the interest of your specific audience
Discover the content that interests your buyer and offer it in different formats. For example, a data steward might consume content from a data training site. If your B2B service offers motivational speakers, you should focus on an audience looking to improve morale or reduce turnover. If your B2B service involves embroidered blouses, you should try to market to people in the healthcare industry or others who use blouses as uniforms.
3. Make sure your social media has its own tone and personality
Although people think B2B brands are more serious than B2C ones, B2B content and social media don't need to be dry and instructional. A conversational brand voice humanizes your business and inspires people to engage.
Avoid one-sided conversations. Ask your audience questions, create polls, or host discussions on Twitter. Feature other brands and share their content. On sites like Facebook or Instagram, show photos of your organization's offices or highlight your employees.
Cloudera, a cloud data and software platform, is a B2B brand with a vibrant social media presence. Cloudera uses LinkedIn Live for live virtual chats on data management and AI, hosted by internal and external experts. She also shares photos and blog posts from her employees about life at Cloudera.
4. Measure and track your social media
Evaluation is the best way to understand what works and what doesn’t and optimize your marketing. Determine the most relevant indicators for your brand. Clicks and interactions are two examples.
Clicks include the number of clicks and the behavior that follows the click. Interactions include measuring likes and dislikes, as well as social media conversations with your brand. Evaluate whether the conversations are positive or negative, how they engage with your content, and their conversations about your brand compared to your competitors.
Social media is now a necessity for B2B brands. With a thoughtful approach, small changes to your social media can produce significant results. Harnessing the power of social media can help B2B brands build stronger relationships with their audiences, improve their brand visibility, and drive meaningful engagement that translates into business growth.