Gone are the days when social media was just a hub of B2C interactions and LinkedIn was just a place for posting CVs. Now, social media is arguably the most powerful tool you can have in your business-to-business marketing strategy.
Why? Well, in just a line: it can help your clients find, connect, and fall in love with your brand.
In this article, we take a closer look at the importance of social media strategy within B2B, considering the changing customer landscape that has led us to this moment. After that, we’ll look at some of the latest tips for B2B social media that you can start implementing to accelerate your results!
Why? Well, in just a line: it can help your clients find, connect, and fall in love with your brand.
In this article, we take a closer look at the importance of social media strategy within B2B, considering the changing customer landscape that has led us to this moment. After that, we’ll look at some of the latest tips for B2B social media that you can start implementing to accelerate your results!
3 reasons why social media is important for B2B
In 2023, research shows that B2B marketers invested 20% more in social media marketing than in the years before. It’s also clear just from a quick look on the platform just how many companies are becoming more active… So what is all the hype about?
That’s what we explore in this section, looking at the main goals you can now achieve by using social media platforms in your B2B marketing strategy.
That’s what we explore in this section, looking at the main goals you can now achieve by using social media platforms in your B2B marketing strategy.
1. You’ll enable your ideal clients to find you
LinkedIn research shows that 75% of B2B buyers search social media before making any purchasing decision. And if they can’t find your company on there, you could lose out.
You know that feeling when you go to search for someone you meet in a bar and they don’t have an Instagram or Facebook profile… It feels like a red flag, right?
Your audience expects to be able to run to your personal profile and check your credibility and industry expertise. They hope to go to your company profile and be reassured that your company is active and engaged with its clients.
Building a great presence on social media builds trust and helps you establish your industry authority. Plus it can boost your SEO ranking because it signals to Google that your company is relevant and recently interacting with its audience online and the search engine in turn boosts your web traffic.
You’ll probably have heard that omnichannel marketing (where you integrate various channels seamlessly to provide a cohesive customer experience) is an increasingly important marketing strategy. And it’s true — helping customers move from your website to your blogs to your social media and so on can help your ideal clients remember you. But this requires a really clear profile.
It’s the saying goes: “Your vibe attracts your tribe.” The more you can share your authentic company values on LinkedIn (whether through your company or personal pages) the more that your ideal audience will find, follow and never forget you!
You know that feeling when you go to search for someone you meet in a bar and they don’t have an Instagram or Facebook profile… It feels like a red flag, right?
Your audience expects to be able to run to your personal profile and check your credibility and industry expertise. They hope to go to your company profile and be reassured that your company is active and engaged with its clients.
Building a great presence on social media builds trust and helps you establish your industry authority. Plus it can boost your SEO ranking because it signals to Google that your company is relevant and recently interacting with its audience online and the search engine in turn boosts your web traffic.
You’ll probably have heard that omnichannel marketing (where you integrate various channels seamlessly to provide a cohesive customer experience) is an increasingly important marketing strategy. And it’s true — helping customers move from your website to your blogs to your social media and so on can help your ideal clients remember you. But this requires a really clear profile.
It’s the saying goes: “Your vibe attracts your tribe.” The more you can share your authentic company values on LinkedIn (whether through your company or personal pages) the more that your ideal audience will find, follow and never forget you!
2. Build closer relationships with clients
In a world of irritating cold calls and impersonal mass emails, social media posts help you make a real connection with your audience. This is because you can:
▶ Showcase the human side of your brand.
Show your company culture through videos on your company page, for example, or ask your employees to create content that shows their day-to-day lives
▶ Create personalized content.
Tailor your messages to specific segments of target audiences based on what you learn in relevant conversations with them in the comments. For example, if you notice that a particular group frequently references a problem they’re experiencing, create a quick guide as a slideshow on LinkedIn.
▶ Create thought leadership content.
Address industry news or insights to become a trusted source of information for your audience. You can check out major publications in your field and repost content with your own thoughts if you want to save time.
▶ Repost user-generated content.
Show appreciation for your customer’s experiences and valuable insights and they’re likely to show appreciation for your services!
▶ Showcase the human side of your brand.
Show your company culture through videos on your company page, for example, or ask your employees to create content that shows their day-to-day lives
▶ Create personalized content.
Tailor your messages to specific segments of target audiences based on what you learn in relevant conversations with them in the comments. For example, if you notice that a particular group frequently references a problem they’re experiencing, create a quick guide as a slideshow on LinkedIn.
▶ Create thought leadership content.
Address industry news or insights to become a trusted source of information for your audience. You can check out major publications in your field and repost content with your own thoughts if you want to save time.
▶ Repost user-generated content.
Show appreciation for your customer’s experiences and valuable insights and they’re likely to show appreciation for your services!
3. You can build brand identity
Social media is about more than just creating brand awareness. It’s the perfect place to really show what your brand is all about, rather than just talking about it on your website or brochures.
Videos, for example, capture the atmosphere of your company culture more vividly while social media posts and comment exchanges can present company news in a more exciting way.
By ensuring you have a consistent brand voice throughout every post, you’ll start to build a personality that shines off the page. And, when you build up a strong social media presence from this, you’ll be able to boost lead generation too.
In short: People will see your brand as not just a product/service provider, but a community they want to interact with.
Videos, for example, capture the atmosphere of your company culture more vividly while social media posts and comment exchanges can present company news in a more exciting way.
By ensuring you have a consistent brand voice throughout every post, you’ll start to build a personality that shines off the page. And, when you build up a strong social media presence from this, you’ll be able to boost lead generation too.
In short: People will see your brand as not just a product/service provider, but a community they want to interact with.
Evernote building brand awareness through social media
Source
Strategies for B2B social media marketing success
Want some quick tips to get started on creating a social media marketing strategy that will appeal to modern B2B buyers? Read on.
1. Optimize your profiles
With so many B2B buyers running checks on social media accounts before purchasing, you need to make sure your profile sells your company as well as it can before you start creating social media content.
Here’s a quick overview to help you perfect your profiles…. For a complete audit and profile creation support, reach out to us at Kudos Narratives.
▶ Upload a clear, high-quality logo and profile picture.
You can add a background to your profile pic to help it stand out.
▶ Include insights about your brand in your company banner.
Focus on highlighting your unique value proposition and story.
▶ Write clear, engaging headlines and descriptions.
These should include industry keywords and make it obvious what you do for your customers. Write in the first person on your personal profile and the third on your company page.
Here’s a quick overview to help you perfect your profiles…. For a complete audit and profile creation support, reach out to us at Kudos Narratives.
▶ Upload a clear, high-quality logo and profile picture.
You can add a background to your profile pic to help it stand out.
▶ Include insights about your brand in your company banner.
Focus on highlighting your unique value proposition and story.
▶ Write clear, engaging headlines and descriptions.
These should include industry keywords and make it obvious what you do for your customers. Write in the first person on your personal profile and the third on your company page.
2. Set goals
It’s important to align your social media performance with your wider business goals before you create content. This helps your entire team to work cohesively towards objectives.
Some examples of key performance indicators within social media include:
▶ Engagement rate: the level of interaction your content receives, including likes, comments, shares, and mentions.
▶ Follower growth: the increase in the number of followers over a specific period.
▶ Impressions: how many people have seen your content over a specific period.
▶ Lead generation: the amount of leads you’ve acquired directly from social media.
▶ Brand awareness: how many times people are mentioning your brand on social media.
You can measure results through analytics tools such as Brandwatch and Sprout Social as well as directly in LinkedIn Analytics. Alternatively, you can hire Kudos Narratives to accelerate the whole process!
Some examples of key performance indicators within social media include:
▶ Engagement rate: the level of interaction your content receives, including likes, comments, shares, and mentions.
▶ Follower growth: the increase in the number of followers over a specific period.
▶ Impressions: how many people have seen your content over a specific period.
▶ Lead generation: the amount of leads you’ve acquired directly from social media.
▶ Brand awareness: how many times people are mentioning your brand on social media.
You can measure results through analytics tools such as Brandwatch and Sprout Social as well as directly in LinkedIn Analytics. Alternatively, you can hire Kudos Narratives to accelerate the whole process!
3. Use storytelling
One of the best ways to keep your audience engaged is with storytelling. In part, it’s a new trend: a tendency of B2B companies to get more vulnerable and authentic on social media. But, in part, it’s just a tactic as old as time: People love narratives.
Instead of writing purely educational content, focus on weaving these into stories that resonate with your audience on a personal level. You might tell a customer success story in detail, for example, rather than talking about high-level changes or you might explore your brand’s origin story.
Take a look at the example below to understand how this looks in practice…
Instead of writing purely educational content, focus on weaving these into stories that resonate with your audience on a personal level. You might tell a customer success story in detail, for example, rather than talking about high-level changes or you might explore your brand’s origin story.
Take a look at the example below to understand how this looks in practice…
Slack showcasing a strong storytelling social strategy
Source
4. Harness the power of B2B influencers
B2B influencer marketing is on the rise and you can boost your social media marketing efforts by jumping on board.
By paying an influencer (or Linkfluencer: LinkedIn influencer) to promote your brand, you can build trust with their dedicated audience. Every influencer has their own unique voice and this can be used to sell your company authentically through connections rather than through the more impersonal social media advertising. You’ll also save money compared to the paid ad approach.
By paying an influencer (or Linkfluencer: LinkedIn influencer) to promote your brand, you can build trust with their dedicated audience. Every influencer has their own unique voice and this can be used to sell your company authentically through connections rather than through the more impersonal social media advertising. You’ll also save money compared to the paid ad approach.
5. Create an employee advocacy program
Employee advocacy programs encourage your team members to endorse and promote your brand. By giving them everything they need to effectively engage with your content and share their own, you can turn them into powerful brand ambassadors for the whole world (and all those potential clients) to see!
The best way to implement this is to ask business leaders to set an example. Even if they don’t have time to create their own social posts, if they can share and comment on company page content, this could boost engagement and brand reputation in the eyes of your target audience.
Just take a look at the results of this B2B social media strategy we implemented for global health tech company, Palta. By asking board members to share, comment, and engage with company content, the company achieved consistent organic growth of 280+ monthly followers.
The best way to implement this is to ask business leaders to set an example. Even if they don’t have time to create their own social posts, if they can share and comment on company page content, this could boost engagement and brand reputation in the eyes of your target audience.
Just take a look at the results of this B2B social media strategy we implemented for global health tech company, Palta. By asking board members to share, comment, and engage with company content, the company achieved consistent organic growth of 280+ monthly followers.
Palta improved audience engagement with employee advocacy
Source
B2B + SMM = BFF
So there you have it…. A complete guide to social media marketing for B2B and why it’s so damn important!
If you’d like support creating quality content, incisive social media strategy or compelling narratives on your profiles, get in touch. We keep testing and scaling to allow you to achieve the best results in line with your business objectives.
If you’d like support creating quality content, incisive social media strategy or compelling narratives on your profiles, get in touch. We keep testing and scaling to allow you to achieve the best results in line with your business objectives.
B2B Social media content creation FAQs
1. Why should B2B businesses use social media?
Social media is crucial for B2B companies because it allows them to connect with a professional audience more deeply and generate qualified leads. Utilizing social media channels, businesses can demonstrate expertise by sharing industry insights and build brand identity by showcasing personality. Through effective social media campaigns, companies can also build brand awareness and establish social proof which can significantly influence purchasing decisions.
Social media is crucial for B2B companies because it allows them to connect with a professional audience more deeply and generate qualified leads. Utilizing social media channels, businesses can demonstrate expertise by sharing industry insights and build brand identity by showcasing personality. Through effective social media campaigns, companies can also build brand awareness and establish social proof which can significantly influence purchasing decisions.
2. What social media platforms should B2B companies focus on?
It doesn’t really matter which social channels B2B companies focus on as there is a growing, engaged audience across LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok and more. What matters is how they create their strategy and which platforms they pick. LinkedIn is particularly effective for competitor research, networking, and sharing a variety of content formats, for example, while X is better for real-time engagement.
It doesn’t really matter which social channels B2B companies focus on as there is a growing, engaged audience across LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok and more. What matters is how they create their strategy and which platforms they pick. LinkedIn is particularly effective for competitor research, networking, and sharing a variety of content formats, for example, while X is better for real-time engagement.
3. How can you find content ideas for social platforms?
Typical content ideas for B2B social media campaigns include sharing videos from behind the scenes of your company, creating thought leadership articles, and jumping on industry trends. However, you can find inspiration anywhere by writing down a list of authentic ideas as they come to you.
When creating content for social media in B2B marketing, it‘s also a great idea to look at what your audience is engaging with. You can check out competitor posts or look at what your existing customers are talking about in order to do this. Or, you can save time on all of the above and contact a team of expert B2B social media marketers like Kudos Narratives.
Typical content ideas for B2B social media campaigns include sharing videos from behind the scenes of your company, creating thought leadership articles, and jumping on industry trends. However, you can find inspiration anywhere by writing down a list of authentic ideas as they come to you.
When creating content for social media in B2B marketing, it‘s also a great idea to look at what your audience is engaging with. You can check out competitor posts or look at what your existing customers are talking about in order to do this. Or, you can save time on all of the above and contact a team of expert B2B social media marketers like Kudos Narratives.
4. What types of content are most effective for B2B social media marketing?
Content that resonates with B2B audiences on social media typically includes informative and educational formats such as white papers, case studies, webinars, industry reports, and expert insights. These demonstrate industry expertise and also address specific pain points and challenges faced by a broad audience. At the same time, videos and other posts that don’t necessarily address specific issues but are packed full of personality usually boost engagement!
Content that resonates with B2B audiences on social media typically includes informative and educational formats such as white papers, case studies, webinars, industry reports, and expert insights. These demonstrate industry expertise and also address specific pain points and challenges faced by a broad audience. At the same time, videos and other posts that don’t necessarily address specific issues but are packed full of personality usually boost engagement!
5. How can a social media management platform benefit B2B companies?
A social media management platform helps B2B companies streamline their social media campaigns by scheduling posts, monitoring engagement, and analyzing performance across different social platforms. These tools can help you create content more quickly and some tools also give you data about audience demographics.
If you want more granular insights and strategy support, particularly when it comes to trying to generate qualified leads or boost brand awareness, it’s best to use a B2B marketing agency like Kudos Narratives.
A social media management platform helps B2B companies streamline their social media campaigns by scheduling posts, monitoring engagement, and analyzing performance across different social platforms. These tools can help you create content more quickly and some tools also give you data about audience demographics.
If you want more granular insights and strategy support, particularly when it comes to trying to generate qualified leads or boost brand awareness, it’s best to use a B2B marketing agency like Kudos Narratives.
B2B businesses will increasingly use social media platforms to facilitate transactions and provide a seamless shopping experience for their customers. Chatbots and Messaging Apps: Utilizing chatbots and messaging apps for customer support and lead generation will become more common, as B2B companies seek to provide immediate assistance and engage in real-time conversations.