Is Facebook a Good Channel for B2B Enterprise Marketing?

If your B2B enterprise hasn’t yet adopted a clearly defined Facebook marketing strategy, it’s time to start.

"75 percent of B2B buyers use social media to support purchase decisions." -IDC

"83 percent of B2B enterprise marketers use Facebook." -Content Marketing Institute

"43 percent of B2B vendors have acquired customers from Facebook." - State of Inbound Marketing

Is Facebook a Good Channel for B2B Enterprise Marketing?

As you can see from the statistics above, your competition is investing time and resources on Facebook, and your buyers are researching their options and looking for information to support their purchasing decisions on Facebook. B2B marketing must be comprehensive and include all channels on which ideal buyers are active. 

It’s a solid strategy for attracting new prospects and retaining existing customers, and it’s one B2B enterprises should embrace if they want to remain competitive.

"36 percent of all social media referred traffic to B2B websites comes from Facebook." Oracle

To get started, here are the top five tactics we recommend to B2B enterprises looking to expand their reach on Facebook:

1. Humanize the brand. It’s well documented that B2B enterprises tend to talk about what they do rather than who they are. But there’s value in highlighting your brand’s human side. At the end of the day, people are making purchasing decisions, and they prefer to buy from other people they can trust and relate to.

We recommend posting employee and leadership profiles, success stories, customer photos, and behind-the-scenes pictures. This type of content doesn’t directly push your products and services, but it builds user engagement and leads to increased sales down the road.

2. Drive traffic to the company website. Drive traffic by posting content to the company's Facebook page that sends users directly to your website or blog.

For example, let’s say your staff posts an article to the company blog about the next wave of cloud-based technology. Have your team share a link to the article on the company's Facebook page, with a few sentences on what it’s about. When visitors click on the link and arrive at your site, capture their contact information and convert them to email subscribers.

3. Find new customers with Facebook ads and retarget prospects who already know you. Facebook ads are a terrific way to attract new prospects to your company.

Begin by analyzing contact information and buying histories to create a social profile of your best customers. Look at their location, job title, employer, and interests. Then, purchase Facebook ads that target users that fit within that profile.

For example, there’s much to gain by honing in on users who “like” competitor brands, are interested in the kinds of products and services your company offers; and are employed by companies within your target market.

4. Take advantage of paid post-amplification. Facebook’s paid post amplification allows companies to pay to ensure that their post reaches a larger number of targeted users.

To use this tool effectively, begin by analyzing your posts and identifying which ones are generating the most engagement, “likes”, comments, and shares. Amplify the posts that are performing well organically to broaden their reach.

5. Promote your products and services. And last but not least, you’ll want to directly promote the products and services your company sells using Facebook ads, announcements, client success stories, and special offers.

For example, showcase a new line of sales productivity software by highlighting how it will help your target market reach their sales goals more efficiently. Or, promote an existing offering by posting success stories that focus on how customers used a particular product to achieve their goals.

Learn more:

• Benefits of Social Media for B2B Lead Nurturing
• B2B marketing automation best practices
• B2B marketing agency - Ironpaper services

SOURCES:

1. IDC -  New IDC Study Reveals That the Most Senior and Influential B2B Buyers Use Online Social Networks in Their Purchase Process
2. Content Marketing Institute, 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends – North America
3. State of Inbound Marketing by Hubspot - https://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/the-2012-state-of-inbound-marketing-webinar
4. Oracle, How Do B2B and B2C Marketers Use Social Media? [CHART], https://blogs.oracle.com/marketingcloud/socialmediabenchmarks