By Kaci Antoine, Content Specialist
Social media is an important channel for connecting with B2B buyers who are researching purchases before buying. Seventy-five percent of B2B buyers and 84% of C-Suite executives use social media when making a purchase, so creating buyer-focused content to attract and engage buyers on social channels is crucial.1
Social media also offers B2B marketers many ways to boost their digital marketing efforts:
- Being engaged on social media allows you to monitor market forces
- Social media can be used to nurture leads
- With certain types of social posts, B2B marketers can encourage interaction from their followers
Learn how Ironpaper can help with you B2B lead generation efforts.
Determine which platforms your buyers are engaged with
The first step in building a b2b social media marketing strategy is deciding which platforms your buyers will most likely engage with. You can use several questions to help determine the best networks for your business:
- What features does each platform have that will be useful for buyers and me?
- How popular is each network with my target audience?
- Which platforms have been most successful for us in the past?
These questions will help you start evaluating platforms and deciding where to focus your time and budget. Still, if you’re just starting to utilize social media with end goals in mind, some experimentation will help you weed out unproductive platforms.
Before committing all of your budget and resources to certain platforms, test different types of content on different platforms to find out which platforms your buyers are using and most likely to engage on.
Create consistent — but tailored — content across all your social media platforms
Each social media platform has benefits and drawbacks, and you can use each channel's strengths to create relevant content that connects with customers and prospects on that specific platform. So while your posts on LinkedIn may take a different form or utilize different copy, their messaging should be consistent with your posts on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Failure to coordinate messaging across platforms will dilute the effectiveness of your social media strategy. Brand consistency across numerous social media platforms helps users recognize your brand and see it as a trustworthy voice in the industry.
Utilize paid advertising on social media
Social media platforms offer paid advertising options that allow companies to promote their content and products directly to their targeted audience. And because so many buyers utilize social media when researching purchases, paid advertising on these platforms connects with them while they’re already seeking out information.
Paid social media advertising enables companies to reach potential customers in a more targeted way than organic posts alone.
Promote and host live streams
Live streaming can be a powerful tool for demonstrating expertise and building trust with buyers. And, just like with webinars and recorded videos, you can archive your live streams and utilize them in other ways, such as gated content or as a lead nurturing assets. Some ways you can use live streaming to engage B2B buyers include:
- Host Q&A sessions on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, or YouTube Live.
- Use Periscope for “behind-the-scenes” streams.
- Stream in-person events, allowing others who aren’t physically present to join.
Launch polls or surveys
Many social media platforms like LinkedIn allow companies to launch polls and surveys. These polls can help companies gather data for content and gauge their audience's feelings about a topic, promotion, or feature.
Getting users to engage with your content this way also helps you gauge their interest in your brand and collect information about people who might be interested in your services. These kinds of interactive posts are an advantage that most other marketing channels don’t have.
Measure your results
Analytics are essential for understanding the effectiveness of your b2b social media marketing strategy. While it’s tempting to focus on metrics such as likes, shares, and comments on posts, it’s crucial that your social media goals tie into your larger goals, such as increasing conversions and growing revenue.
A robust CRM or marketing software can help you track how social media users are converting to leads or customers and pinpoint where social media engagement is most effective throughout the funnel.
Enjoy the benefits of a structured social media approach
Engaging with B2B buyers on social media can be challenging. The good news is that there are a few tried-and-true methods that you can use to make the process easier. With a structured, data-driven approach, social media can be another tool in your kit for engaging and converting your target audience to loyal customers.
Sources
1HubSpot, 37 LinkedIn Social Selling Stats You Need to Know, May 04, 2020
