A good social media presence has never been more important for B2B businesses, and with digital platform capability increasing every day, B2B businesses should be taking advantage of the opportunity to get started with social media if they haven’t already. Head of Social Media and B2B social specialist Claire Durrant shares her top tips to B2B businesses who are just getting started with social media.
Choose the best B2B Social Media Platforms
Choosing the right social media platforms for your business is an important first step, and there is a whole range of social media platforms out there to choose from. However, not all of them are going to be right for your business, and trying to be active on too many platforms at once will only lead to misuse of the platform and overwhelm.
I recommend that B2B businesses should choose 1-2 platforms to begin with. Typically B2B businesses see success with LinkedIn and Twitter, but Facebook, Instagram or even Pinterest are also powerful platforms to consider.
Optimise your B2B social media channels
First impressions count, and even more so on social media. Research shows that you have around 7 seconds to make the right impression with your prospects on social, and they expect your profile to professional and up to date:
- Update profile photos and banners. Ensure they are high-quality and the correct size for each platform.
- Ensure your contact information is filled in and correct
Create a B2B Social Media Strategy
To be successful on social media, you must first define what success looks like. Success looks different for everyone, and particularly for B2B businesses. Defining success and setting measurable goals and clear KPIs is an essential first step.
Common goals for B2B businesses on Social Media are:
- % increase in website traffic from social media
- % increase in sales due to social media activity
- % increase in leads due to social media activity
- Growth of social media followers
- Growth of social media engagement
- X number of resource downloads
Create a B2B Social Media content plan
Once you have your profiles optimised, and you’ve set goals for your social media activity. The next step is to plan the type of content you’re going to create to use on social media. Each piece of content should be made with your new goals in mind.
Rather than just posting about your products and services, try to create content around the impact and benefit your products and services have on your customers and what problems do they solve. Here are some ideas:
- Case studies
- Insights
- Company updates
- Personelle updates
- Current project updates
- Behind the scenes detail
- Industry opinions
- Customer testimonials
- Products and services
Be consistent on social media
Success doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and consistent activity on social media before you start seeing true results. Aim to post to your chosen social media platforms consistently each week, using a varied range of content types for the best results.
Consistently posting high-quality content will make your business attractive to your target audience, whilst establishing you as a trusted source of information. Consistently posting new content will also ensure you’re always front of mind for your client. Be sure to include images and videos in your posts wherever possible.
B2B Social Media Advertising
Social Media Advertising used to be a tactic reserved for big campaigns and product launches, but as Social Media platforms continue to evolve, they are also restricting organic reach on your posts. This makes social media advertising an essential element if you want to see success with social media.
If you’re ready to take your social media activity up a gear, get in touch with our skilled Social Media team who can discuss the opportunity social media advertising could unlock for your business.
Related article: three ways that social media data is misunderstood.
