How To Leverage Social Media for Your B2B Business

When it comes to marketing a business, the goals never really change – you want to attract a loyal customer base. However, the tactics for B2C and B2B marketing can differ wildly and require a distinct approach. At PHOS Creative, we use social media as a cornerstone for clients’ B2B marketing, as well as our own. This article will go over some helpful ways to utilize social media in your B2B marketing strategy. 

Changing Your Social Media From B2C To B2B

Before embarking on any new marketing overhauls, take a look at all of your company’s current external communications and ask, “Who is this for?” If the answer is anyone other than the company decision-makers, you may need to rethink your strategy. 

If you have trouble code-switching into a B2B mindset, think about who the key decision-makers are for your current customers. What kind of content would they find valuable? Where are they going to find it? Asking yourself these questions might inspire some content ideas that would work for your customers as well.

5 Ways To Leverage B2B Social Media

Titles like these can be misleading as there are very few social media platforms whose sole purpose is B2B social media. However, if approached thoughtfully, any platform can become an integral tool to your business’ marketing strategy. 

Get Active on LinkedIn

Every B2B social media strategy should start with LinkedIn. While the platform is an exceptional networking tool, it also drives 80% of lead generation for all B2B social media. LinkedIn creates a space for professionals to share insights, make connections, and start conversations around topics that affect their businesses. Participating in these conversations while adding useful, valuable content positions your company as an expert in the field and as someone with whom your audience should be working. 

If your business is ready to prioritize its LinkedIn strategy, get started with our guide, How to Add LinkedIn to your B2B Marketing Strategy.

Tell Your Story With Stories

Instagram Stories is a fantastic tool for anyone looking to establish their brand presence and get direct insight from their audience. Location tags, mentions, and countdowns are a few of the “stickers” a company can use to let their audience know exactly when, where, and who their business reaches. Use these to share “when” your customers need your product the most, “where” it is used in their company, and “who” benefits most from partnering with you.  

Questions, polls, and DMs allow that same audience to interact with your business and have their questions answered in a casual, accessible environment. Want something even more direct? Host a Live Q&A session and invite some of your employees and clients to discuss your business and answer audience questions as they come in. This is an effective customer service tactic that allows you to address any lingering questions that might give your customers pause. 

Start a YouTube Channel

YouTube is the most nuanced channel that we will discuss because it is not only a social media platform but also the world’s second-largest search engine behind Google. This unique combination of factors allows marketers to take advantage of social media tactics and SEO research. 

Start with performing keyword research to identify what your titles should include and use this as a jumping-off point for video topics. Videos that are thinly-veiled sales pitches do not do well, but testimonials, behind-the-scenes, case studies, and culture-focused videos are far more likely to attract and retain an audience. Speaking of attraction, video thumbnails are your calling card to viewers to catch their eye in a sea of search results. So do not forget about your thumbnail! 

YouTube is a platform that takes commitment. Viewers reward consistency, and videos that are half-baked yield half-baked results. If you do choose to put in the effort it requires, your business will earn dedicated subscribers who consistently need your product. 

Build a Community

It can be so easy to ignore the existence of other platforms other than the ones we have mentioned. With smaller audiences, smaller platforms can seem like a less valuable resource. However, niche platforms and the communities they develop have extremely dedicated audiences that crave your valuable content. 

Take Reddit, for example. While repetitive self-promotion can get you banned, participating in subreddits within your target audience’s field of interest can allow you to help answer their queries and offer your business as the resource they need. These online communities reward members who show up and bring value to the group. Start a conversation with some of your current clients, find out where they go when they need a question answered, research other social media platforms, and start participating in online forums to find people who are just waiting to hear about your business. 

That Was Great; Now What?

Reimagining your B2B social media strategy takes experimentation and trial and error to determine what channels reach your target audience best. With time, that effort can yield a more engaged audience that trusts your business as an expert instead of just a salesperson. 

If your business is looking to take the guesswork out of your social media marketing, contact our social media experts to craft a strategy that will take your B2B Business 2 Beyond.