While it’s hard to discredit social media’s importance for consumer-based businesses, it’s easy to assume it isn’t the same for B2B marketing.
Traditional B2B marketing, like cold calling and networking events, focus on the business itself. But you’re not trying to market to a company – you’re trying to reach the decision-makers themselves. And that’s where social media comes in.
People within a business are just as engaged on social media as anyone else. In fact, 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make their purchasing decisions. So it’s no wonder why more and more B2B businesses are turning to social media marketing.
Read on to discover successful B2B social media strategies for 2021.
Spotlight your employees
No matter what your business does, your staff will always be the heart of the brand. There may be other companies that do what you do, but your employees and culture make you unique.
Social media is an effective way of humanising your brand, so feature your employees in your posts. This keeps your business open to your audience and personalises your brand for your followers.
Share original content
Running a business and managing your social media accounts can be difficult and time-consuming. You may be tempted to turn to content curation or stock images for your content, but they lack originality and creativity.
Your followers will tire of reused content. They want to connect with you – they want to see real people and situations rather than a sales pitch or posed photo.
Instead, post something that adds value to their lives. Create your own content that is completely unique and aligns with your brand values. It doesn’t have to be polished – the more authentic, the better!
Content ideas include:
- A day in the life of you, or any other members of staff
- A snapshot of behind the scenes
- A sneak peek of a new product or service.
- Your mission statement
- Customer testimonials
- ‘How to’ videos – for example, how to use your product or service
- Blog articles around relevant industry topics.
Create buyer personas
Your business doesn’t serve everyone. It’s impossible. So your social media accounts don’t need to appeal to every single company out there – just the ones that will buy from you.
Survey your team and customers or use analytic tools such as Sprout Social or Google Analytics to study your ideal customer’s characteristics and traits. Other online programs, such as BuzzSumo, are used primarily as content tools but have analytical functions that you can tap into. Use these resources to find out your target audience’s location, gender and online habits. Visit the group pages you think they would join. Use this information to build your buyer persona.
Once you have your buyer persona, create social media content that will appeal to them. The more your target audience enjoys your content, the more likely they are to engage with it and possibly become customers.
About Focus SME
Based in Sydney, Australia, Focus SME works with businesses to amplify their social media presence and increase leads through Facebook Advertising’s power. We specialise in B2B and service-based companies, assisting them to get the most out of their social media through clever B2B strategies and creative campaign executions.