Due to the nature of B2B companies, B2B social media strategy requires an entirely different approach than consumer-oriented social media strategy.
This article explains how B2B companies can establish a strong social media presence by providing an easy-to-follow guide on developing a B2B social media marketing strategy in 10 simple steps.
Let's get started!
Table of Contents
- Set Goals
- Know Your Audience
- Conduct a Competitor Analysis
- Select Your Platforms
- Create a Content Plan
- Keep Consistency
- Develop a Unique Brand Voice
- Interact With Your Audience
- Stay Up to Date With Industry Trends
- Monitor and Analyze Your Results
- B2B Social Media Strategy: Final Thoughts
- B2B Social Media Strategy FAQs
1. Set Goals
The goal you want to achieve determines every step of your B2B social media strategy; therefore, you must set clear goals before tailoring a plan of action.
Your goals will help you determine which social media platforms to use, what type of content to create and how to measure your success.
Some of the most common goals marketers aim for are:
- Create brand awareness (87%)
- Build credibility/trust (81%)
- Educate audience (79%)
- Generate demand/leads (75%)
- Build loyalty with existing clients/customers (68%)
Setting general goals isn’t enough. To actually achieve them (and to facilitate the entire process), they need to be SMART:
- Specific: The goal should be clear and state exactly what you want to achieve.
- Measurable: You shoul dbe able to track your progress and determine whether you've achieved it.
- Attainable: The goal should be achievable, considering your resources and abilities.
- Relevant: The goal should align with your overall objectives, mission and vision.
- Time-bound: The goal should have a specific completion timeframe so that you can stay focused and motivated.
2. Know Your Audience
Whether you use social media for B2B or B2C marketing, you must know your audience.
By identifying the target audience and understanding their needs and pain points, you can create content that resonates with their interests. Speaking your audience’s language can build engagement, trust and loyalty, leading to increased business growth.
However, only 56% of B2B content marketers know their target audience and develop buyer persona while creating content. Use this insight to your advantage.
Here are some tips to know your audience:
- Use social media analytics tools, surveys and website data to analyze your existing customer base; find commonalities among your customers and identify which ones generate the most profits and what makes them interested in your offerings.
- Create buyer personas as detailed as possible. Include industry, company size, number of employees, technographic data, etc.
- Use social listening tools to monitor conversations about your brand and industry and stay up to date with industry trends and discussions.
3. Conduct a Competitor Analysis
Social media platforms give you a clear picture of your competitor's social media marketing plan, but that doesn't mean you should copy/paste their tactics. Analyze what works well for them and where they fall short. Use this information to develop a strategy to differentiate your brand and build a unique value proposition for your target audience.
Competitor analysis will provide you with valuable insights on how to use social media for B2B marketing. Follow these steps to conduct it:
- List your main competitors and identify the ones that are the most successful on social media.
- Analyze their social media profiles. How frequently do they post? What kind of content do they use the most? Is their tone of voice serious or nonchalant? How do they engage with their audience?
- Identify their strengths and weaknesses. For example, they might be great at creating high-quality content while falling short in audience engagement.
- Based on your analysis, identify areas where you can differentiate from your competitors. For example, if your competitors rarely engage with their audiences, you can nurture yours and win over theirs by doing the opposite. Look for gaps in their B2B social media marketing strategy and develop an improved approach to fill those gaps.
4. Select Your Platforms
Social media platforms increasingly influence B2B buyers' decisions; that’s why choosing the right platform is crucial for the success of your B2B social media strategy.
In 2023, LinkedIn will remain the best B2B platform:
- LinkedIn is the first choice of 92% of B2B marketers.
- 80% of B2B leads on social media come from LinkedIn.
- 46% of all social media traffic B2B websites receive comes from Linkedin.
Facebook is second, Twitter third and Instagram fourth top-rated B2B marketing platform.
You don't need to be on every social media platform. Instead, focus on the platforms where your target audience is most active and where you can create the most value for your business.
If you need help developing a strategy for your LinkedIn presence, contact the top LinkedIn marketing agencies specialized exclusively for this social media platform.
5. Create a Content Plan
When considering a B2B marketing strategy, boring content is one of the first challenges you must overcome. Although technical information and specifications are important, they should not be the main focus of your B2B social media content strategy.
To capture your customers' attention, publish creative and valuable content that demonstrates your unique value proposition and makes their work (or life) easier. You can also establish your business as a thought industry leader by publishing high-quality and valuable content.
Your content can include industry news, how-to guides, trends, tips and strategies. Enrich it with images, infographics and videos to make it easier to digest and keep the audience’s attention.
Although it could be tempting to constantly publish sales-oriented content (after all, you are attempting to sell your products/services), please resist this temptation. An aggressive strategy is just as inadequate as a boring one, and it can turn off your prospects for good.
Tip: Remember that your content targets more than just top-level executives and decision-makers. The younger generation will eventually take on more purchasing power and become decision-makers themselves. Therefore, build relationships with professionals at all stages of their careers.
6. Keep Consistency
Creating a consistent social media presence can be challenging, especially if you're active on multiple platforms, since it requires a lot of time, effort and planning.
Focus on creating high-quality content that adds value to your audience instead of posting daily. That can be tricky for B2B companies since their customers (business executives) don't bring purchasing decisions as lightheartedly as consumers.
However, a well-crafted post that stimulates engagement and adds value to the conversation is more effective than multiple posts with little substance.
One of the best ways to achieve consistency is by developing a content calendar outlining the frequency and type of content posted on different platforms.
If you want to go a step further, use social media automation tools. They will take over redundant tasks, such as publishing and a part of customer interactions, allowing you to focus on other important aspects of your B2B social media strategy.
7. Develop a Unique Brand Voice
Your brand voice should be equally recognizable to your audience as visual elements of your brand — your logo, imagery or color palette.
Use a conversational tone for your brand voice on social media to showcase your company's human aspect and make it easier for people to approach you.
Although it has to be professional, your brand voice doesn’t have to be monotonous or robot-like. It can be friendly, casual, formal, witty, snarky, humorous, serious or any combination.
One way to determine brand voice is to analyze the tone and emotion of your past blog posts and landing page copy and try to convey the exact style in your social messaging.
8. Interact With Your Audience
Engaging with your audience builds relationships, establishes trust and shows that you care about their interests beyond just selling them a product or service. This, in turn, fosters a sense of community and boosts brand loyalty.
An effective way to engage with your audience is to respond to their comments and messages promptly and authentically. This way, you will demonstrate that you value their opinions and listen to their needs. You can also proactively reach out to customers and followers through direct messages or tag them in relevant posts or conversations.
Remember, social media is a two-way conversation. Don't be afraid to ask questions, seek feedback and share user-generated content.
9. Stay Up to Date With Industry Trends
Staying updated with the latest trends in your industry helps you stay relevant and competitive in an overcrowded B2B market. It involves following the newest marketing tactics and staying informed about industry insights and opinions.
Monitoring your customers' and competitors' social media discussions can help you spot trends and actively participate in relevant conversations in your business.
You don't have to spend hours scrolling through your social media feeds to stay updated. Use social listening tools to monitor relevant conversations and brand mentions. This way, you will easily spot trends and make informed decisions for your B2B social media strategy.
10. Monitor and Analyze Your Results
As you can see, all the steps of a B2B social marketing strategy require a thorough approach and so does the last one. It's not enough to simply post content and hope for the best.
Tracking and analyzing social media metrics relevant to your SMART goals (such as impressions, engagement rates, click-through rates and conversion rates) can provide valuable insights into what's working and what's not.
Analyzing your social media results allows you to track your progress over time and identify areas that need improvement. You will adjust your strategy as needed and meet your marketing goals. Doing so can maximize your social media efforts’ return on investment (ROI) and ensure you're making the most of your resources.
B2B Social Media Strategy: Final Thoughts
A well-defined B2B social media strategy is crucial for businesses looking to reach and engage with their target audience, build brand awareness and ultimately drive conversions.
By following the 10 steps outlined in this guide, businesses can develop a solid foundation for their social media strategy and customize it to their specific goals and audience.
However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to B2B social media, as each business is unique and requires a strategy tailored to its specific goals and targeted audience. Contact the top social media marketing agencies for expert guidance and support if you need further assistance.
B2B Social Media Strategy FAQs
1. What is B2B social media marketing?
B2B stands for "business-to-business," a model where businesses collaborate with each other instead of individual clients.
B2B social media marketing refers to all marketing activities conducted on social media platforms that aim to promote one business's brand, products or services to other businesses.
2. Do B2B companies need social media?
Although social media platforms may not be the primary marketing channel for B2B companies, they can certainly benefit from having a solid social media presence.
Thanks to social media, B2B companies can:
- Connect with their target audience.
- Build brand awareness.
- Engage with potential customers.
- Establish thought leadership in their industry.
- Build relationships, network and partner with other businesses in their industry.
- Generate leads.
- Drive sales.
3. Which social media platform is best for B2B?
LinkedIn, a platform developed for business professionals’ networking, is the best social media platform for B2B companies.
