Posted by Did you know that more than 3.8 billion people are active on social media?
What’s more, users spend approximately 2 hours and 24 minutes per day on social media platforms across devices each day.
Those numbers make it clear —
Social media is a prime virtual real estate to grab your audience’s attention.
While B2C companies have been leveraging the medium to grow their business, B2B companies are only beginning to realize its potential.
But they’re quickly catching up.
In fact, social media was the most preferred organic content distribution channel for B2B marketers in 2019.
91% of B2B marketers said they used it.
Image via Content Marketing Institute
If you are in the B2B marketing space, you’ve got to jump in the social media trend.
In this post, let’s take a look at some of the benefits you can get through social media marketing.
6 Great Ways In Which Social Media Can Help B2B Marketers
B2B is a tough market to be in.
You’ve only got a handful of prospects to reach out to, and convincing them can seem like a long and tiring road.
Part of the reason is that the price points involved are typically much higher than for B2C companies.
Nevertheless, social media can still come to the rescue for B2B companies.
Here’s how:
1. Get More Exposure
As we mentioned earlier, almost 60% of the world’s population is on social media. By increasing your social media footprint, you can reach out to a broader audience.
That’s not all.
It also provides you with the opportunity to communicate your business values and mission clearly. In turn, this increases your brand awareness and also the overall brand recall value.
At the end of the day, it can help in making your brand more memorable.
IBM, one of the biggest B2B companies, understands this well. On their Twitter account, they regularly post updates to drive brand awareness.
In fact, they also have a separate Twitter channel to announce their latest research developments.
Image via Twitter
2. Find More Qualified Leads
Most social media platforms come with advanced targeting capabilities that enable you to reach out to your target audience.
That’s a great thing.
It means you are not going to spend time and effort into talking to the wrong set of people. Instead, you are talking directly to people who may be interested in your industry, niche, or business.
Think about it. When a prospective client checks out your social media handle, you have the opportunity to tell them why your brand is better than the others in the market. It’s like presenting them with a pitch without actually doing it.
Of course, for you to generate quality leads that can translate into sales, you also need to optimize your social media presence.
Create content that will help and educate your potential customers. At the same time, your posts should highlight how you can help them solve their pressing issues.
American cloud-based software program company, Salesforce has nailed this strategy. They post engaging and topical content on their Instagram channel to connect with their audience.
When the COVID-19 crisis forced businesses to go digital, they even shared tips that would help them make the transition.
After a couple of posts, they also introduced their new tool, Customer 360 that would help businesses with it.
In the video post, they also clearly define their target audience. Their caption also has a clear CTA that encourages users to check out the link in their bio.
Image via Instagram
3. Showcase Event Participation
Trade shows are a big deal for all B2B marketers. It’s where all the networking happens. Not only is it a great way to showcase what your business does, but also to make important connections in your industry.
Participating in an important event can also go a long way in boosting brand recognition and shaping public perception. Beyond the event, you can also leverage social media to amplify its impact.
By using the right hashtags, you can let the world know that you are making waves in the industry.
In addition to this, you can also use social media to amplify events that you are hosting. You can use social media to create a buzz around an event and get more participation.
Need some inspiration?
Recently, QuickBooks by Intuit announced a virtual event on its Instagram account. Even though the event is a month away, they can get people talking about it through the post. As you can see in the screenshot below, they also used an event-specific hashtag for their post.
Image via Instagram
4. Win Customer Trust
Winning a prospect’s trust is integral to closing deals, especially in B2B businesses. There is a lot of money involved, so it’s fair that prospects want to be sure about a company’s credentials before investing money into them.
One of the best ways to create a great first impression on social media is through customer testimonials. Social proof can go a long way in establishing your credibility and boosting your reputation.
The best part is you can experiment with the way you display them. You could either publish text-based posts, audios, or even videos.
GetResponse, an email marketing tool uses this strategy to win customer trust through their Instagram feed. They have featured multiple testimonials on their profile.
Image via Instagram
What’s more, they even have an Instagram highlight on their profile specifically dedicated to customer testimonials.
5. Build Thought Leadership
On social media, you don’t always have to advertise your products. If you do that, you risk coming across as too promotional. Instead, post educational content to boost engagement. This strategy has an added benefit — you can build thought leadership.
Instead of just claiming that you can help their business, you can actually show them how via some educational posts.
“Show, don’t tell” — that’s an important adage for marketers.
With this strategy, you can do just that without putting in too much effort. If done right, this way you can also gain an edge over your competitors.
Adobe’s social media marketing strategy is all about building thought leadership. Surveys, case studies, educational blog posts — they publish it all on their social media channels.
Image via Brafton
Adobe views publishing as a way to share content that might interest their target audience. It’s not sales-oriented, but more informational in nature.
Even though it doesn’t tell users to check out their products, it does establish the brand as a leader in the space conducting market research.
6. Boost Overall Engagement
When you post a new trend in the industry or launch something innovative on social media, you’re inviting your audience for discussion. It can be a great way to build a conversation around your brand.
Take a leaf from MailChimp. Their team came up with a very innovative LinkedIn campaign to boost engagement. They launched a video game to familiarize users with their brand
Image via Brafton
Conclusion
Social media has a lot to offer to B2B marketers. From boosting brand awareness to getting more quality leads and winning customer trust, there is a lot to gain. You can even amplify your events and build thought leadership through social media.
The best part is it doesn’t require a huge investment. All you need is some smart work. If you haven’t chalked out a social media marketing strategy for your B2B business, it’s time to get started now.
Do you have any questions related to leveraging social media for B2B marketing? Please feel free to mention them in the comments section.
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