04 Apr Our 9 Top B2B Social Media Marketing Tips
With all the emphasis on B2C social media marketing, you’d think B2B social media marketing was really hard – or impossible. It’s neither. But it is different.
B2B Social Media Marketing Tips
Use B2B-focused channels
LinkedIn, Medium and Twitter are the best social media channels for B2B companies. People go to LinkedIn for business-related information, Medium for new ideas and Twitter to interact with business people from around the world.
Best of all, you don’t have to pay to ensure your posts show up on those channels. And the more you put into them, the more you’ll get out of them. In other words, be social, and you’ll reap the rewards.
None of the above can be said about Facebook or Instagram.
Build relationships over sales
Social media is about building relationships, not closing sales. It’s the best place to build awareness and trust, have conversations and give and get advice. If you are an active presence on LinkedIn, you will be top of mind when someone needs your services.
Create content to share
And not just any content, but valuable content specifically for your ideal client. What’s valuable? It is written in plain English, and it teaches someone how to solve a common need or problem.
To make content even more valuable, use industry statistics that back up your point and case studies from your own company. These will build even more trust and credibility.
Use a lead magnet to push people to your website
Because social media channels are borrowed, not owned, you want to push people to a channel you do own – your website.
The best way to do this is with an offer for a free download that will benefit them, not you. Instead of a case study, offer an assessment. Instead of a demo, offer a guide or ebook.
Once they’re on your website, they’ll need to opt-in with their name and email to receive that freebie. Now that they’re on your email list, you can continue to build the relationship.
Get creative with visual content
You don’t have a shiny storefront or shelves full or products to feature on social media. But you do have two fantastic resources: your knowledge, and your clients.
Tap into both to create bite-size content that can be turned into a graphic using Canva:
- Quick tips
- Favorite quotes (your own are OK, too)
- Testimonials
- Statistics
- Questions (people LOVE to share)
Set up Google My Business
Google My Business is not just a great tool for local businesses. National companies can definitely benefit from a verified listing, too. Here’s why:
- Request and respond to reviews
- Post updates (they last one week)
- Turn on a text message feature so people can quickly get in touch with you (they won’t have access to your real phone number)
Advertise on Google, not Facebook
If you want to advertise online, don’t even think about Facebook. Skip over LinkedIn too, as it’s so easy to be visible on that platform. Instead, try Google AdWords. This is not an area of expertise for us, so my advice is to work with a company that specializes in it (and has proven results).
Tap into the power of YouTube
Google is the world’s #1 search engine. YouTube is #2. YouTube is owned by Google. Therefore, post videos on YouTube.
Now, you might not be a big video-watcher. I’m not, either. But lots of people prefer video over text. Create short (3 minutes) videos on hot topics or FAQs. And don’t forget to share them on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Measure your damn efforts
If you’re not measuring, don’t bother marketing. You really need to set a goal and track progress for all marketing campaigns, including social media. It doesn’t matter if your goals are monthly or quarterly. Set ‘em, and track ‘em.
If you want to learn even more social media marketing tips, download our ebook, The Small Business Guide to Social Media Marketing.
Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels
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