27 Apr Social Media Tactics for B2B & Non-Consumer Brands to Consider
If you are a B2B brand and consumers aren’t your main target, you may be questioning the need for a social media presence. However, even though it might not be as cut and dry, social media can still play an important role in your overall marketing mix. This post will focus on the channels and tactics that lend themselves well to focusing on reaching a B2B audience.
Where are B2B Customers on Social?
There are certain channels that you are more likely to find the B2B audience on, and, unfortunately, Snapchat is not one of them. According to eMarketer, LinkedIn is the most important channel to reach B2B buyers during the research phase. LinkedIn is followed closely by ‘blogs’. Blogs are a great way to share long form, thought-leadership content, but they can be very time intensive to manage effectively. Twitter is also a popular choice among B2B marketers for short content. Facebook could be a potential fit, but before diving in, I would start with a clear understanding of where your specific audience/industry is on social.
What types of Content do they Want?
According to LinkedIn, content has a significant impact on a B2B buyer’s purchase decision. The average B2B buyer will consume over 10 pieces of content during their path to purchase. Different types of content are effective during the different buying stages. eMarketer says that the most effective tactics for lower funnel activities, like lead generation include: white papers, thought-leadership content and webinars. A good method for delivering this content is through SlideShare. SlideShare was acquired by LinkedIn, and it is a vehicle for hosting/embedding lead generation materials. You can add a Customized Lead Gen form within your SlideShare presentations to collect the information like: Company Name, Email Address, Phone number, etc.
Tactics You Should Implement
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- Optimize Your Brand’s Profiles. Step 1 should be to optimize your social profiles to make sure you are speaking to the right audience. Here are some tips on how to do that for LinkedIn.
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- Develop Custom/Lookalike Audiences. If you already have an existing list of customers that you can use, Custom and Lookalike audiences are a great way to build and reach an audience similar to that list. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter all have this capability.
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- Consider Working with Influencers. While they might be harder to find in the B2B space, influencers can still play an important role in your social strategy. There are networks that focus on the B2B audience and specialize by industry. Influencers can help build credibility to your message and expand beyond your current audience.
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- Use Employees as Advocates. Your best advocates are your employees. Activating them on social and having them share messages on behalf of the company they work for reaps benefits all around. At Ignite, we use Dynamic Signal, but there are many tools out there to make it easy for them to share social content with their networks.
- Use Employees as Advocates. Your best advocates are your employees. Activating them on social and having them share messages on behalf of the company they work for reaps benefits all around. At Ignite, we use Dynamic Signal, but there are many tools out there to make it easy for them to share social content with their networks.
What strategies are you using to engage your B2B audience?
