Across the world of B2B commerce, the popularity of social media marketing has spread like wildfire. A report published by Content Marketing Institute shows that B2B marketers have started incorporating social media as an essential aspect for initiating interaction with new business accounts. LinkedIn, being a social media platform for professionals, topped the charts with a massive 90% of B2B marketing professionals distributing content on their website.
Even though B2B marketing goals and objectives are consistent every year, it’s the buyer’s expectations from marketing programs that are changing.
The increasing influence of consumerism on the B2B buyer is also contributing to the shifting attitude towards communications and marketing campaigns as business buyers.
So with the changing expectations of the buyers, marketing requires a certain finesse which means that simply maintaining a presence on social media is not enough anymore. If raising awareness and increasing brand impression through social media is the main objective, then planning a content strategy is absolutely crucial to the strategy’s success.
Here are a few social media aspects to keep in mind when planning out a B2B social media strategy:
Brand Penetration
Most B2B social media campaigns put their primary focus on increasing the number of interactions, i.e. user clicks on ads. While this may be considered the best method by some, it gets quite heavy on the budget. Every single click is costing you money and once the allotted resources run out, the ads stop running and your brand’s presence gets sucked into the void of nothingness.
The social media platform is ideal for impression based strategies, which means that your goal is for your brand to make an impression on the people who are running the business you are likely to approach for sales in the future.
The reason for that is people are more likely to purchase a product or service they already know about – even if it’s just a vague idea of the brand – as compared to a brand they previously had no idea about.
This means a popup on social media timelines, feeds, and advertisements can make a decent impact on consumer preferences. And by sharing helpful information and valuable insights, a brand can create positive reinforcement on the viewer. Hence, if the viewer chooses to retweet, share, like, and even create a connection, the brand name penetrates further into the minds and the psyche of the people.
Social Media Niche
People don’t just use social media platforms for interaction with other people – the amount of information on these platforms makes it the perfect place to read the news, keep track of markets and follow latest developments in their respective fields, meaning they learn from other users with information on mutual interests. This particular social media consumer behavior makes it ideal for marketers to employ marketing tactics to bolster their brand visibility among potential clients.
Through the existence of such niches in the social media corridors, marketers can directly communicate with potential clients.
Interaction with social media users taps into the audience waiting to connect and engage with you and the information you wish to provide about your product or service. The best way to accomplish this feat is through offering expertise and insight, which the users might find valuable.
Interaction through these groups won’t make a marketer seem like a salesman; since everyone is there to participate in the community and offer insight, advice and tips, people won’t be reluctant to hear you out. By doing this your brand’s recognition and prestige will grow over time. Marketers will find that sales come easier when they have a respectable track record of participation on social media.
Following these strategies will give a sense of order to your B2B marketing efforts on social media. But aside from that, marketers should remember that social media is not a magic conduit for sales. Just pouring money into a social media strategy without any solid planning will most certainly yield a terrible ROI. It’s important to keep in mind that social media works better as a tool that you can use to influence your sales rather than a channel for direct conversions.
Make a genuine effect to join groups and add value to them instead of coming off as a spam bot looking for leads. The ultimate goal is to make sure your potential clients have some knowledge of your brand before you make the first contact with them.
At Zen Media, we have the experience and expertise to make your B2B social media marketing strategy a success. Fill out our contact form today, so that we can discuss your needs and customize a plan for you.
