In most instances, the space between B2B and B2C companies can seem vast – but on social media, it’s quite possible for B2B companies to shrink that distance considerably, employing a lot of the same strategies and tactics that drive the sometimes astronomical levels of engagement in the B2C space, expanding your B2B audience and driving lead generation. Here are six ways to elevate your B2B social media presence.
1. You’re Not the First Person to Do This!
It might seem daunting to try and create a winning B2B social media strategy, but guess what: Tons of other companies have been exactly where you are right now, which means you don’t have to start anywhere near the beginning of this process. If you take a look at what other companies are doing, where they have found success and where they have struggled, you can begin your social media journey at a much more advanced and much more prepared stage than you would have otherwise.
2. Focus On How You Can Serve Your Audience’s Needs
Just because your business sells lighting fixtures and accessories, it doesn’t mean that your social feed should be filled with fluorescent tubes. In fact, that’s the opposite of what you should be doing. Your customers aren’t coming to you because of the lights that you sell – they are coming to you because they have a problem (or set of problems), and your product or service solves that. In other words, it’s not about the physical LED bulbs that you’re selling, but the efficiency that those LEDs promise, as well as the personal touch that your sales team delivers. So, offer “Office Energy Efficiency Tips” every Wednesday, and do a “Featured Staff Member” post every other week. That way, you’re offering your followers added value to their feeds, and they feel like they are getting to know your staff and your company better.
3. Quality > Quantity
Often, the sense of obligation to create a large volume of content to seem “active” on social media leads to the same situation: You have lots of content, but none of it is very good. Flip that equation and put your energy into producing better posts: Aim for substantive content that presents information that resonates with your followers, and think about how you can provide your followers with creative, personable messages that cut through the rest of the social media noise by giving them a chin scratch or a chuckle while they scroll.
4. Be an Amplifier
Just because you didn’t start a conversation doesn’t mean you shouldn’t participate. And just because you didn’t create content yourself doesn’t mean you can’t share it. Use your platform to share and amplify the messages of other businesses and leaders in your industry, and feel free to add your own insights. By engaging in conversations that you wouldn’t normally be a part of, with a wider industry audience, you’re automatically getting new eyes on your business and your messaging.
5. Tap Into User-Generated Content
Tapping into the thoughts, opinions, photos and videos of your followers is a great strategy for filling up your social feed, but you’re also far more likely to drive engagement because those users and their friends want to share that somebody else thinks their content is worth sharing. You can do this by asking provocative questions that users will want to read other people’s answers to, running photo contests to gather user-generated photos and videos, posting periodic quizzes, and rewarding users for engaging with and amplifying your posts. The more users get used to engaging with your posts, the more likely they are to do so even when they aren’t being explicitly asked to do so. We call that a win-win.
6. If You’re On Social Media, Be Social!
Most B2B companies run on relationships. If you think of your social media accounts as just another sales or marketing channel to build and maintain new relationships, it will make it easier for you to produce content that delivers on the personable and engaging characteristics of your sales and marketing teams. Every one of your posts should sound like it’s coming directly from an actual person – because it is! When your posts are conversational, you’d be surprised at how many conversations can arise organically, and if even a few of those conversations lead to new clients or new sales, the ROI should be worth all the work that led up to it.
You may not get all the likes, shares and followers you’d like right away, but these tips will help you shift the way you think about the role of social media in your B2B business, and that can really help you get the gears turning about how to kick your social media efforts into high gear – making it more fun, more compelling and more successful in the process!
