I thought it best to begin these insights on B2B social media marketing with a few eye opening statistics.
What if I told you that, despite driving 80% of all B2B leads from social media, LinkedIn is only the fifth most popular channel for marketing content creation?
Seems like there’s a bit of disconnect out there, right? But wait…there’s more.
While Facebook is the largest content distribution channel for marketers, it only generates 7% of total lead generation from social media.
So what gives?
Well, B2B businesses are filled with busy people. And busy people don’t always have time to keep up with marketing trends, even when those trends can make or break lead generation, conversion rates, brand awareness, and so much more.
Put another way, too many companies are a step behind social media users – and their audience, for that matter. Sometimes even a few years behind.
But that’s why I’m going to run through a few social media trends you can start leveraging in your overall marketing efforts to improve your aim and hit the target every time. Sound good? Let’s get started.
Identify and Flaunt Your Internal Rockstars
We’ve spoken about subject matter experts (SMEs) in the past, and how they’re so critical to the content creation process. They’re largely responsible for helping you become thought leaders in your industry, building search equity, and establishing trust from your audience.
So why not leverage that expertise even more?
Social media is just that – social. It hinges on connections between a brand and its customers. And if there’s anything that the last few years have taught us, it’s that influencers carry a lot of weight when it comes to consumer decision-making.
For your B2B marketing, you can adopt a similar influencer model, just using your in-house experts as the centerpiece to your social messaging rather than a Kardashian.
Do you have an especially innovative mind sitting in your R&D? That’s great! How about introducing them to your audience with a series of social posts and follow-up blogs in your content marketing strategy?
Or what about that employee in your HR department that’s been with your team for 20 years, has seen it grow from infancy to a market share success story, and is far and away the company’s most fervent evangelist?
Those are the type of internal rockstars I’m talking about, the ones that can help you form more human connections with your audience, whether it’s about the nexgen widget you’re taking to market in six months or the amazing culture that makes your organization so special.
Simply put, have your best people become brand ambassadors, and let them scream your glories from the social platform and inbound mountaintops.
Your B2B audience will appreciate the human touch to your messaging and, when part of a finely-tuned overall strategy, this form of influencer marketing can shorten sales cycles, extend organic reach, and create a more memorable customer experience.
Keep It Personal and Listen Closely
There’s so much noise in today’s digital environment. Your audience is perpetually surrounded by binary bullhorns that are loud, abrasive, and try to garner as much attention as possible with one fell swoop.
But that’s the thing about so much noise, no matter how loud it gets. At some point, it all just blends into the background, and customers stop paying attention.
So what’s a B2B company to do when fighting against a wall of sound across every social media channel? You start playing small ball when everyone else is trying to hit a home run.
When it comes to social media, a personal approach is always best. In fact, that notion is true for all facets of your digital marketing strategy – the more you connect with the end user and provide a personalized experience, the more traction you’ll get.
Now, I’m not saying that your marketing team should be DM’ing every existing and potential customer. However, technology could play an essential role in identifying and engaging people according to a honed set of affinities.
Social listening platforms aren’t exactly new in the marketplace, but many companies – small businesses, in particular – have yet to tap into their Bloodhound tracking abilities and personalization tools.
This type of technology – often with machine learning at its heart – can help you monitor what B2B buyers are saying across the digital landscape, identify and interpret buyer intent, keep tabs on the competition, and quickly address any issues before they gain a head of steam, all in real-time.
And just as importantly, a well-equipped social listening solution will also help you better segment your audience by directing you to their preferred digital locations. Think of it as a radar system that will lead you to your customers. Hashtags on steroids, if you will.
Square Peg ≠ Round Hole
For my final piece of advice, I want to go back to the statistics I referenced up top. My point wasn’t that LinkedIn is better than Facebook and, therefore, you should immediately stop all Facebook marketing in your social media strategy.
The fact of the matter is, each of the social media platforms has its own strengths.
Yes, LinkedIn is incredible at driving new leads for B2B marketers thanks to its amazing targeting tools. Give the platform a few data points on your target audience and it can provide you with a list of the ideal people to market your newest webinar, infographic, or almost any other type of content toward.
But on the flip-side of that equation, LinkedIn isn’t exactly touchy feely. Which means Facebook and Instagram are usually your best bets when you’re trying to really connect with your audience at a more personal level.
The point is, be smart with your marketing spend and don’t try to cram a square peg into a round hole. Forming emotional connections with your target customer segments just isn’t what LinkedIn is best for. At least right now.
Likewise, when you have a specific solution or thought piece to offer, Facebook and Instagram usually won’t give you much bang for your marketing buck. In other words, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each of the social networks will help your B2B brand choose the right one for its needs.
Jumpstart Your Marketing
Sounds like a lot, right? Well, it is, but I promise that incorporating these four social media trends will soon feel like second nature. And once that occurs, your social media marketing will be more precise and engaging, giving you a massive gust of wind in your marketing strategy’s sails.
But, of course, if you prefer to have a team of experts handling all of it for you, Creative Cave is always ready to take the wheel. Whether you need to overhaul your entire social media marketing strategy, create some snazzy video content for TikTok, or just want a bit of SEO help to appease the Google gods, that’s what we’re here to do. And we’re darn good at it.
