Louis Spanos — September 22, 2017 — September 22, 2017
A Smart Start for your B2B’s Social Presence
Like any other Millennial, I’m obsessed with social media. I scroll through Facebook to see who’s engaged or expecting, Instagram to see who’s been to that new fusion restaurant and LinkedIn to keep tabs on my classmates’ professional ventures. While we’ve all been busy swiping and double tapping our way through life, someone realized they could make a ton of cash using these platforms for marketing. I mean a lot. Today, all companies list social media as an integral (if not the most important part) of their marketing and public relations operations.
Some companies have used social media to come back from the brink of obscurity (hello, Denny’s) while others have had bad situations go from bad to worse play out on social media (RIP, Fyre Festival). It’s tempting to experiment with a social media strategy that sees your account slinging out sassy comebacks like Wendy’s, but it’s not in the cards for everyone. Especially if you’re a business-facing company, or B2B. No one wants their accountant serving out sick burns, they just want their taxes done on time.
Why Use Social as a B2B?
So, we already know that a lot of companies use social media as a marketing tool. Is it a worthy investment for a B2B though? Survey says yes. According to HubSpot, 90 percent of marketers report that their social media efforts generated more exposure for their company and increased sales. By spending as little as six hours a week, 66 percent of those surveyed saw lead generation benefits from their social media activity and revenue increases nearing 25 percent.
Being a B2B on social media does not mean you can’t have fun and engage with your audience. If your company only posts sales pitch after sales pitch, you’ll alienate existing customers and push away potential leads. Whether your company already has a Facebook account or you’re just dipping your toes into the water, now is the time for you to invest in your social media efforts and tell your company’s story.
Consistency is Key
If you’re worried about your current social media presence, take a breath. Establishing a company’s social media account is quick and easy. The most important thing to social media is consistency in posting. If you’re planning a social media strategy where your company begins by posting on a frequent basis, you need to be prepared to maintain that frequency.
There’s been a million different studies for what day or time posts on a specific platform perform best, but the best advice I can give you is to create a schedule that you can stick to. What does this mean? If you want to launch an Instagram for your office furniture company, it’s better to start by posting less content consistently than it is to post more content inconsistently.
If you plan to start by posting several photos a day on Instagram, you need to be able to keep that momentum for the long-term future. Not just a week, or even a month—you should be planning for at least a year.
Every social media platform values consistency in their algorithm, and it’s in your best interest to keep this top of mind when developing your company’s social media strategy.
Which Channel is the Best Fit?
So now that we’ve got a posting strategy out of the way, the next step is to decide what channel or channels your company should be on. A good rule of thumb is to start with Facebook and add channels from there. Pew Research Center states that 79 percent of all adults use Facebook, and that number is only rising. That’s a lot of scrolling.
Is your company a professional services company with clients that tend to be other businesses? You should most likely have a LinkedIn account since a lot of your customers are already there. According to HubSpot, LinkedIn is the only platform with a user base that trends older rather than younger. These older users tend to be decision makers.
Similarly, if your company is more visual and generally public-facing, say hello to Instagram. In March 2017, over 120 million Instagram users interacted with a business based on viewing an Instagram ad, and more than 60 percent of users first learned about a product or service through Instagram.
Since there is so much competition, your company should consider launching only on channels that are vital to reaching your target audience. Instagram is a great platform, but only if you’re ready to invest the time into growing your account. If so, read on to learn how you can tell your company’s best story on Instagram.
To make a long story short, social media is a big deal today. It’s not just for Nike, Wendy’s or your mom’s Etsy store. Your B2B business needs to join the partyit’s easy to play catch up. Social media is a matter of finding your audience and determining how much time you can invest. Use your 140 characters wisely.
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Photo credit: Pixabay.com
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