B2B Social Media Marketing

In the past B2B and B2C marketing were considered as very separate entities. How the two different audiences were approached was very different. It was clear. B2C focused on enjoyable and relatable content and B2B emphasised the reasons to invest in the product. However, the gap between the two is reducing. The B2B audience is evolving and becoming more sophisticated. As a result, the need for a positive customer experience is rising in importance for all businesses.

Reaching for the phone to make a series of cold calls to potential clients is no longer the most beneficial way to grow your business. The B2B buyer is evolving, the number of channels they use in the decision-making process has doubled from 5 to 10 over the last 5 years. Meaning you need to have all bases covered.

The conversion time for decision-making differs greatly between B2C and B2B. Consumers are more likely to buy on impulse, but the B2B relationship is more complicated and requires nurturing. B2B buyers are more rational and not likely to respond to a ‘life-changing offer’ or a funny ad! On the plus side, a B2B buyer is more loyal than a B2C customer, when the relationship continues to be nurtured.

Long gone are the days when B2B companies could just say how amazing their product is, they now have to show it and prove it. Transparency has been important in B2C for a long time. And this is part of the reason social media has been so fantastic for B2C, building social proof and a valid reason to buy the product.

20 years ago, the idea of using social media marketing to promote your B2B company would have seemed preposterous. But now it should be considered an integral part of your strategy. LinkedIn only launched as a networking platform in 2002, and then it diversified into a recruitment hub in 2005. But nowadays it is probably the ultimate B2B social platform.

Over half of the population uses social media, and around 83% of B2B companies use social media. But if you are not fully utilising the power of social media, then you are missing a trick.

It’s fast
It’s inexpensive
It promotes your brand
It can help grow your business
It educates your audience
It builds your credibility
Use it to share your content
Use it to engage with your customers
Use it for advertising

Having said that, it would be a mistake to operate your social media as a separate entity. With social media coming second only to search engines in terms of success, it is worth dedicating time to getting it right. Your social media requires a strategy. A strategy aligned to complement and work alongside your business and marketing strategy. Your social media marketing should support your brand identity, to continue to cement and grow your brand.

We discussed in our last blog the importance of educating your audience, for credibility and authority. Semrush found that B2B blogs with educational content receive 52% more organic traffic than content purely about your company. If you are a thought leader in your industry, even better share your insights on social media, to help establish trust.

When it comes to staying top of mind what is the best way to be visible? Social media is checked daily by nearly 50% of people and multiple times a day by over 70% of people!

Social media marketing also offers several paid campaign options. These offer precise targeting to your desired markets and excellent response rates when placed as part of a strategic campaign. This is a cost-effective and successful marketing route that Austin Marketing is utilising for our clients. We offer a regular posting service and work with you to generate content or work independently to post appropriately. This often functions alongside our SEO services, to increase organic visits to your website.

When it comes to using paid social media effectively, it is more than just throwing up a few promoted posts. We offer a full campaign service including strategy, targeting, branding, design, concept, content, landing page, research, delivery, and monitoring. Of course, we also offer all those services individually, just give us a call to get started and wait for the enquiries to come in!

Do you want to harness the power of social media for your business?

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