As social media channels continue to grow, creating unique marketing strategies for each platform can help you achieve your goals. Each platform works differently, so you need to determine which strategy will work best. But first, how do you know which B2B social media channels are the best for your business marketing strategy? In this article, we will look at the different social media marketing platforms and the unique benefits of each for business-to-business marketing.
B2B Social Media Channels
Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is a great, easy-to-use platform for business-to-business marketing. Setting up your GMB is free and is a great way to increase your visibility across Google services (Search, Maps, Shopping, etc.). You can include company information, location, driving directions, customer reviews, and a small feed of brand posts & photos. On top of that, the platform offers tools to access audience insights that can inform your marketing strategy.
You saw we mentioned “customer reviews,” right? One must never underestimate the power of customer reviews – they even impact search rankings! Reviews can improve local SEO, increase sales, and give business owners an inside look into their customer’s interests.
Additionally, most people who use Google now search for local businesses. With so many users searching for local businesses on Google, any local business that focuses on serving a specific community should put the time and effort into optimizing their Google My Business page.
LinkedIn is one of the most effective B2B social media channels. Since LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, it’s especially effective at generating leads for your business. Utilize LinkedIn to find your next business partner, introduce your company to potential customers, and attract star talent to join your companies as employees. Unlike social platforms like Facebook and Instagram, users flock to LinkedIn to enrich their lives as business professionals.
Are you looking to run targeted ads to specific job titles, industries, job functions, or even specific levels of job seniority? LinkedIn has you covered here. Your ads appear in a news feed filled with industry news, expert advice, career training, and peer insights and recommendations. For example, your blog on higher education trends will fit right in along with discussions about equity in education and the next big industry conference.
Not to mention, LinkedIn has made quite the case for its significance as a business platform over the past few years. Check out their stats and some recent studies:
- LinkedIn has been rated as the “#1 most trusted social media platform” by Business Insider -for three consecutive years
- Brands were perceived to be “more professional” (92%), "more intelligent" (74%), “higher quality” (59%), and “more respectable” (59%) when their ad was seen on the LinkedIn platform.
Facebook & Instagram
Facebook and Instagram have lagged behind other B2B social media channels because their main focus has always been business-to-consumer. In fact, 96% of B2C marketers utilize Facebook for their marketing – making it a crowded platform in terms of marketing. Facebook and Instagram ads do allow you to target specific demographics and interests, but don’t have the specificity when it comes to jobs (which doesn’t mean you can’t utilize matched or lookalike audiences… but that’s another topic.) While Instagram is one of the fastest-growing platforms, consumer-driven businesses have overrun the platform.
With that said, Facebook and Instagram may still appropriate B2B social media channels for your marketing strategy. For instance, your users may not be who you directly sell to or conduct business with. However, it’s vital to still market to them and nurture those relationships in a customer-centric space. Plus, with over 2 billion active users, Facebook and Instagram continue to offer opportunities for increased brand awareness and audience engagement.
Did you know that 82% of B2B content marketers leveraged Twitter for organic marketing in 2021?
Twitter is a great place for quick social media marketing and engagement. Businesses can create short, easy-to-digest, engaging content that can help generate leads. Emphasis on the short, though, as you’ll only have 240 characters (including a link) to capture your audience’s attention. Twitter’s short-form nature may not lend itself to long reads, but quick, interactive content can do just as well. Assessments, polls, and quizzes can be excellent for offering engaging content and lead generation.
Something important to note is that the average lifespan of tweets is quite small, so your brand will need to stay active on Twitter daily to maintain brand awareness. If you can maintain brand awareness, Twitter can be a great B2B social media channel to build an online community by offering communities, lists, and trending topics for conversation.
Thrown off by this? Were you planning to use Instagram for your B2B marketing strategy? Not so sure about LinkedIn marketing? Let us do the thinking for you; there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Contact our scouts today to discuss the best social media strategy for your business.
