In today's interconnected world, social media is not a platform reserved for B2C businesses. B2B companies are successfully leveraging social media to connect with customers, boost brand awareness and drive sales. By 2025, it is estimated that 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur on digital channels, meaning that getting your social media in order now, will pay off in the long run.¹
 
Social media channels provide a direct line of communication with decision-makers, allowing you to showcase your expertise, share valuable insights, and establish thought leadership.
 
Let's consider the aspects of business social media marketing that are crucial to B2B marketing success.

B2B social media strategy essentials

Content personalisation

Personalisation allows businesses to engage audiences at a knowledge-based and more emotional level, fostering better engagement and conversion rates.

Research with B2B buyers shows that personalisation is most effective when the solution communicates a clear understanding of the buyer’s industry and business issues. If your business creates whitepapers or long-form content, customising these by the industries you’re targeting, is a great way to engage with businesses directly.
 
To do this well you’ll need accurate insight into your audience’s needs, behaviours, and preferences, which can be drawn from CRM tools, customer interactions or strategic market research. Tools like AI can also be leveraged to automate personalisation, making it a more efficient and impactful process. Any content developed can be utilised not only for social media but in your digital advertising and across wider sales and marketing campaigns.

Thought leadership.

Becoming a thought leader in your industry can foster trust and position your company as an expert. But how do you position yourself as a thought leader? Create and share valuable, insightful content such as whitepapers, research reports, opinion pieces and blog posts that are meaningful to your target audiences. Platforms like your personal LinkedIn will work well, with your organisation sharing the content across their own social channels too.
 
The key here is consistency, so if you’re going to commit to posting something every week, you need to keep up with this. Work with content experts to create a list of content ideas and create a schedule of posts. You can also engage with other influencers and participate in industry forums to further solidify your position as a thought leader.

LinkedIn advertising

For your business or brand, LinkedIn's professional network allows for highly targeted advertising, making it a vital platform for B2B social media marketing. By defining your target audience and creating compelling, professional content tailored to them (just like the personalised content we referenced above), you can leverage LinkedIn's advertising tools to target specific demographics and track performance. If you’re looking for new leads, LinkedIn advertising is a tried and tested way to deliver this.

Video is still king!

Video content is an essential tool in modern marketing. Demonstrations through videos provide a clear and engaging way to showcase products or services. They should focus on unique selling points, be concise and of high production quality.

Hosting webinars can also position your company as an expert in the field and foster direct engagement with clients. Planning content carefully, engaging with the audience through Q&As, and promoting the webinar in advance are important to success.
 
Video testimonials are one of the most credible and relatable endorsements of your products and services and are impactful at any stage of the customer journey. They must, however, be carefully planned and structured to ensure natural and authentic delivery.

Which are the best social media platforms for businesses?

LinkedIn

LinkedIn stands out as the most business-centric social media platform, with a unique focus on professionals, industry leaders and organisations. It's a hub where businesses can connect with potential clients, employees, and partners.

• Networking: Through connections, groups and communities, businesses can find opportunities for collaboration, sales, and growth. Engaging with industry-specific groups can also boost brand visibility among peers and potential clients.

• Content sharing: Regularly publishing articles, sharing insights, and engaging in meaningful conversations can position a company as a thought leader within its industry.

X

X (formerly Twitter)’s real-time nature and broad reach make it a valuable platform for B2B marketers aiming to stay current and visible.

• Engaging with influencers: Building relationships with industry influencers can amplify your message, as their endorsement provides credibility and reach.

• Sharing timely updates: X’s fast-paced environment is perfect for sharing company news, industry insights and trending topics, keeping your audience informed and engaged.

• Customer service: Prompt responses to customer enquiries and feedback can enhance your brand’s reputation for customer care.

• Salesforce UK & Ireland has excellent visibility on X, regularly sharing news, updates, and interesting content like interview Q&As with its audience. Also note how everything they share has a consistent visual identity, re-enforcing their brand.

Facebook

Facebook’s vast user base and community-oriented features make it a versatile platform for B2B marketing.

• Creating engaging content: Whether it’s videos, images, or text-based posts, Facebook’s diverse content options allow businesses to create engaging posts that resonate with a wide audience. What’s key is creating content that evokes a reaction, that makes someone think, or pushes them to directly engage. It needs to be memorable.

• Fostering community: Facebook groups and pages can facilitate connections between businesses and their clients, creating a sense of community and loyalty. Customers, users, and prospects should be in your group, but it will take a while to curate. You need to be adding value, answering questions, initiating discussions for users to engage with and making it worthwhile.

• Running Ads: Facebook’s advertising tools are sophisticated, allowing precise targeting based on interests, behaviours, and demographics. For B2B, this can lead to targeted social media campaigns that reach decision-makers within specific industries, just remember to make sure your content is tailored to their sector.

Instagram

Instagram, with its visual focus and younger audience, offers unique opportunities for B2B businesses.

• Visual storytelling: Instagram is an ideal platform to showcase visually appealing products or processes through high-quality images and videos. How-to videos, case studies, or videos that specifically highlight their pain point and your solution will work extremely well.

• Influencer partnerships: Collaborating with influencers who resonate with your brand can increase visibility and credibility but be sure to have specific KPIs, goals and a clear strategy for what you want to achieve.

• Engaging content: Using features like Instagram Stories and Reels, businesses can create timely, unique content that provides behind-the-scenes looks, tutorials, or showcases company culture.

YouTube

As we mentioned, video is still king when it comes to B2B content marketing. There are lots of opportunities to use it to your advantage, particularly if your product or service lends itself to tutorials, explanatory videos, or technical information.

• Boost your search rankings: Videos are included within Google’s search results, and can rank higher than standard website pages for certain industries or search queries. By using smart keywords that you know your prospects are searching for, you have another chance of edging past your competitors.

• Build your channel: Make the most of the ‘about’ section, the playlists, and the channel descriptions if you want to increase visibility and ultimately views.

• High-quality content: If you’re going to approach YouTube for the first time as a brand, make sure you’re working with a great video editor that has the experience and knowledge to really make this a success. There are so many features that can be included, such as pop-ups, and links to more content, so you need to leverage all the possibilities.

Mastering B2B social media marketing demands a strategic use of personalised content, thought leadership, platform-specific tactics, and video expertise. Understanding the unique characteristics of LinkedIn, YouTube, X, Facebook, and Instagram, and leveraging them appropriately, is vital to reaching the right audience. Each platform offers unique ways to connect, engage, and convert potential clients and by tailoring strategies to each platform, B2B marketers can achieve more robust and successful outcomes.

Read more on B2B marketing best practice:

Read More