B2B Social Media Practices to Captivate Your Audience

We know the basics when it comes to social media practices and what the different channels have to offer B2B companies. You have Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram and YouTube. Before I go any further, if you aren’t on social media, I can tell you that’s your first problem and we aren’t even halfway through the first paragraph.

93% of B2B marketers are using social media. So if you’re part of the 7%-ers who aren’t, I HIGHLY (cough…DO IT…cough) suggest it. Anyway, for those of you who are (which you should be by now if I haven’t made that clear), just because you know how to post a pic on Insta or hit the share button on Facebook does not make you an expert on all things social. It also doesn’t mean you have all the unique social media practices that B2B audiences expect to come across. B2B marketing is something a little different, so treating your channels like consumer brands means you might be missing the boat.

You need to be able to write and post intriguing content for your specific audience. You also want them to look at it for more than 5 seconds before they get bored and go find a funny cat video instead. Social media is your one major tool that connects you with clients one on one.  It’s just you and them, and maybe like a couple thousand extra eyes if you get enough likes/shares, but no pressure or anything. If this all seems a little overwhelming, don’t worry. We’re happy to share a few of the social media practices we use right here at Red Branch!

Use Photos and Videos to Your Advantage

Facebook posts that include images have 53% more likes, 85% more clicks and 104% more comments than those who include only text. If that doesn’t entice you to use more photos I don’t know what would. Photo’s and videos are more likely to pick up your traffic on your social posts and accounts. Not only does this apply to just Facebook, including high quality photos into your Linkedin and Twitter posts too, will help increase the traffic. If you need some inspiration check out Red Branch’s Facebook or Twitter, heck even our Instagram is blowing up with A-Mazing photos of our Branchers. If you take anything away from this, PLEASE post photos that relate to your text and watch your likes/shares/comments take off!

Put your money where your audience is

Have a marketing budget but didn’t include social media into it? You’re about to. Don’t waste your time just posting on your page and think everyone who likes your page is going to see it. The latest and greatest of algorithms are here and they are limiting what your audience sees. So, paying for advertising is a must!

Paid advertisement helps ensure that the right people are seeing your content. 51% of B2B marketers used paid ads on social media as part of their marketing strategy in 2015. This number has increased since then and will continue. You best be sure that you are jumping on that train or you will be left at the station, clueless.

Are you going to Call to Action, or should I?

Having a call to action (CTA) in all your social posts is a must. This is how you can get your audience to interact with you and really get some insight from who better, than the people interested in your product and company. Best part is, you did it all from your phone or computer within seconds. Rather than waiting for people to write a review or comment on your posts, ask them to. You are in control of your posts and having a CTA is a way for your audience to do something with that post. 78% of marketers said they saw an increase in traffic with as little as 6 hours a week, when they invested in social media marketing. Using a call to action is part of that investing!

A quick insight tip for all you newbies to social marketing, when having a CTA in your post, try starting your text with nouns or adjectives. Also, even just adding a simple “please”  is twice as likely to get some type of response. Yes, you still can use your manners on social media and people will respond to them! Crazy, I know.

Put yourself out there and join Social Marketing

Question is, have you put your company out there to meet your potential and current clients? Most, if not all B2B companies are on at least 6 different social channels. As I mentioned before those would be your LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube and more. But, here’s something I bet you didn’t know…use your employees as advocates!

I’m not saying to push your employees to post constantly. However, people respond better to posts when they see that it’s a real person talking about it not just an automated system. Sharing your message through the voices of your company is a way to humanize and improve the perception of your business.

Let’s step back to the basics of business for a hot second, you were always taught that earning the trust of your clients is what can make or break you. It’s how you keep them loyal and they continue to respect your business. 90% of consumers trust “earned media” over your paid advertising. Saying still speaks true “you can buy likes, but not hearts” meaning the voices of your employees holds truth within your consumers. Plus, on a total side note, using your employees as advocates can help you fill in extra space when you need it!

But we’re not the only experts out there.

Where should I look for B2B Social Media Practices?

1. SproutSocial (our favorite social media automation and engagement tool for agencies) gives these 5 top tips!
2. MOZ wrote a comprehensive document that goes beyond social media to the content, messaging and branding that must surround it.
3. Salesforce, who presumably know a bit about sales, wrote 50 tips in their e-book.
4. MeetSoci, pulled together some great new tips for those just inching into social media marketing!
5. Our own blog, going strong for nearly ten years, Red Branch Media has been helping people figure out how to use social for B2B Marketing for EVER!

By now you should have your list of all the improvements you’re going to make to better your social media practices and habits and help captivate your audience. You might not be an expert overnight but I can suggest if you need some inspiration, check out Red Branch’s social media and if you are really feeling daring, follow us on our blog! Keep yourself in the know of all things marketing with the Red Branchers!

The Branchers

We build the best damn marketing campaigns on the planet. And we do it for industries and companies you might not identify as easy to market (right away). Working here takes a very special kind of person.