Comet Branding - Branding | PR | Social Media

Social media strategy for B2B companies

More and more business leaders today agree that social media is a necessary tool to reach their audience, but struggle to see how it applies when a direct consumer is not the target. Often times they equate social media to strictly Facebook and overlook the other ways to participate. Social media is an effective tool in B2B marketing because the audiences are very engaged online, it is just a matter of finding where they are.

Research.

Social media research is exciting to me because I enjoy learning a new topic and diving in from an outside perspective. Research is the most important part because in order to recommend and implement a social program, you have to understand how that particular audience behaves online.

So what exactly am I looking for? First, I look for where the audience engages so that we can focus our time in the right online space. To find these niche communities, I use traditional social media platforms as my starting point. From there, I follow the thought leaders and conversation starters and listen to what topics they’re excited about and discussing. It is typically through these conversation leaders that I discover the real scope of audience activity via associations and groups, events and conferences, trade publications, etc.

Appropriate platforms.

After discovering these niche communities in the research stage, I evaluate which platforms are the most appropriate for our clients to spend their time on. Like I mentioned before, not all social communication is on Facebook. If the decision makers you are trying to interact with don’t use Facebook, it doesn’t make sense for your brand to be putting time into that community. Embrace the existing industry-specific social networks that leaders are engaging in rather than create a branded community from scratch.

One platform I’ve consistently seen B2B success is LinkedIn. If even after your research is complete and you still feel overwhelmed, begin by optimizing your LinkedIn profile and connect with professionals, publications and other companies in your industry. Listening and participating in conversations are the first steps and LinkedIn Groups are easy tools that can lead you to industry thought leaders.

Customized content.

In order to build relationships online, rather than sell a product, it is important to not be overly self-promotional. It is more valuable to share content that showcases you and your organization’s expertise. This can be done by sharing industry related articles, commenting on discussions, offering advice to those seeking help and proposing questions to the community. Although we advise clients on which communities to join and how often to post, their level of expertise is important to their community. As an example, after all the research I’ve gathered on the plastics industry, I don’t pretend to be an expert in manufacturing. We work together with our clients to generate content directly from the experts themselves.

Community Engagement.

I’ve noticed that while many B2B communities are not large in size (#funfact: Did you know there are over 300 LinkedIn Groups related to the plastics industry?), the community is very engaged. For every industry, there are business leaders that have dedicated their careers to their industry and are hungry to learn more and share ideas. Pay attention to the discussion topics and participate frequently.

Have you encountered any barriers with your B2B social media strategy? Which platforms have you found to be successful, or unsuccessful, in your industry?

 

Tags: andrea parins, b2b, business and social media, business to business, Facebook, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Groups, Social Media strategy