B2B How Hard Can It Be! B2B Social Media Marketing

Remember the good ole days in school! Imagine you were the kid who was part of the chess team

or debating club. You look on in envy at your fellow classmates who were on the school sports

teams. They were much admired, adored and held up as an example to everyone.

Yes they were the cool and glamorous ones, everyone wanted a piece of them! That’s the complete

opposite of the chess team or debate club. Both required intelligence and thought. Through this you

can achieve great things and demonstrate your intellectual ability. However in comparison to being

on the football team, it’s not the most fashionable or make you popular!

B2C Social Media Marketing is much the same as being on the school football team. You can be cool,

appeal to a lot of people and be very popular. People want to be you and love you. B2C Social Media

can be quirky, fun and mischievous! B2B on Social Media is the complete opposite.

As a B2B company you are targeting your service or product at other businesses. Buying behaviour

and buyer personas are different in comparison to the B2C market. Buyers in B2B want a tailored

services and will information seek before they purchase your service. In Social Media B2C, customer

engagement is key to building brand awareness. This is why B2B companies shy away from Social

Media. And you can understand why!

However please don’t despair fellow B2Ber’s! Social Media can be right up your street and help build

your brand. Ok your brand may not be as sexy as B2C on Social Media but you can increase your

popularity! Follow this very simple formula: Expertise + Education = Content Marketing =

Engagement. You may find that Social Media may be the source of building your brand online.

Expertise

In your business you are the master of your service or product. No one else is better than you and no

one else can provide a service or product like you. Yes you are the King or Queen of all you survey! If

this is the case, then demonstrate your expertise to prospective customers. Remember knowledge is

power and it’s this power money can’t buy. Prospective customers or clients will only trust those

who are truly knowledgeable and an expert in their field. Build your brand on Social Media through

your expertise and showcase your knowledge to the world.

Educate

Businesses who are thinking about purchasing a service or product probably don’t fully understand

what they are seeking. Here is a golden opportunity for you to educate your potential customers or

clients. Education is key to building trust and reputation. In addition educating your audience will

add value which helps to progress the customer buying decision.

Content Marketing

To fulfil both role of ‘Educating’ and demonstrating you’re ‘Expertise’, the vital element of any B2B

Social Media Marketing strategy is Content! I am not going to use the cliché ‘Content is King’ but just

to say that Content is very important.

Before any potential customer enters the buying process, they will research and perform their own

due diligence on a company. On Social Media this is the perfect opportunity to showcase your

business to potential clients/customers. Your main aim as B2B Company on Social Media is to build

brand awareness through trust and confidence.

With Content Marketing it’s your opportunity to shine! Here is a list of types of content to employ as

part of your B2B Social Media Marketing strategy:

1) Blogs

2) Videos - tutorials, topical Vlogs, interviews, tips, advice etc.

3) Imagery e.g. infographics

4) Testimonials and customer/client reviews

5) Case Studies and Whitepapers

6) Holding FAQ’s

7) Webinars

8) Slideshare

So B2B how hard can it be?? Not very hard! Like all businesses using Social Media its critical to

understand that to build a brand on Social Media it takes time and lots of elbow grease. Don’t devise

a Social Media strategy for your B2B business just because all the cool kids are doing it. Understand

the benefits of Social Media and its limitations. Finally try to understand what your brand stands for

and its position. This will be the foundation stone for your B2B Social Media Strategy. Keep this in

mind and you will be one of the cool kids on the block!