With social media now a firmly established tool in the marketing arsenal, most B2B marketers dedicate a solid amount of time to posting to at least one platform, if not more than one.
But do you ever wonder if your social activities are worth all the time and effort? Sure, your audience is on social, but are they even seeing your posts? You can’t be certain because your followers aren’t engaging with them much.
If the above sounds familiar, you could simply try to blame it on the algorithm gods. But could it also be that your social presence has gotten a bit… lethargic? This is why we’re offering five tips for waking up your social media efforts to keep your target audience from just scrolling on by.
- Have a Brand Personality. B2Bs often think that since they’re marketing to businesses, there’s a need for their social posts to always be businesslike. But this mindset can cause posts to come across as impersonal and lifeless. Remember, the businesses you want to reach are comprised of people who gravitate toward human characteristics that include humor, playfulness, and warmth. Look for ways to work these qualities into your brand’s posts.
- Provide Valuable Content. B2Bs tend to treat their social pages like advertising billboards. Followers grow weary of “buy me” messaging, especially when that’s all they see from your business. Consider regularly sharing content that your audience will find helpful and informative, whether it’s something your business has created, such as a white paper, or third-party content such as a publication article on an industry topic.
- Don’t Just “Share.” It’s fast and easy to hit the share or retweet button to meet your social-posting quota, but adding your own thoughts or commentary to a post you’re circulating is important if you want to show thought leadership and achieve dialog. Just be sure to keep comments positive since your goal is to engage, not provoke.
- Use Images and Video. It’s been said that talk is cheap, and many followers will indeed move past your post simply because it’s words on a page swimming in a feed of similar text-based posts. Add photos and graphics—or even better—short videos to your posts to gain audience attention. In fact, nine out of 10 people say they want to see more videos from brands and businesses they use.
- Pose Questions. One of the best ways to engage with followers is to ask their opinion. Inquire as to what they think about something, or even conduct occasional surveys. This not only gets the conversation started, but you might find some things out about your target audience. There are multiple survey tools that support easy social media integration.
The easiest path, of course, is to just keep your social efforts on auto-pilot. But if you aren’t getting the intended results, it might be time to change things up. Consider this: On LinkedIn, the most popular business-networking platform, some 63 million users are decision-makers (that’s one in eight), and about 10 million users are C-level. And make no mistake: many of these same users are also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even TikTok.
If you need assistance developing an active social media strategy, talk to us. We’ve helped countless clients optimize social channels to build their network, gain leads, and establish meaningful business connections.