Social media use remains high as people continue to rely on it to connect with family, friends—and yes, brands. In fact, it’s extremely likely that your B2B company is on LinkedIn (the most popular social network for businesspeople) and may also have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
But are you using these channels strategically? If your company simply has a social presence but isn’t executing a strategic plan around it, it likely isn’t making the best use of social as a powerful marketing tool. From a B2B perspective:
- Social media is a prime source in making purchasing decisions for 84 percent of business executives.
- Eighty percent of B2B marketing leads from social media come through LinkedIn alone.
These numbers should make companies want to not only be social but be purposeful about it.
It’s not enough to simply be on social—there must be a plan
Many B2Bs create a company page on a social network and then let it basically sit and collect dust, with maybe an occasional post or a random “like” given to something in their newsfeed. While this mode doesn’t require a lot of effort, it also provides basically no results, either.
Your business may be a victim of this mentality if the last thing you posted was weeks or months ago, when you do post it receives little to no response, and your network of followers hasn’t expanded much at all. You can practically feel the dust.
In contrast, an active social strategy consists of planned, frequent posts (we often recommend to our clients two to three posts per week) that align with key business goals. These posts aren’t just “shares” of someone else’s posts but instead consist of content designed to engage and encourage discussion. And yes, creating such content does take some time and effort.
A social strategy should also include a plan for connecting with others—prospects, industry influencers, and peers. Identifying those you want to be social with, inviting them into your network, and then engaging in regular conversation (not just “liking”) is vital.
Without doing these things, your company presence on social channels is merely the equivalent of a digital billboard.
Good social strategies deliver ROI
If your company’s goals are to build market awareness and create thought leadership, a good social strategy can do that. But like most aspects of the business world, the most desired form of ROI is sales. And ultimately, sales will arise from the relationships cultivated via social channels (for proof, take another look at the statistics above).
By intentionally and properly using social media, you’re creating awareness for your company as a thought leader and knowledgeable, trusted third party. And the level of trust only increases as you continue to engage with your audience but not overtly sell.
Building credibility through an active social presence is especially important for businesses these days. Overhyped claims have made many buyers cynical, which is why a company’s social presence needs to exude authenticity and credibility. When the time is right for the prospect to buy, they’ll come to your company since they’ve connected with your brand on social and feel a level of trust.
Bringing It All Together
You’re probably thinking that your company could benefit from a solid social media strategy, but where do you get the resources and time?
Carabiner Communications has helped numerous B2Bs create and execute highly effective social strategies for achieving business goals. We’ve created compelling content, managed postings and interactions, and grown social networks (seriously, we took one C-level executive from less than 50 to 8,000+ targeted connections on LinkedIn).
If it’s time for your business to get serious about social, connect with us today.