6 Ways B2B Companies
Can #Win at Social Media

Conventional wisdom says that B2B and social media get along like oil and water. But sometimes, conventional wisdom is wrong. Here’s the fact: Done right, the benefits of social media absolutely extend to B2B brands and companies. In fact, it can be an extremely valuable vehicle for engagement and lead generation in the B2B space.

Ready to level up your B2B social media presence? Here are six tips that’ll help get you there.

 

1. Be, Um, Social

Maybe you’re not selling the most interesting products in the world. Photos of you installing replacement ball bearings are never going to get you as far as @ElonMusk showing off a new flamethrower. But, chances are that the people you work with have a lot more spunk than one might assume. Let that comes across! Each post you write should sound conversational, as if it’s coming directly from an actual person. Remember: The people on the other side (you know, the ones who click “Like”) are people. Talk to them like people, and they’re more likely to return the favor with shares, likes and comments.

2. Quality – Not (Necessarily) Quantity

Who has time to post something brilliant every day on their corporate Twitter account? Ok, @Moonpie obviously, but who else? The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to. Don’t let quantity stand in the way of quality. To get the engagement that is going to drive your social media engine, you need to spend time crafting posts with substance and/or style – whether that’s information that resonates with your followers or creative, persona- ble messages presented in a way that provides a chuckle or a chin scratch from your readers.

3. You’ve Got What Your Followers Crave

Don’t focus on yourself; focus on how you can help your followers.

If you sell bolts and nuts for aircraft manufacturers, don’t fill your feed with pictures of bolts and nuts – unless you’re going to do it @Arby’s style.

Instead, focus on the problems that your product solves, or even ways that you can help your customers succeed with your social media outreach. Give advice, tips, tricks and helpful information. Once you start looking at your social media accounts as ways to support your customers, it’s much easier to produce winning content that really grabs your audience’s attention.

4. Turn Your Users Into Content Producers

Not only are your employees likely interesting people, your customers probably are too. Tap into their thoughts, opinions and experiences. Not only do you get free material to fill up your feed, but you’re also far more likely to get engagement, because those users and their friends want to share that somebody else thinks their content is worth trumpeting.

What does this look like in the real world? Ask provocative questions that users will want to read other people’s answers to, run photo contests to gather user-generated content, post periodic quizzes, and reward users for engaging with and amplifying your posts. The more users become used to engaging with your posts, the more likely they are to do so even when they aren’t being explicitly asked to do so.

5. “Good Tweeters Copy, Great Tweeters Steal”

… said Pablo Picasso, probably.

Don’t actually steal, but you’d be a fool to not look at other companies that are doing well and take a few pointers from them.

You’re not the first B2B company to be in this situation – not by a long shot. So, take a look at the companies that came before you: Study what they’ve done, what has worked well and the missteps they have made; and learn from their successes and failures.

6. Remember the Networking Part of Social Networks

Let’s not forget the most important part of social networks.

Remember that you don’t have to start every conversation or control every conversation.

Treat social media like it’s an actual networking event. Insert yourself (gracefully) into others’ conversations. Be an amplifier. Steal Adopt the messages of other businesses and leaders in your industry, and be a mouthpiece for them. When you’re engaging in conversations that you wouldn’t normally be a part of in your wider industry audience, you’re automatically getting new eyes on your business and your messaging.

Time to Get Started

So, what are you waiting for?

These tips aren’t guaranteed to get you more followers, likes and shares. But they are guaranteed to get your B2B social media plan off to a better start. Just shifting the way that you think about social media’s role in your B2B communication strategy can really get the gears turning, and help you figure out how to execute a winning social media strategy.

 

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