It’s obvious why large B2C companies are using social media as they can directly advertise their products to customers but what about if your company works mainly B2B?

There are still convincing reasons why social media is relevant and crucial to you growing your business:

A. SEO Optimisation

There is evidence to suggest that using social media can improve your website’s search engine rankings and increase traffic to your website. Being talked about and mentioned on social media is a good sign to search engines that your company is popular which will accelerate your page rankings.

Adding to this, a simple Google search of your business’ name will bring up links to your company’s social media pages (if you have them) which is why it’s so important to keep them updated with relevant information. Potential clients, customers and peers will have easy access your social media pages. They will make judgements about your company in a matter of seconds. So just like your website, make sure your social pages are up to date and has content that’s worth reading.

Further to this, adding Social Media buttons to your website will also make it more visible in search engines.

B. Creating Leads

Social Media is a great way to connect with other businesses and engage with existing and potential clients. With over 240 million active monthly users on , over 1.2 billion monthly active Facebook members and over 300 million users on LinkedIn there’s no shortage of opportunities to connect.

C. Employee Connections

Your social media pages can be the best way to engage with your employees: Most regardless of the industry or the location will have employees that are active various forms of social media. This is great because it means you can communicate with your employees and more importantly your employees can communicate with each other. This can create a superb community spirit within your organisation which not only keeps your employees happy but also looks good for outsiders looking in.

D. Peer Pressure

Social media is growing at such an exponential rate, you don’t want to be left behind.

You can learn a lot about your industry by looking at content that’s being shared by other industry experts. More than that you can keep an eye on your peers and competitors. You can use their activity to see where you might be going wrong or right. Monitoring competitor’s social media accounts can be the easiest and most effective way to keep up to date.

Now you can see why you need social media, here are some of our best tips for using it to your firm’s full advantage:

1.          Newsletters

One of the best things about well-curated content is that it eliminates a lot of work: When professionals are at capacity with client work, stumbling on knowledge, news and trends which have been handpicked by another professional gold. Share your newsletter on all your social media channels for maximum impact. Use your email lists to subscribers.

2.          Varied channels

Keep your audience interested. Creating content that engages and maintains your audience’s attention is crucial. Diversify your formats content formats:

a. Podcasts

b. Webinars

c. Youtube (yes, it’s not just for teenagers!)

3.          Keep it human

We can’t emphasize enough the importance of B2B brands maintaining a human element. That’s why we like it when companies use social media channels to give audiences a “look inside” at the people who make the great products and services they love eg. useInstagram. One of the major shortcomings of many B2Bs is the lack of a genuine human backing their efforts. The lack of real people makes the B2B company seem so distant and unreal.

Every B2B needs to make an intense effort to humanize the brand on social media and content marketing:

• Use the first person voice when writing updates, articles, etc.
• Use a brand front person to tweet, post updates, write articles, etc.
• Use real people with their names in customer service.
• Initiate engagement and outreach from a real person.

4.          Hire someone good.

B2Bs are often challenged in social media because they don’t hire the right person to manage their social media efforts: Hire someone who’s experienced in your niche, not someone who is an expert at social media. Social media doesn’t automatically generate buzz. It takes a social media expert to really unleash the hidden power in B2B social media through knowledge and understanding of your industry.

5.          Use LinkedIn

It may seem obvious but merely being on LinkedIn is just the beginning. Nine out of every ten B2B companies are using it and there’s a reason for this: LinkedIn is effective at securing leads. The social goal of most B2Bs isn’t just traffic but the right kind of traffic. More specifically, from that traffic: Professional connections with a shared goal.

Every employee needs a full, up to date, search engine optimised profile, knowledge of how to use LinkedIn groups, understanding of strategies for increasing connections, finding industry leads, attracting clients and what to post that will engage your audience and build your brand image.

(image from Social Marketing Institute)

Conclusion

In the next few years, I predict that we’re going to see more and more B2B markets become expert at social media marketing. By advancing these five tips, you can take your social media efforts to the next level.