How to Create a Winning B2B Social Media Strategy

Key First Steps to Social Media Success

In this bold era of digital disruption, successful B2B marketers have embraced the far-reaching power of social media. A recent IDC study reports that 75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C-level/vice president executives said they use social media to support purchase decisions. During the final stages of the purchasing process, online professional networks and peer-to-peer recommendations are the #1 information resource preferences of top-level buyers. Establishing a social media presence is more critical than ever to building and maintaining relationships.

The right social media strategy can be a game changer. But before you take the field, you need to write your playbook. Ready to find your brand's social sweet spot? Read on.

Set S-M-A-R-T Goals from the Start

When crafting your social media strategy, begin with the overall goal or purpose for each campaign and share that with stakeholders on your team. This might include creating brand awareness, generating leads, or increasing engagement. Your purpose then serves as the springboard for setting S-M-A-R-T goals that serve the greater good.

When a marketing goal is S-M-A-R-T, it's specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound:

Specific: Clearly defined 
Measurable: Can be tracked and measured with social media metrics 
Achievable: Possible based on your resources 
Relevant: Matters to your business 
Time-bound: Completed within a certain time frame

It's wise to invest in a social media management platform that combines data, account targeting, campaign execution, and measurement to give your team a bird's eye view of how your campaigns are progressing – and help you improve them as you grow your presence.

Choose your Platforms

If you want to reach the right buyers at the right time with the right content, you need to know where they are. For instance, in a recent Sacuna survey of 2000 millennial professionals, two-thirds reported they are involved in purchasing decisions, and Facebook was their social network of choice.

A Wpromote’s 2021 State of B2B Marketing Report sheds some light on how marketers are using the top social sites:

"While LinkedIn remains one of the best ways for B2Bs to network, advertise, and market themselves, a staggering 80% of B2B digital marketers are building their brands on Facebook. Even Instagram is commanding an impressive B2B audience, with about 40% making use of it and 33% saying the platform drives leads. Key to note here is that B2Bs aren’t just building their brands on social media; significant percentages are saying that these platforms actively drive leads for their businesses."

These times are, of course, just a suggestion. See what your data is telling you to optimize the timing of your posts for your audiences.

Your Brand Voice: Tell a Unique Story

When it comes to social media, showing up may be half the battle, but it's how you show up that wins the game. Whether your business is B2B or B2C, all sales are P2P: person-to-person. That's why marketers who use social media simply to promote their products are missing the most vital component of a successful social media strategy: human connection.

Now, if you're marketing products or solutions traditionally viewed as "boring," the right social media content might be harder to conceptualize – especially if you're just getting your strategy off the ground. But by its very nature, social media itself is an insight-gathering tool if you know what to look for.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you build your social media strategy:

Plant Organic Seeds First 

Although "pay to play" is here to stay, organic social is the heartbeat of brand awareness and community management. Running relevant social ads then allows you to skirt ever-changing algorithms to get in front of your target audience.

Learn from the Success of Others

Take some time to check out what's working for your competitors, or other B2B marketers. What resonates with you? What falls flat? How did their posts relate to their products and solutions?

Before You Post, Listen

Billions of social media conversations are happening across the globe every day. A social listening tool helps you keep pace with the ones you need to hear: brand and executive mentions, industry trends, influencers, target accounts, competitors and hashtags relevant to your business.

Share Your Blog

Let your archived content go to work for you. Identify blogs that are relevant to a trend or conversation happening today. Write a catchy introduction and link the post back to your blog. Not only are you driving traffic to your website, you're positioning your business as an expert.

Share the Limelight

On social media, flattery will get you everywhere. When you repost, retweet, or mention a potential or current client, you not only create goodwill and boost loyalty – you reach their followers too.

Make a Movie

Video is the fastest-growing online content category. Client testimonials, explainer videos, short tips, and employee spotlights all work well. If you don't have resources in place to create new videos, repurpose old webinar recordings into shorter clips.

Join the Conversation

Use your posts to ask questions that will intrigue your audience and encourage more personal engagement. Reach out to new followers, acknowledge likes and comments, and send birthday greetings. In other words, put the social back in social media – and watch your relationships grow.

We hope you've found this helpful as you develop your social media strategy. If you'd like to learn more about how quality data and analytics can turbocharge your efforts, Dun & Bradstreet offers a range of solutions that can help.