How to Effectively Manage a B2B Social Media Account
At Caster, we believe every business, whether it is B2B, B2C, or B2B2C, benefits from implementing a strategic social media presence, but oftentimes we hear from new B2B clients, “why do we need to be on social media anyway?” Here’s why:
Social media offers an enormous potential to reach target audiences at little-to-no cost. It also allows companies to build brand awareness and easily establish key relationships with their customers and the media. Our agency has established a reputation for working in cooperation with our B2B (and B2C) clients to effectively share and promote news, leverage industry-specific discussions, and get our clients noticed and talked about by the media.
Here are some best practices for managing B2B social media accounts effectively:
Determine your tone and stick to it
Targeting a B2B audience is much different than targeting a B2C audience on social media, but in some cases it can actually be easier. When targeting a B2B audience, you’re typically appealing to a group of people within a specific industry, so you’re able to develop a knowledgeable tone in which that group is likely to respond to. You should familiarize yourself with the various, but specific, hashtags followed by your audience. According to Hootesuite, tweets with hashtags get 100 percent more engagement than those without them. For my AV industry clients, I follow and engage with the #AVTweeps and #AVNews hashtags. For my smart home clients, there is a wide variety of hashtags I pay attention to, including but not limited to #smarthome, #homeautomation, #connectedhome, #connectedliving – you get the idea.
Develop a content calendar
When posting on social media as a B2B company, you should post content that is both engaging and enticing to those who are responsible for keeping you in business. Be sure to share an array of appealing content, ranging from company or industry news, product information, educational and customer opportunities, etc. At Caster, we often create content calendars for our clients where we are able to lay several topics out into a pre-meditated schedule as to ensure we are sharing a variety of content that will be of value and interest to our client’s audiences. Make sure you’re always posting content that your audience can relate to, learn from, and engage with. However you decide to implement your social strategy, be sure you’re sending the right message and using the right tone to reach your audience effectively.
Use the right platforms
For an effective B2B social strategy, leveraging the right social platforms for your business is crucial and you must identify where your customers are most likely to be active. LinkedIn and Twitter are the best platforms for engaging B2B industry professionals. According to Statista, LinkedIn is the most effective social media platform for B2B and 75 percent of B2B businesses market their products and/or services on Twitter. You should also be sure you’re posting at the right times. At Caster, we use the Sprout Social platform which allows us to schedule posts in advance and choose the times (based on research) where our audiences are likely to be the most active. Doing so leads to improved engagement and an overall improved social media strategy.
If you’re leading a B2B social account, or you’re a B2B business looking for strategic social media advice, reach out to me on Twitter: @ash_collazo.
