When it comes to using social media to promote a B2B company, one thing really makes all the difference. And that thing is content.
Whereas many B2C companies sell products and services that can inspire raving fans, B2B companies often struggle with inspiring that same type of interest and interaction. The key to staying in front of people is producing the kind of content that your target market will want to read or watch- and perhaps even share with others. People will notice and pay attention if you give them something that will pique their interest, help an issue or even make them chuckle. Also, when potential customers do take the opportunity to check out your company website or profile on Facebook or LinkedIn, for instance, they will see activity and recent content. After all, more and more of us do all of our research about a company online, regardless of the industry.
So, what type of content can offer the most value to your B2B company?
Articles/blog posts: As painful and daunting as it may seem (or actually be), writing articles and blogs can be really effective at gaining an audience, increasing website traffic and solidifying your expertise in your area. When you add a new blog post to your website on a regular basis and share it out on all of your social media accounts, you never know who might end up visiting your website and reading your post. Our clients who produce articles the most often also see the most return on their social media activity.
Videos: These days, videos don’t always need to be high-quality productions that cost thousands of dollars. With the popularity of YouTube, people are used to videos that have been made on the fly and have a human quality to them. You can set up a camera and do a video blog instead of a written blog, if you prefer. Keep them short and authentic, and share them out wherever you have a profile.
Questions and Polls: Posting questions and polls on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter can be an effective way to start a conversation about a topic of interest to your target market. Questions beg for an answer, and usually someone will be compelled to give an answer if the question is thoughtful or provocative enough. Fred McMurray, one of our partners, has had great success with this strategy, especially on LinkedIn. He has made numerous valuable connections in the B2B space with people who have chosen to answer his questions.
Photos: On Facebook and even Twitter, photos draw a lot of attention. They are easy to share and don’t require a lot of thought. Not that photos should the sum total your content, but interspersing photos and images can be a way to continue your visibility on days that you don’t have more comprehensive content to share.
Share articles/blog posts of others: Don’t have time to write an article right now? Consider sharing the articles of others that you believe your target market will appreciate. Although the traffic won’t be coming to your site, at least your company name and logo will be associated with something that could be of value to someone. The idea is to keep your company name in front of people on a regular basis.
If you have a B2B business and are finding success with your own content, we’d love to hear about it!