Why Your B2B Brand Should Make Friends with Social Media

B2B brands have regarded social media as "one more thing" to worry about. However, that attitude is rapidly changing with more buyers and procurement specialists researching vendors online long before reaching out for a call. If your B2B brand has been hesitant to dive in we have some tips and insights from helping our clients with their social strategies.



Breaking Down Social Media’s Bad Rap


Whether they admit it or not, most businesses know that not having a social media presence is a wasted opportunity. So, why do they keep avoiding it?
Whenever the B2B brands we work with have an aversion to social media, they usually cite one of two reasons:

1. They’ve put a lot of time and effort into it in the past and didn’t get the results they wanted.


2. They’ve never done it, they don’t know how to do it, and the thought of having to start on their own makes them nervous. 



When a marketing tactic doesn’t work the way you expect it to, it’s frustrating. When it’s a tactic that’s entirely unfamiliar, the thought of venturing into the unknown can not only be overwhelming but even a little scary. Will you need to create a new marketing position in your company? Who's going to handle managing the posts and responses? Do you even have room in the budget in the first place?

We get it.

But, as we tell our clients, those fears and frustrations rarely justify throwing in the towel or avoiding social media altogether. Why? Because, valid as they may be, those feelings are merely symptoms of the true culprit behind social media’s bad rap: lack of strategy.




Social media can be an insatiable and unpredictable beast, but that doesn’t mean it’s a monster. In fact, it might just be the friend your B2B brand desperately needs.



Using Strategy to Tame the Beast


Without a solid strategy in place, no amount of time, effort, or enthusiastic attempts at replicating viral social trends will move the needle for your brand. So, rather than spinning your wheels for little-to-no engagement or letting the algorithms win by choosing to sit out entirely, let’s talk about a few ways you can hone your strategy and finally start befriending the beast that is social media. 




Pick the Right Platforms


More often than not, when our B2B partners have tried social media in the past with little success, it’s because they were pouring all of their time, energy, and effort into the wrong places. Before tapping your creative teams to produce social content, make sure you’re executing that content on the social channels and platforms that your audiences are actually using. A little bit of audience research can go a long way when it comes to finding out where your people are. Building a customer-centric social strategy won’t do you much good if you’re never actually reaching those customers. 




Be Present


You don’t have to post all the time to establish a solid social media presence, but you do need to be consistent. Whether it’s every day, every week, or just a few times a month consistency is crucial. If you only send out a few random posts each year, or if your audiences are only hearing from you when you're at an event or trade show, then don’t expect much to come of those efforts. Engagement is the reward brands get for building a reliable, consistent, and familiar presence for their audiences. 




Unbind Your Brand


A lot of brands (B2C included) struggle with creating effective or engaging social media content because the tone they use for their website, white papers, or other marketing materials doesn’t translate well in social media atmospheres. By design, most social media platforms are casual, entertaining, and interactive, so your social media content should be adapted to match that energy. Don’t be afraid to deviate from your standard, more business-leaning brand content. Sales speak and jargon-heavy keywords don’t resonate in most social spaces, so letting yourself loosen up a bit to showcase a more playful or personal side of your brand is rarely the wrong move. 



The reality is that social media is an unavoidable part of our world, especially for those of us who live and work in this industry. It’s not just hard to ignore. It can’t be ignored, which believe it or not, is good news for your business. When your strategy is solid, your presence is consistent, and you’ve given yourself the freedom to get creative with your brand, it’ll be impossible for your social media audiences to ignore you too. 



See how our Digital Marketing & Strategy team can help you harness the power of social media for your B2B brand. Contact CID to get started!