Important B2B social media best practices for every business

If you're lucky enough to have those rare few gems of selfless people called expert marketers by your side, they'll tell you that designing a marketing strategy for a business-to-customer (B2C) brand is way different from designing one for a business-to-business (B2B) brand. While there are many reasons for this, the main purpose is pretty much a no-brainer. B2B marketing targets business owners who are deliberate buyers with an awareness of their requirements for a product or service. And it goes without saying that, as customers, businesses are only willing to settle for solutions that can show convincing results. This makes it vital for B2B brands to design their marketing strategies in a way that's authentic, data-driven and compelling. But just designing an epic marketing strategy isn't enough. Finding the right place to put it into motion is just as important. And since today's world is hooked to "social," there's no better platform to reach your audience than social media.

In this article, we'll be covering a few killer ways that you can make the most of social media to ace B2B marketing. So, let's dive right into the specifics of it, starting with what B2B social media marketing is in the first place.

What is B2B social media marketing?

Simply put, B2B social media marketing is the practice of marketing your products and services to other businesses through social media platforms. Various social media platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and X, formerly Twitter, can be used to promote products, services and brand messaging to other businesses instead of individual consumers.

This marketing strategy helps you engage with your go-to target audience, generate leads and build brand awareness and professional relationships while you're at it.

How can social media help your B2B marketing efforts?

Social media platforms are jam-packed with billions of people from across the globe. This makes it a space that draws in all sorts of brands regularly. So, don't think twice to put it to good use. Build connections with other brands and, more importantly, advertise your products or solutions on social media to make a lasting mark on your potential customers.

The following factors make social media an ideal platform for B2B marketing:

• Increased brand visibility: You can showcase your offerings in a more pronounced and unified manner on each social media platform to steal the spotlight
• Targeted advertising: You can tailor your strategy based on the segment you want to cater to on each social media platform so your efforts are more specific and relevant
• Networking: You can connect with brands who are potential customers to better understand their work and business needs

Free on-demand webinar: Improve B2B Marketing Performance to Deliver a Unified Customer Experience

7 best practices for B2B social media marketing

Now, let's get into a few top-notch practices that are a must if you want to take your B2B social media marketing to a whole other level.

1. Define your goals and target audience

The first step in your B2B social media journey is to lay a strong foundation by defining your goals and understanding your target audience inside out. This 101 practice will shape your strategy and ensure that your efforts are focused and effective.

Here's how you can set clear goals and understand your target audience like a pro:

• Crystal-clear objectives: What do you want to achieve with social media? Boost brand awareness? Generate leads? Drive website traffic? Define your goals with pinpoint precision.
• Know your audience: Get up close and personal with your target audience — in this case — your target brands. Dive deep into their needs, challenges and aspirations. The more you understand them, the better you can connect.
• Craft buyer personas: Bring your ideal customers to life through detailed buyer personas. Give them names, personalities and preferences. This will help you create content that truly resonates.
• Learn from your competitors: Yes, sneak a peek at what your competitors are doing on social media. And don't just look at their best moves — keep track of their failures as well. Learn from their strategies and create a niche for your offerings.

Defining your goals and understanding your target audience constitute the groundwork for any successful B2B social media strategy.

Learn More: Audience Analysis

2. Choose the right platforms

Once you've defined your goals and identified your target audience, determine the right social media platforms for your business.

And we get it. With over 128 existing social media platforms in 2023, it might feel like you're searching for a needle in a haystack to find the right platforms for your business.

But fret not. Here's how you can navigate this daunting task and select wisely:

• Research and analyze the various social media platforms available
• Focus on platforms that are relevant to your industry and where your target audience is active
• Align your platform choices with your business objectives and goals
• Evaluate the features and tools that are offered by each platform
• Test different platforms, monitor their performance and refine your strategy accordingly

Choosing the right social media platforms is pretty much half the journey toward B2B social media success! And once you've chosen your go-to platforms, you can engage your audience more effectively.

If you're still wondering how you can better understand and reach your audience, here's an infographic that'll shed more light on the matter.

3. Create engaging and authentic content

Just like you, a ton of people are striving every day to attract the same client base that you're after.

So, how can you gain an edge over your competitors? Why should companies choose you over the rest? Now, this is where quality and authentic content comes in.

In today's competitive social media landscape, it's one thing to convert customers, but attracting them in the first place is more challenging than it's ever been. But we've got you covered with a few tips here as well.

Here's how your content can captivate your B2B audience:

• Understand your audience's pain points, challenges and goals
• Tailor your content by using various formats, such as articles, videos and webinars
• Provide knowledgeable insights, practical tips and action points
• Encourage interaction through comments, questions and discussions

When your B2B content engages and resonates with your audience, it becomes a powerful tool for nurturing leads and driving business growth. So, don't forget to make that "content suit" a custom-fit.

Learn More: How to create a content plan?

4. Build a steady social presence

After you've determined the best social media platforms for your B2B business and started creating engaging content, you need to maintain your social presence.

When it comes to having a steady social presence, consistency and authenticity can be the secret to success. Consistency in content marketing does not simply refer to the frequency at which you post content on your social media accounts. The key here is consistent branding and messaging across platforms as well.

We understand that maintaining consistency with the quality of your content and posting schedule can be tough sometimes. So, here are a few nuggets of wisdom to help you out:

• Create a content calendar to plan your content in advance and map out a schedule for your posts
• Use social media management tools to automate and streamline your posting
• Set achievable posting goals to maintain consistency
• Focus on delivering valuable and relevant content to your audience

5. Engage and interact with your audience

Statistics show that 71% of consumers who have had a positive social media experience with a brand are more likely to recommend it to others. That's how powerful social media engagement and interaction are for a brand.

However, it's not just about posting content and hoping for the best. It's more about actively connecting with your followers and building meaningful relationships.

Being more involved with your audience can:

• Foster brand advocacy: Engaging with your audience creates loyal brand advocates
• Increase brand awareness: Actively interacting with your audience boosts your brand's visibility and attracts potential customers
• Build trust and credibility: When you engage your audience, it shows that you value their opinions and actually care
• Drive conversions: Responding to inquiries and addressing the concerns of your audience increases the chances of conversions as well

Also Read: How To Turn Your Customers Into A Community Of Brand Advocates

6. Leverage influencer partnerships

A global leader in athletic apparel and footwear had boosted its online sales by 31% through the power of influencer marketing. Sounds unbelievable? We know. But this is the true story of Nike.

By strategically partnering with the right influencers, the company witnessed an astonishing 31% surge in online sales.

Influencer marketing has indeed become one of the most promising marketing techniques of 2023. In fact, 50% of millennials trust product recommendations from influencers more as compared to 38% from celebrities.

However, applying the same to a B2B model may not be the easiest. So, here are some key points to consider:

• Choose an influencer who stands for the same values that you do: When it comes to influencer marketing, choosing the right partner can either make or break your brand, especially with the world watching. So, it's critical to choose an influencer partner who resonates with your brand's values and brings their unique persona to the table.
• Don't lose your voice: While collaborations can be an excellent method to gain viewership on social media, you should ensure that they don't overshadow the work that your brand does. This can help preserve your brand identity while ensuring that your collaborations are advantageous for both stakeholders.
• Seek what your audience is seeking: Keep an eye out for brands that your audience interacts with. This can give you insights into what your audience wants and how you can integrate the same into your marketing efforts.

Read More: Influencer marketing strategy: a comprehensive guide

7. Monitor and analyze your performance

B2B social media marketing is hardly a one-time activity — it's more of a continuous process.

After you implement the best practices that we covered, you should regularly track and analyze a few key social media metrics to gauge the success of your campaigns. Use these insights to refine your strategies, optimize your content and maximize your social media ROI.

To top it off, you can use social media management platforms like Sprinklr Social to organize your efforts and resources for greater results.

Here are a few additional tips on that front:

• Set up tracking mechanisms to monitor key social media metrics
• Analyze performance data regularly to identify trends and patterns
• Use analytics tools to measure the effectiveness of your social media campaigns
• Adjust your strategies based on the insights gained from performance analysis

The bottom line

And with that, we're nearing the finish line of this article. Just remember that the social media landscape for B2B has become more competitive than ever, as every company is putting its best foot forward to lure users toward them. In such a scenario, your brand must find a way to shine the spotlight on itself to attract the crowd it's after.

And implementing the 7 best B2B social media practices that we covered will certainly help bring your brand center stage.

You may also need to invest in social media management tools to extract and analyze customer data from all channels. This will also help in measuring key metrics and ROI. So, moving to a unified platform that brings all your essentials to one dashboard will do wonders for your entire workforce. And this is exactly what Sprinklr's Unified-CXM does.

So, give it a shot and see how far it takes you. Schedule a demo with our ever-helpful experts today to discover the best Sprinklr solution for your specific needs and transform your social media marketing efforts into success!