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By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator & Social Media Manager

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Generally people consider B2C companies when thinking about brands on social media.

But social media also provides a huge opportunity for B2B brands that should not be overlooked. According to Salesforce, “Social media accounts for a third of all time spent online.”

And while B2B brands are perceived to “‘just” market themselves to impersonal corporations, in the end, people are the ones who make decisions for these corporations.

To build relationships and reach out to decision-makers in certain industries, social media has become a great resource for B2B brands. Hootsuite reports that 92% of B2B marketers use social media as part of their marketing strategy.

But according to a 2016 CMO survey, 40% of companies aren’t satisfied with their social media marketing strategies.

Here are the 7 best practices that B2B brands should use on social media:

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Identify influencers in your specific industry that can vouch for you. These influencers already have a large, trusted following. If they give you a shout-out, you have received incredible earned media that builds brand awareness that can lead to sales.

Shift Communications identified some great sites you can use to identify influencers around your particular subject/category:

1. Followerwonk
2. SocMetrics
3. eFollow

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Brands can get into the monotony of pushing out content. But the beauty of social is that it enables brands to have a 2-way conversation with their target audience.

Brands can also fall under the impression that they need to begin all the conversations on social, but one highly effective way to engage with your target is to participate in conversations that are already happening!

Join LinkedIn groups that are about your industry and comment/like/share what people are saying!

You can also check out popular hashtags in your industry and join in on conversations on Facebook and Twitter. You may have useful answers to questions people are trying to solve.

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You want to promote yourself some on social, but it should never be the only thing you do. Many go by the 80/20 rule, where 80% of your content should be relevant/useful content that your target audience would find interesting and only 20% of the content is talking about and promoting your company/brand.

White papers, instructional/educational video, infographics, etc., are great resourceful pieces of content your business can push.

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Make sure you respond to all questions or concerns directed to you! B2B brands should look to social media as a customer service tool. This is a great way for you to connect with your customers and increase brand loyalty.

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Social media gives B2B brands the ability to show off their (generally overlooked) personality! While proving your competency with resourceful content is critical, don’t hide behind the content. Make sure to humanize your brand by showing your target audience the people who make it what it is. Convince people you’re fun to work with.

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Don’t do social in a vacuum. Look at your competitors and see if there are any opportunities that you aren’t taking advantage of!

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See how to best approach each social media channel based on the industry you’re in and your target audience. Do not approach each platform the same way. Salesforce gives an example where one business finds that Twitter helps it identify relevant conversations to join and speak to, Facebook helps it with brand awareness, and LinkedIn is where it moves past brand awareness to the consideration and “full-on adoption” stages of the buyer’s journey.

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To find out more about how The Goss Agency can help you communicate your message digitally, visit our Digital Marketing page, or get in touch with Gabrielle Diepenbrock via email (gabrielle@thegossagency.com) or phone (828-259-9910).

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SOURCES:
http://keyhole.co/blog/15-b2b-social-media-strategy-tips-best-practice-examples/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/b2b-social-media-marketing-tips/
http://www.shiftcomm.com/blog/best-practices-b2b-social-media/
https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2016/12/5-social-media-best-practices-for-2017.html

IMAGE SOURCE:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:What_is_B2B_Marketing.jpg