Social media usage is now the top Internet activity. The average American is spending 3 hours a day on social media. 92% of marketers say that social media is important to their businesses1.
Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) companies are using social media. Facebook is the most popular social media platform used by B2C companies, followed by Twitter, blogging websites, and LinkedIn. It’s not surprising that marketers for B2B companies use LinkedIn the most to reach professionals, followed by Facebook, Twitter and blogs.
B2C companies feel that they are having more success than B2B companies with their Facebook marketing. 50% of B2B marketers believed that their Facebook marketing to be a success compared to 34% of B2C marketers. Many B2B companies believe that creating and updating social media pages is a waste of time. These companies may not be using social media correctly. According to a 2013 survey by Maxus, seven out of ten business people say that B2B brands are not doing an effective job of communicating with them online2. Therein lies the problem.
So how can companies improve their social media marketing strategies?
Define Goals: These are the goals that you want to attain with your social media marketing. Your main objective may be to make a sale, build a following, encourage product trial, build brand awareness, etc. Make sure that your goals are based on a baseline and future benchmarks, and that your goals are realistic and measurable.
Understand your audience: Know who is looking at your posts and make posts relevant to your audience. Make listening part of your overall strategy. Keep your main goal in mind when creating a post, but do not come across as greedy, boastful or as having ulterior motives. People enjoy when a brand has character, even humor. “Humanize” your posts and make sure that they are consistent with the voice and personality of the brand.
Measure Success: Measuring the success of your brand’s social media presence has never been easier. With tools like Facebook’s engagement metrics, you can see what posts are achieving the goals you want.
1) SocialMediaExaminer.com
2) http://maxusglobal.com/our-story/our-blog/categories/b2b
