Here at Orange Marketing, we insist that our B2B clients (and their founders) create and maintain a social media presence, and we have some very specific recommendations on what social media platforms to use to boost credibility and capture leads.
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There are approximately 3.8 billion social media users in the world, which means about half of the global population is using some type of social media. By 2023, it is estimated that there will be more than 250 million social network users in the United States alone. These numbers will undoubtedly grow throughout the next decade, which means if social media isn’t already a part of your b2b digital marketing strategy, there is no better time to get started than now.
Why Your B2B Company Needs a Social Media Presence
Social media is unique because it gives you the opportunity to connect with a giant audience that no other marketing tool can put you in front of. Your content has the potential to be seen by thousands of people, with that number easily making its way to the hundreds of thousands and even millions depending on how viral it goes and how many followers you have.
For B2B companies, however, going viral is not necessarily the end goal. A fewer number of solid leads who are interested in your product is a much more desirable outcome than a huge amount of viewers with no intention of becoming customers.
Keeping up with your social media pages by posting consistent, relevant information is one of the easiest ways to improve your company’s credibility without breaking the bank.
We recommend 3 different types of social media posts:
- Posts that direct users to an area of your website (such as a blog post, case study, guide, etc.)
- Posts that link to other relevant articles in your industry,
- Posts that are from a more personal perspective about a topic in your industry, usually including a question to engage users and create a conversation.
Using social media to promote your company’s blog posts, case studies, white papers, and guides are a great way to provide followers with value, allowing them to interact with your company without having to make any actual commitment. It is crucial that you have a clean website design that is easy to navigate, as oftentimes users will want to click around and find more information on your website, whether it be another blog post, pricing estimates, demos/trials, or contact information.
It is also beneficial to create and share posts based on articles relevant to your industry. This gives you the opportunity to tag various companies and people, which opens the door for them and members of their audience to find your company and interact with your content. If a company responds to a post you tag them in, they are putting you in the spotlight in front of their followers.
This is one of the reasons why it is so important to stay on top of your social media pages. When people come across a company social media page, they want to see recent activity, whether it be replies to questions, posts linking to relevant content, or interactions with other users. You want your social media pages to have a personal touch to them, which will encourage other users to reach out and interact with your content.
Your business’s social media posts don’t have to be limited to solely promoting links, however. While it is a good way to tap into and share information with different audiences and communities, it can start to feel like spam to your followers. Sometimes the most effective post is one that actively seeks responses by providing food for thought and ending with a question. These posts can be from a more personal perspective, which is where your knowledge comes into play.
Whether it be a new breakthrough in your industry, a response to new regulations, a fun fact you find interesting, etc., let your followers know how you feel! This will also help you get the right audience in front of you, as people with similar mindsets and interests will find these posts and want to engage with them in one way or another, whether it be a response, share, like, retweet, or follow. Giving your social media pages a genuine personality can be a great way to get followers to connect with you and your brand, making them that much more likely to follow your page and learn about your product.
Social Media Platforms We Recommend to B2B Companies
There are so many different social media platforms out there, and choosing which platforms to use can be overwhelming, especially if you are unfamiliar with using social media. But don’t worry, we have recommendations for you that will help you get started on your content right away, so you don’t have to spend hours and hours deciding which ones to use.
Twitter is an awesome platform for B2B companies because it allows you to connect with your interact with your audience in such a personal casual way, especially in the B2B world. A recent survey on how B2B buyers in the US think content aimed at them could be improved showed that 96% of respondents said they preferred more insight from industry thought leaders and 92% said they wanted "less focus on product specifics and more focus on value".
This proves how important it is to share your knowledge and thoughts about your product(s) with your followers if you want to build your audience and get more engagement on your posts. Focus on creating and sharing content that provides value to your audience, rather than desperately tweeting sales pitches.
You can also utilize hashtags to get your content in front of the right people. There are websites such as all-hashtag.com and ritetag.com that you can use to find trending hashtags, which will give you ideas for hot topics to discuss. However, Twitter is not limited to only text.
Photos can be a great way to give your audience a visual representation of what you are describing, while also pulling in users who are scrolling and looking for something to catch their eye. Videos can be used to show product demos, demonstrate new features, or shed light on common problems in your industry and how you can provide solutions for those problems. Videos can also be a great way to capture/share your thoughts and really connect with those who decide to watch/listen, as it will seem like you are talking directly to them. This is an effective way to communicate with your audience and simulate a face-to-face conversation, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic preventing in-person meetings and conversations from occurring.
LinkedIn is responsible for 80% of B2B leads from social media. With over 690 million users worldwide, it is loaded with brand-building features and opportunities to connect with professionals who are involved in the same (or an adjacent) industry as you. LinkedIn allows both business and personal accounts, each requiring a unique approach in order to be successful.
One goal of your LinkedIn business account is to lead your audience to your website, whether it be to a new blog post, white paper, case study, etc, and eventually turn them into leads. LinkedIn provides business accounts with some awesome tools, allowing you to recruit and hire new talent, while also allowing you to connect with other industry professionals and engage in meaningful conversations that will ultimately bring value to your company’s page.
When creating your LinkedIn Business page, it is important that you spend the time to completely fill out the details in the “Header”, “About”, and “Community” sections, which boosts your company’s credibility before you’ve even published your first post..png?width=600&name=Untitled%20design(1).png)
This is a great opportunity to give potential customers and employees an insight into the culture of your company and what they can expect in the future. Make sure to inform your employees of the new company page, so they can start interacting with it and sharing it to their audiences.
Personal LinkedIn accounts should be handled differently than business accounts. You should be using your personal LinkedIn account to engage with other industry thought leaders and to create posts that are relevant and thought-provoking, encouraging your audience to interact with it via responses, shares, or likes/reactions. 
Your personal page should give your audience a good representation of who you are and how you think, while also providing information that is in line with your company’s values.
Feel free to post any relevant articles/videos on your personal page, especially if the content involves you or anyone involved in your company. If you and your employees already have established personal LinkedIn accounts, you have the opportunity to instantly gather a following on your business account, as each of you can share posts from the company page to each of your audiences. Even if your company’s LinkedIn page doesn’t have a large following (yet), you can leverage your personal page to add to your company’s credibility.
Facebook is the last social media platform we are going to cover today. While it is difficult to grow your following on Facebook due its more privatized nature, it is a great place for fans and happy customers to stay in touch with their favorite brands and companies. You can use this to your advantage, building a type of “fan club” on your Facebook page. It is important to maintain a Facebook presence due to the sheer volume of users on the platform..png?width=600&name=Untitled%20design(3).png)
There are 2.3+ billion active users on Facebook and 74% of people say they use Facebook for professional purposes. This means that while Facebook isn’t necessarily the most rewarding social media platform for B2B businesses to use, it is certainly a worthwhile venture. With 90% of LinkedIn users using Facebook, there are plenty of professionals to interact with and engage in conversations with.
Having a business Facebook account also plays an important role in running a successful ad campaign on Facebook because it is required in order to run ads on Facebook and other social media platforms, such as Instagram. You can learn more about this in our Social Media Best Practices For Technology Companies video (with transcript).
Hopefully by now you have a sense as to how you can use social media to boost you company's credibility, which will result in more leads and more sales. Consistency is key, and even if you spend 20-30 minutes a 
day interacting with social media, you will see results. Please reach out to us to learn more and find out how we can help you achieve a realistic social media growth strategy that works for you.
If you have a product launch coming up and want to find out how to use social media to promote your product launch content, check out this blog.
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