Finding the best platforms for your B2B marketing efforts

 

Social Media has been such a blessing and a curse since its inception. It’s connected us, created easier flows of communication, allows your mother-in-law to stalk you, lets you keep tabs on your ex… all good things! 

People, brands, and services alike are all cramming to try and find the platform that allows them to thrive and grow a bigger consumer base. However, if you’re a B2B brand, it can be hard to figure out which platform is going to yield the best results for you. But fear not! 

As a B2B company living almost 90% of their time on social media (and 90% of our time figuring out the best platforms for our clients), we think we’ve got it down pat how to figure out which one will best suit your B2B’s needs. So take a break from deep diving into your cousin’s-ex’s-sister’s-best friend’s-brother’s Instagram and read all about the social apps your business should be on. 

 

LINKEDIN

First things first, if you google anything about social media platforms and B2B brands, the first app you’re going to see is LinkedIn. That’s a big duh if you ask us. Of course you need to be on LinkedIn if anything. 95% of companies used LinkedIn for content marketing purposes, in addition to recruiting. We think of LinkedIn as a professional version of a combination of Twitter and Facebook. It allows you to create connections with freelancers, potential employees, contractors, you can live stream on it, you can establish yourself as thought leaders, create business groups, literally anything.

Think of it as a giant, never-ending digital networking event. According to a study done by Regalix, 91% of marketers for B2B’s prefer LinkedIn over Twitter and Facebook. Having a company page on LinkedIn is also more beneficial than one on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter because it’s purely professional, therefore allowing other companies or potential clients/employees to see everything they need without having to dig for it. And the same goes for you as well when doing some searching, all the information you need is at your fingertips. 

 

PROS:

• Establish yourself as thought leaders
• Create connections with those in your niche industry 
• Provide professional information, all in one place 
• Find viable prospects/potential employees 

 

TWITTER

Ah, Twitter. Our favorite place to go when there’s something problematic happening in the world and we need news on what it is now. Or to find out the latest tea on the Bachelor. Don’t think for a minute though that this is a platform strictly for memes and B2C companies- B2B brands can also thrive here! A double-edged sword, what makes Twitter different from other platforms is that nothing is filtered out on your feed. Yes, nothing. It’s why you hear so often “I saw it on Twitter before it was on the news”. So you don’t have to jump through hoops to get your content seen as you would on maybe Instagram or Facebook. You can add industry-relevant hashtags to your tweets to make them be seen by a bigger group, create lists of people whose tweets you want to see on your feed to make it easier to interact with them, and even search for tweets that mention you or related key terms. Another thing that Twitter is useful for: creating multiple accounts that do different things. Take Cisco  for example: 

 

They have three different accounts for official news, collaboration, and customer service. Each one has their own voice and purpose but work together. They even tailored a socially popular meme to their brand (which is, ironically, the topic of this blog):

 

We love it when B2B brands do things like this on Twitter because it humanizes them and makes the brand seem less like lifeless, third party promoting a product. If you’re aiming for having a Twitter for your B2B, we highly suggest you tap into pop culture in ways that tie into your service or product. 

 

PROS: 

• Opportunity to humanize your brand 
• Allows you to see the conversation around your brand/product/service 
• Create conversations with relevant users 
• Unfiltered/ranked feed 

 

FACEBOOK

 

Facebook wasn’t the first social network (shoutout to all our past MySpace users) but it definitely was part of the beginning of the current social media obsession. While it may not be the choice of the current youth anymore, it still has some good aspects to it. It’s also still one of the largest platforms out there, with a current user base of 2.45 billion monthly active users. 42% of respondents in this study say that it’s one of the 3 most effective platforms for content marketing for B2B brands. It offers different price points for paid ads, and you don’t have to pay to increase your exposure or see certain statistics like you might have to on LinkedIn.

You can use your company page like any other social platform to promote your services, create a brand identity, share information and news, and allow other businesses or consumers to interact with you. Additionally, like LinkedIn, you can create a page about your company’s product or service and cultivate a community of like-minded people within your specific industry that can provide real-time feedback, reviews, leave suggestions, etc. You can also interact with those within the group and ask for specific opinions or feedback. Even better (yes, it gets BETTER), you can join other groups and maybe see what your competitors are doing, what’s working in your industry, and what isn’t. It’s not just a place for moms to showcase their kids 24/7 and recycle bad, bad memes anymore- it’s also become a place for professional interactions. 

 

PROS: 

• Create brand page to foster a community 
• Join other brand/industry pages to stay relevant 
• Cost-Effective with paid ad campaigns
• Largest user base

 

INSTAGRAM 

 

We saved the biggest and most popular platform for last. Its user base isn’t as big as Facebook, and it’s not as commonly used as LinkedIn for B2B’s, but it has one thing that none of the other platforms we’ve discussed have: User. Generated. Content. We’ve done a whole blog on UGC, (go check it out if you haven’t!) but we’ll sum it up for you now: it’s content you had no hand in making but you can still use, given that they’ve tagged you in it or used one of your hashtags. It’s a great way to show your followers your product or service being put into action by real, happy clients.

Instagram, like Twitter, is also a great way to show your followers your realness. If used the right way, Instagram will allow you to establish a brand voice and personality outside of being simply “professional”. Utilize stories and story highlights to showcase employees, behind the scenes, events, your service/product, or reviews. Instagram also allows you to make a business page that comes with the ability to see how your page is doing, such as engagement, profile visits, best times to post, and so many others we can’t delve into right now. Take advantage of the feed to make it look good and adhere to your brand colors even. Check out a few B2B company pages we liked below to see what we’re talking about: 

 

 

  All three companies have a cohesive look to them, sometimes with a bio that makes them more human, and images that match their overall brand. Because Instagram is so visual, it does lend itself more to B2C companies, however, that’s why we think it’s so valuable to B2B’s which don’t always necessarily have a tangible or visible product. Just because you might not manufacture something, doesn’t mean you can’t showcase the results, happy customers, the process of whatever it is you do, graphics or quotes that relate to your brand, etc. Be visible, and you’ve already got an advantage on B2B companies that aren’t. 

 

 

PROS:

• Gives your brand the opportunity to have a voice and personality 
• Take advantage of user-generated content 
• Can share behind the scenes content, aesthetic or on-brand content
• Become visible 
• Connect more with clients/consumers/potential employees

 

One thing we didn’t mention with any of these platforms, because they all have the option, is you can add your website and contact info. Every platform provides you with the option to link a website, add an email, or add an external link to something related to your company. It’s an option that’s become quite standard with every social media app. 

 

If you got through all of that, give yourself a round of applause! We took our time with this one knowing how important it is to land on the right platform and use it correctly. And if you think you know, but don’t have the time to flesh out your platforms, then we know just the people to help you out (enter all of us at LBMG). Just hit us up via DM or our contact page, and we’ll help you create an amazing online presence in no time.