There are about 8.3 billion people in the world and roughly 5.8 billion of them use social media (70% of the world’s population!). The average person spends about 2 hours and 20 minutes on social media every day. I could go ahead with stats, but the concept is pretty simple: if you run a B2B business and you’re not using social media to market what you offer, you may be losing leads, no matter what kind of industry you operate in. But how do you go about it?
There are thousands of guides online, but I’m sure you’re time poor, and by now you just have questions and you’re looking for simple answers. Here are my answers on how to market your B2B business on social media.
The Most Common B2B Social Media Questions Answered
What platform should I use to promote my B2B business?
Everyone would mention LinkedIn at this point, and I agree. LinkedIn is the platform where most B2B conversations happen, but this is not a hard rule. It really depends on your business and industry. For example, last week I had a meeting with a business that recycles hair and hairdressing products. Their target audience is hair salon owners who largely use TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, not LinkedIn.
Other platforms that matter for B2B marketing
Consider YouTube for your educational video content. Facebook can be an option, especially when it comes to re targeting campaigns, and X (formerly Twitter), can also be a valuable option for connecting with tech and executive audiences. There’s no one size fits all approach. You need to establish what is going to be your preferred medium in your marketing strategy.
So, should I try them all?
No, I recommend investing primarily in one and then moving to the next one, once you have had success with that platform. This means posting consistently, understanding which topics perform well and generating meaningful engagement.
How often should I post?
Frequency depends on the platform and the quality you can create. Ideally, you should post three to five times a week, as this is important to stay front of mind. As a minimum, you should start with a posting cadence of two posts a week
What should I post about?
Three primary rules here:
- Provide real value through your content. Share lessons learned from real projects, answers to prospects’ common questions, opinions on trends in your industry or client success stories. What you want is to be seen as an authority in your niche and as trustworthy, so focus on sharing content that builds that trust.
- Don’t try to sell all the time. Nobody wants to be sold to, so avoid using your social media pages like a sales brochure and asking your audience to visit your website and book a call in every post (many businesses still do this!). You’ll just waste time. When you do share a post with a sales focused call to action, frame it in terms of the problem you solve.
- Do share real behind the scenes content. On social media, humans like other humans, so keep it real, just not cheesy.
Should I post from my personal profile or the company page?
You need to do both, but prioritise your personal profile. Today, personal branding drives much more engagement than company pages, especially for small to medium sized B2B businesses.
Do I need to run paid ads, or is organic enough?
It depends on your business life cycle, goals and budget. If you are at square zero, you may start by using organic content to understand whether your positioning and messaging resonate with your audience. If you already have clear positioning, your audience is well and you have the budget to test properly, you can run both from the start.
Does social media generate leads, or is it just for brand awareness?
It generates both, especially if you combine organic content and paid advertising properly. You need to be consistent with content, gain your audience’s trust and then stay front of mind with your audience when they are ready to buy.
How long before I see leads from this?
I know you like straight answers, but in some instances like this, I can’t give you one. The time-frame depends on your audience, the length of your sales cycle, how consistent you are with your content, whether you already have a reputation in the market. As a general rule of thumb, in B2B, it takes three to six months before social media starts contributing leads consistently.
How much does it cost to have social media managed professionally?
You can find a full guide about costs here.
How to Market Your B2B Business on Social Media Successfully: Do It Well or Don’t Do It at All
There are many businesses that still have not understood how powerful social media can be for generating revenue. Whenever you see their content or how they run ads, you can tell that they have hired a junior or, even worse, that someone in their admin team is creating a few social media posts with ChatGPT once a week and sharing them on their news feed.
My recommendation is simple: do social media properly or don’t do it at all. You’re using that time anyway, and that cost could be better used somewhere else. For a chat on how to leverage your social pages for your B2B business, get in touch.
