Looking to make waves in the B2B social media marketing world? You’re not alone. Since the dawn of social media, businesses have been looking for ways to use platforms to their advantage. And for good reason:
But with so much competition, it can be challenging to stand out and successfully attract new customers. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of B2B social media marketing tips to help you reach and engage your target audience.
Bonus: Get a free social media strategy template to quickly and easily plan your own strategy. Also use it to track results and present the plan to your boss, teammates, and clients.
B2B social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to promote products or services to other businesses. By leveraging social content, business to business (B2B) marketing focuses on building relationships with other businesses to generate leads and sales.
Unlike business to consumer (B2C) marketing, which focuses on direct consumer interactions and quick sales, B2B social media marketing focuses on social selling. Providing value-added content, and positioning one’s brand as a thought leader.
Social media marketing for B2B brands requires a unique approach. Here are some best practices to consider when developing your strategy.
1. Understand the industries you’re targeting
Before diving into your B2B social media strategy, it’s important to understand the industries you’re looking to reach. Are you a marketing platform looking to sell to enterprise businesses? Or, maybe you’re a design tool selling to developers.
Source: Figma
This shouldn’t be a quick overview — dig deep. Know the ins and outs, pain points, latest trends, and key players in your field. This will help you create content that speaks to their needs, rather than just promoting your product over and over again.
An easy way to stay updated on industry news and trends is to:
- Follow influential figures and organizations in your target industries on social media
- Read industry-specific newsletters, educational content, blogs, and publications
- Attend networking events and webinars relevant to your business
- Use social listening tools to monitor conversations about your industry and stay on top of emerging topics or issues
Pro tip: Use tools like Hootsuite Streams to track social mentions, hashtags, and keywords related to your audience. This helps you stay updated and interact with relevant content, easily.
2. Remember that you’re speaking to humans, not companies
Sure, you’re a B2B company, but that doesn’t mean you should sound like a robot on social media. Remember, you’re speaking to real people behind those business accounts. So, while your content should be informative and professional, it should also have a human touch.
Don’t believe it? In a 2022 LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact study, 64% of executives preferred “a more human, less formal tone of voice” over “an even-toned, intellectual voice.”
Keep in mind, that CEOs and purchasing officers like anyone else appreciate a more relatable tone, too. By adopting a human-centered approach you can foster genuine connections and ultimately drive better business.
Plus, younger people will move up the ranks and be making purchasing decisions within a few years. It pays to nurture relationships with industry pros at all stages of their careers.
Pro tip: Engage with your audience on a personal level. Share stories, ask for opinions, and show the human side of your brand. Tools like Hootsuite can help you manage and schedule posts that balance professionalism with personality, ensuring your content connects with the people behind the business.
3. Be present on the right social platforms
Not all social media channels are created equal, especially in the B2B landscape.
LinkedIn is an obvious choice for B2B social media marketing, with its professional focus and built-in networking opportunities. Plus, according to Statista, LinkedIn is the preferred platform for B2B marketers with 48% using it to distribute content.
However, you shouldn’t discount other platforms as potential avenues to reach your target audience. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have seen major growth in the B2B space, too.
Source: Statista
If you don’t know where to post, start by researching where your target audience spends their time online and tailor your social media strategy accordingly.
For example, if you’re targeting a younger demographic, you may want to focus on platforms like Instagram or TikTok. Whereas, if your audience is more tech-savvy, Twitter and LinkedIn may be better options.
Pro tip: Using a social media management tool, like Hootsuite, gives you access to in-depth cross-platform analytics. Use these to track engagement and results across platforms, then use that data to choose the most successful platforms.
#1 Analytics Tool for Growth
Beautiful reports. Clear data. Actionable insights to help you grow faster.
4. Make your followers’ jobs easier
B2B social media content should provide value to your audience. It should make their jobs easier, address their pain points, and offer solutions or insights.
One way to do this is through educational, thought leadership content such as industry reports, trend analyses, or how-to guides. These reports can be easily re-packaged into bite-sized social media posts and shareable infographics.
The latest LinkedIn-Edelman B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report found that the best thought leadership content:
- Gives practical advice on common business problems
- Is backed by data, research, and success stories from customers
- Gets support from top-level management and is part of a company-wide plan
- Stays relevant, timely, and useful for the people it’s meant for
With content that does promote your product, focus on how it will directly benefit the customer in real business terms. Think about showcasing specific use cases or sharing success stories that highlight a product or services’ value.
5. Keep an eye on competitors
When it comes to the competition, your competitors thought leadership content can actually hurt your business. Yes, you heard that right.
In fact, 70% of companies surveyed said that a piece of thought leadership had led them to question whether they should continue working with an existing supplier.
Source: Edelman
Because of this, your business needs to focus on creating original thought leadership content and keep an eye on what your competitors are producing. This will allow you to identify any gaps in your content and stay ahead of the curve with new ideas and perspectives.
For example, Miro is committed to sharing valuable content by featuring Agile expert, Diana Larsen, on their blog.
One way to track competitor content is through social media analytics. Start by benchmarking your social media performance against your competitors. Hootsuite Analytics has a built-in benchmarking tool that shows how you stack up against others in your field.
You can get an even better understanding of the competition by using social media listening to monitor their social media activities. That way you can gain insights from their B2B social strategy. Such as:
- When and how often they post
- Their tone of voice
- The type of content that gets the most engagement
- Specific customer pain points
You can use this information to guide your own social strategy. Especially before you have enough data to get meaningful insights from your own social posts. (More on that later.)
Pro tip: Want more details on competitor research? We’ve got a full blog post on how to conduct a competitor analysis on social media.
Social media and B2B marketing go hand in hand, but social media strategies and tactics are constantly evolving. Here are a few B2B social media content trends to keep in mind as you develop your strategy.
1. Data-driven reports
Data-driven reports are becoming increasingly popular in B2B social media marketing. Not only do they provide valuable insights and information to your audience, but they also position your company as a thought leader and expert in your field.
Examples of data-driven reports include industry analysis, trend reports, or surveys on specific topics related to your target audience. For example, Hootsuite’s annual Social Media Trends report offers valuable data and insights on the latest trends in social media marketing.
These reports can easily be repurposed as social media content, such as infographics, or short videos.
2. Influencer partnerships
While influencer partnerships might seem like a B2C tactic, the truth is they can be incredibly valuable for B2B marketing as well. See B2B has its own set of influencers, tapping industry experts or thought leaders to help amplify content and reach a wider audience.
Why does this matter? First off, these types of influencers speak to the people you want to reach — like other businesses or professionals in your field. So, when they say good things about your brand, it’s like getting a recommendation from a trusted friend.
Second, the more people who see your brand, the better. Even if most don’t turn into customers right away, they’re still getting exposed to your brand and what you have to offer.
However, partnering with influencers outside your niche can also be effective. When Hootsuite partnered with TikToker @emilyzugay to redesign the Hootsuite logo, the results were impressive. The video received over 700 thousand views and helped showcase Hootsuite’s playful brand personality to a new audience.
Pro tip: Don’t forget, your B2B audience is still human. They like humour, entertainment, and relatable content just as much as anyone else.
3. User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) includes any content — such as text, videos, images, reviews, and testimonials — created by people rather than brands. Translation: Leveraging UGC can enhance your brand’s authenticity, build trust, and foster a community around your products or services.
Why use UGC in B2B social media marketing strategy?
Well, for starters:
- UGC content builds trust and credibility. Content created by users often carries more weight and authenticity than brand-generated content. When potential customers see real people vouching for your products or services, they are more likely to try your product.
- UGC increases engagement. UGC tends to generate higher engagement rates because it encourages people to interact with posts and share their own experiences.And users love to see their content featured by brands they use and trust.
- UGC is a cost-effective way to generate content. Instead of heavily investing in content creation, you can leverage the creativity and experiences of your existing customers for free.
- UGC serves as social proof that your products or services deliver value. Positive reviews, testimonials, and case studies can influence decision makers to purchase and demonstrate your brand’s reliability.
Ready to take your business to new heights? Here are five B2B social media platforms you should be looking at.
1. Hootsuite
B2B companies know that being present and active on social media isn’t just a trend — it’s a necessity. And when it comes to managing a growing number of social platforms, Hootsuite is the go-to tool.
With Hootsuite, you can craft engaging posts that resonate with your audience, and schedule them at the perfect times (even if that’s 3 AM on a Sunday). Not to mention, you’ll be able to track results, generate reports, and tweak your content to make it better and better each time.
But Hootsuite isn’t just about posting and praying for likes. It’s also about listening. With intelligent social listening features, you can tune in to what people say about your brand, competitors, and industry. It’s like being able to read minds (well, almost).
And speaking of competitors, Hootsuite has you covered there too. With competitor benchmarking tools, you can keep a close eye on what the competition is up to — so you can stay one step ahead.
Use Hootsuite to:
- Ideate, create, and schedule posts at optimal times
- Track industry trends and insights
- Analyze and report on social media presence
- Track competitor performance and results
- Simplify content creation with AI
- Create B2B social media ads
- Manage employee advocacy
- Create a seamless approval workflow
In short, Hootsuite isn’t just a tool — it’s an all-in-one marketing dashboard designed to help B2B brands shine on social media. Don’t believe us? Try it free today.
2. Talkwalker
When it comes to managing your brand’s online presence, Talkwalker is the secret weapon you need.
Talkwalker digs deep into social media conversations, news sites, blogs, and forums to give you a comprehensive view of what’s being said about your brand and industry.
Plus, with powerful analytics and reporting features, Talkwalker helps B2B brands make data-driven decisions and track the impact of their social media efforts.
Use Talkwalker to:
- Monitor mentions about your brand online
- Identify key B2B trends and topics
- Analyze competitor content
- See all of your social listening efforts in one easy-to-use dashboard
Pro tip: Great news, if you’re a Hootsuite customer, you will soon be able to access Talkwalker‘s powerful social listening tools within your Hootsuite dashboard.
3. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is another social media management platform, built for medium-sized to enterprise businesses that want to manage all of their social media efforts in one place.
Its interface makes it easy for B2B brands to collaborate across teams, respond to messages and comments, and measure the success of their campaigns.
Source: Sprout Social
Use Sprout Social to:
- Create, schedule, and post on social media
- Run social media ads
- Analyze engagement
- Generate reports
Keep in mind, Sprout is a little pricier than other competing platforms, so be sure to check your budget constraints before signing up.
4. Buffer
Buffer is an all-in-one platform that comes with tools to help you build your B2B presence on social media. It allows you to schedule posts to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Mastodon.
While Buffer is relatively light on features, its user-friendly dashboard is simple and straightforward. Making it great for B2B social media managers who just want to get in, schedule, and get out.
Source: Buffer
Use Buffer to:
- Create, schedule, and post on social media
- Track analytics
- Assist with AI generated content
- Navigate customer support through comments and replies
5. Salesforce
B2B businesses know that customer relationship management (CRM) tools are essential, especially with longer sales cycles. Luckily, tools like Salesforce come equipped with Social CRM capabilities to make tracking lead generation, sales, and relationships easier .
From tracking interactions to nurturing relationships, Salesforce lets B2B brands stay on top of their social media game while driving connections with clients.
Source: Salesforce
Use Salesforce to:
- Integrate social media into your CRM platform
- Track interactions across social channels
- Nurture relationships with clients
- Convert leads into customers
Easily manage all your social media profiles using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule and publish posts, engage your followers, monitor relevant conversations, measure results, manage your ads, and much more.
Do it better with Hootsuite, the all-in-one social media tool. Stay on top of things, grow, and beat the competition.
