How to Create a B2B Social Media Marketing Campaign

September 3, 2020

There are a lot of B2C companies that are killing it right now on social media. But for some reason, many B2B companies have lagged on embracing social media marketing.

That’s because a lot of B2B companies still rely on what may feel like more ‘short-term’ gains. But there’s no reason you can’t combine these strategies with a B2B social media marketing campaign. 

How to Create a B2B Social Media Marketing Campaign

Social media is one of the best ways to generate new contacts, bring more traffic to your website, and grow your revenue over time. Over 80% of C-level and VP-level executives said that social media influences their buying decisions. 

And an effective social media campaign doesn’t have to take tons of time. 79% of marketers saw results by investing just six hours a week on social media. 

5 Steps to a B2B Social Media Marketing Campaign

So how do you create a B2B social media marketing campaign that consistently brings in new contacts? Here are five steps to help you set started. 

1. Outline Your Goals 

What does social media success look like for your company? Before you start scheduling your Twitter and LinkedIn posts, take some time to figure out your goals first. 

Do you want to increase your followers and engagement? Drive more traffic to your company’s website? Do you want to bring in more inbound leads?

Once you’ve outlined your goals, you’ll know which KPIs to track. For instance, if your goal is brand awareness, then you might track the following metrics:

  • Number of followers
  • Engagement on posts
  • Post shares
  • Impressions

2. Try Out Different Platforms

You probably already know that you should be active on LinkedIn. After all, 97% of B2B companies are using it. LinkedIn is one of the best platforms to not only find leads but interact with the right kind of leads.

However, 87% of B2B marketers are also on Twitter, and 86% are on Facebook. So you’re selling yourself short if you show up on LinkedIn and nothing else. 

That’s because social media is a great way to brand your company and build an audience across a variety of platforms. Here are four social media networks you should target and the types of content that work best on each platform:

  • LinkedIn: Thought leadership content tends to work best on LinkedIn. It is also a good place to share relevant updates about your company. (You’re probably already running paid campaigns here, and if you aren’t, you really should be).
  • Facebook: Facebook is a great place to promote your business, share your content, and spread the word about your webinars and events.  
  • Twitter: Twitter is a great place to share updates, and to include links to your content. 
  • Instagram: Visually appealing content is the key to engaging followers on Instagram. You can post quotes, behind-the-scenes photos, and take advantage of user-generated content. 

3. Create Engaging Content

Let’s be honest -- most companies are pretty dull on social media. Their blog posts aren’t exciting, and they share boring, dry status updates. 

As a result, their leads and customers don’t engage with any of their posts. Eventually, most of these companies will either give up, telling themselves that it “didn’t work.” Or they’ll continue to do the bare minimum and won’t ever see any significant returns for their effort.

It’s okay to show your personality on social media and get creative with your content. Here are a few ways you can do this:

  • Use humor when it’s appropriate: Social media is supposed to be fun, so don’t be afraid to engage in a little humor. Post content that’s fun and engaging without being over the top. 
  • Put a face to your company: One of the best ways to put a face to your brand is by highlighting your employees. For instance, if you have a new launch coming up, you can share a photo of the employees who were instrumental in rolling it out.   
  • Start a conversation: And finally, look for opportunities to engage customers and even other brands in conversations. Don’t just talk at your audience -- look for ways to have conversations with them about things that matter. 

4. Have a Dedicated Social Media Owner

If you want to succeed with social media, then you need to put the right people in charge of managing it. Ideally, you’ll do this by hiring a qualified social media manager who is in charge of the social media team. We know that isn’t possible for every team, so instead, pick an ‘owner’.

What you shouldn’t do is have one or two employees working on it in their free time. They won’t be able to bring the energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge that you need to be successful.

Look for a social media manager that has a background in running successful social media campaigns. Social media experience is more important than finding someone who knows all the ins and outs of your industry.

If you’re not ready to take the plunge and hire a full-time employee, you can look into utilizing freelance contractors instead.  

5. Track Your Results

And finally, it’s crucial to track your results and determine how your campaign is performing. Check your analytics to see how your audience is engaging with your posts, which types of posts are performing best, and any other useful insights.

If you’re falling short on your metrics, take this as an opportunity to experiment and try different things. For instance, even changing your posting frequency or scheduling your posts at different times can make a huge difference. 

Experimenting, measuring, and monitoring your results will give you the best opportunity to figure out how to engage with your audience and grow your platform. 

Next Steps

There are no longer any doubts about whether social media “works” for growing your business. It’s clear that it does -- now it’s just a matter of finding the B2B social media marketing campaign that’s going to be most effective for your business.

RollWorks can help you plan your next B2B marketing campaign. You can use our account-based platform to identify your ideal customers, engage with them, and measure the effectiveness of your campaign. Feel free to get in touch and schedule a demo.  

Previous Article
How to ABMify Your Demand Gen Programs in a Few Clicks
How to ABMify Your Demand Gen Programs in a Few Clicks

Want to take your demand gen programs to the next level? ABMify with just a few clicks and reap the ROI rew...

Next Article
How to Scale ABM on a Small but Mighty Marketing Team
How to Scale ABM on a Small but Mighty Marketing Team

Since we’ve implemented account-based display ads, we’ve seen higher open and clickthrough rates on emails,...