There are so many new social media platforms that it can seem a bit confusing at times to make sense of just how to leverage them for maximum effect. Here’s a list of 7 social media tips for making the most of your B2B marketing campaign:
1: Post regularly
Perhaps the most important piece of advice is also the simplest: make sure you are posting new social media content on a regular basis. That might mean once a day for Facebook and 2-3 times a week for Instagram. But once you set up a schedule, stick to it.
2: Follow up on comments and requests
Social media is ultimately a very conversational platform. That means you need to follow up on any comments, requests or insights posted by your followers. Some B2C brands, for example, make it a point to reply to every single tweet that’s made about them.
3: Embrace video
Just two years ago, “video” usually meant posting a two-minute clip on YouTube. But now there are many different options available. In addition to Instagram, of course, there’s also live streaming video on Facebook. And there are plenty of apps out there that can transform even a rather pedestrian video clip into something filled with animation or action.
4: Track metrics that matter
In the social media world, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of just tracking what marketers refer to as “vanity metrics.” Usually, those are metrics related to how many followers you have. After all, that’s the kind of statistic that’s easy to brag about in the boardroom! But you need to be able to track the metrics that really matter, such as those related to how much engagement your followers are actually having with you on social media.
5: Stay on message
It’s easy to get off-message and fall into the trap of just posting selfies in the office. But that’s not what is going to turn prospects into leads. You need to stay on message and make sure that the content you are putting out there has a real, defined business goal.
6: Don’t just cross-post content
A very lazy social media strategy is just cross-posting content from one platform to another. Realize that every social platform has a unique voice and a unique audience. So you need to come up with original content for each of these, and give people a reason to follow you on that platform. In other words, if you plan to be active on both Facebook and Twitter, you need to develop content for both.
7: Have an overarching strategy
When it comes to social media, having a real strategy is key. That will help you to make sense of all the different platforms and channels out there. And you will find it much easier to stay on schedule and on message.
Ultimately, it’s almost impossible for a company to be active on every social media platform. But pick one where you can really give 100%, and use that as a flagship platform for extending your overall social media presence.
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Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.