When it comes to using social media for B2B marketing, there are a lot of different myths. Perhaps the biggest of them all is that LinkedIn is the only “real” social media platform if you’re trying to gain traction with B2B decision-makers. With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the biggest misconceptions about using social media for B2B marketing.
Myth #1: You don’t need a real strategy
There seem to be so many different channels and platforms when it comes to social media that many companies just try to blast out as much content as possible, without taking into account whether all that content actually fits into any kind of overarching strategy.
The most effective B2B marketing strategies will be those that have some method to the method, in terms of developing an overall content calendar and scheduling content to go out at certain times.
Myth #2: You can ignore what your competitors are doing
One of the first things you need to do is figure out what your rivals are doing. Make a brief chart or checklist of every social platform they’re on, the types of topics they’re posting content about, and how frequently they are posting content. You should start to see a few patterns emerge. If all of your competitors are on a certain platform – whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat – you need to be there also.
Myth #3: Quantity is better than quality
We’ve all heard so much about the “long tail” of content that we assume that it’s best to generate as much content as possible. In other words, to emphasize quantity at the expense of quality. But that would be a mistake – most savvy B2B marketers now advocate a more bespoke approach to content creation. This entirely flips the script, and puts the emphasis on quantity rather than quality.
Myth #4: You don’t need to pay for social media
At one time, that might have been true. In fact, the reason why so many companies are willing to explore social media is because it’s essentially free (unless you count the time required to create it all!). However, organic social media is no longer as effective. Due to all the content that’s being created today, Facebook can’t possibly show every user every piece of content that’s being created. That’s why so many people are now willing to pay to have their tweets promoted or their updates promoted. Moreover, if you have a very young startup or company, you might need to pay for ads to promote your social pages. That will help you to develop a certain
momentum.
Myth #5: You don’t need to track social media metrics
There are so many analytics packages out there that you simply can’t afford to ignore the value of tracking performance. You need to know what kinds of messages are resonating with customers, and what kinds of content are helping to tell your story in the marketplace. The way to do that is via data.
You can think of these myths as biases and obstacles that are holding you back from achieving a truly effective embrace of social media for B2B marketing.
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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.