While some still doubt the effectiveness of social media in B2B marketing, those that have realized its importance are reaping the benefits.  Developing your buyer personas to identify where your prospects get their information and what their pain points are will help you to sculpt content that fits their needs.  Valuable content that educates and entertains as well as visual content are the basis of an effective social media strategy, however, further action is needed.

Have a Plan

Just like with any other marketing effort, the first step in creating a social strategy is to develop a plan.  You’ll want to analyze the type of content you plan to post, the frequency and your audience.  Having a dedicated social media manager to implement this plan will ensure you get the most out of your efforts.

Profile Audit

If you have current social pages, you’ll want to run an audit to see how many followers you have, what has already been posted and whether or not your pages need to be optimized.  You want to avoid creating duplicate pages and make sure your business has a solid description of the products or services you offer on your home page.  Clear links to your website and contact information are equally important.

Engagement

One aspect of social media marketing that tends to be ignored is engagement.  If someone comments on one of your posts, it’s a good idea to respond to encourage further engagement.  When someone follows your pages, it’s a good idea to respond with a thank you message that encourages them to visit your company website.

Outsource

In order to get the most out of your social media strategy, it’s important to remain consistent.  If your business is unable to dedicate an employee to the sole mission of running your social channels, it may be a good idea to outsource.  This can provide your company with an experienced social media expert, which will ensure you maximize your return on investment.

Promotion

The ability to promote your website content is perhaps the greatest use of social media.  Sharing any blogs that you post will increase the reach of your content exponentially.  It’s also a great idea to share landing pages that gate your premium content.  These two strategies will help to increase website visits and expand the reach of your marketing efforts.

Social Monitoring

Monitoring your social channels allows you to find prospects that are looking for the solutions you offer.  Marketing automation platforms such as Hubspot offer tools that allow you to track any postings that involve keywords you’re looking to rank for.  This allows you to reach out to potential customers and learn where your prospects find their information.

Schedule Ahead

Marketing automation platforms also allow you the ability to schedule your posts days and weeks ahead of time.  This can be a time saver and allow you to develop a posting strategy that guides visitors through the buyer’s journey.

Targeting

To get the most out of your postings, you’ll want to find where your target audience congregates.  Joining relevant industry groups where you can share your website content is a great way to draw in visitors.  You’ll also want to look at which platforms and groups key decision makers in your target industries are a part of.  Be sure not to inundate these groups with postings, as too much content will appear overly promotional.

Hashtags

Hashtags help to further the reach of your posts beyond your current social following.  Adding one or more hashtags with relevant keywords can get you found by people around the world.  Be sure to capitalize on industry trends.  Piggy backing on events and industry conferences is a great way to get your content in front of a large section of your target audience.

Content Calendar

Creating a content calendar will enable you to keep your social media posts organized.  This will ensure you’re not overloading certain platforms or groups while neglecting others.  It gives your content writers clear direction and deadlines while allowing you to track what posts perform best.  It also prevents you from missing important dates such as holidays and industry events.

Social media is an important part of any inbound marketing campaign.  Click below to schedule your free inbound marketing assessment for detailed tips for improvement.