Think you don’t need Houston social media marketing if you’re a B2B business? Think again! Social media is an effective digital marketing tool for companies of all kinds, including B2B. The key is to get your strategy right to help target decision makers.
How is Houston Social Media Marketing Different for B2B Businesses?
A lot of B2B companies believe that they can’t benefit from using social media, but that’s completely wrong! While B2B social media marketing is a lot different than B2C, it still has value for your business. Understanding the differences can help you create a successful social media strategy for your company.
Audiences
The key to successful B2B social media marketing is to appeal to your target audience. For B2C brands, this usually means grabbing the attention of one person and leading them down the sales funnel.
For B2B companies, audiences are often a lot different. First off, there are probably going to be multiple people involved in making the purchase decision. Also, in many cases, you’re going to need to target the final decision makers. This audience tends to be executives and business owners. Therefore, your brand’s social media voice is probably going to be a lot different than a brand who sells consumer products.
Goals
Goals for business to business social media are also a lot different than marketing to consumers. B2B social media isn’t like an infomercial (R.I.P. Billy Mays). You’re not trying to dramatize your products or services to help inspire an impulse buy. This can sometimes work for B2C sales, but the average B2B buyer is going to do a lot of research before making a decision. Instead, most B2B businesses will have different goals for social media, like brand awareness, audience education, and increasing credibility. Your target audience is probably going to do a lot more research before taking the plunge, so your goals shouldn’t be to get them to click a “buy now” button the first time they see your posts or page. The B2B sales cycle is usually longer than that.
Common Houston Social Media Marketing Mistakes by B2B Companies
Unfortunately, many B2B businesses aren’t doing very well on social media. Some really shine, but the vast majority of B2B accounts are pretty lackluster. We see a few common mistakes businesses make that can reduce the impact and effectiveness of social media marketing.
Not Using Social Media!
One of the number one mistakes companies make is not using their social accounts and pages. They have them, but nothing’s been posted since 2016 or earlier. Don’t abandon your social profiles! This isn’t doing you any favors and might even feel like a red flag to your customers. You need to be posting regularly to gain any traction on social media.
Being Boring
For whatever reason, there’s a common misconception that B2B businesses are “boring.” Sure, a lot of what you do is probably very technical and niche. However, that doesn’t mean boring, quite the opposite! If it were truly boring, no one would be interested and your business would probably already be bankrupt.
Every single company has a story to tell. The point of social media is to tell it! Think about it: even if your service or product is pretty technical, it’s still solving pain points for your customers. The key is to convey the story of solving these issues and what makes you stand out.
Social media experts can help you find that angle and work it on social media. There’s always a way to entertain and inspire your audience, and social media platforms are a great place to do this!
Promoting Too Much
The goal of Houston social media marketing is obviously to promote your business, but there’s a good way and a bad way to do this. Posting ten times a day about how great you are probably turns B2B buyers off. You may have even noticed this on your personal accounts. Ever decided to stop following someone because they post pictures of their family umpteen times a day? Even if you love them and their family, it gets old pretty quickly when that’s all you see on your feed. Unfortunately, a lot of B2B brands are doing something exactly like this on social media.
Social media is a great way to subtly promote your brand. For instance, sharing an article that interests your audience can go a long way in solidifying your company’s value in their mind. It’s also a great way to build social proof that you’re the best in the business to work with. So, it’s important to consider what your audience really wants to see and learn. Mixing it up with thought-provoking industry articles, fun questions, and promotional materials is typically a much better strategy than aggressive promotion on social media.
Why Work with a Digital Marketing Agency for Houston Social Media Marketing?
All right, but why not just have one of your younger employees take on social media responsibilities? Simply put, a digital marketing agency brings a lot to the table for your company.
Consistent Strategies
If you’ve landed on this article, then you’re probably interested in what internet marketing can do for your business. The thing is, there are many different facets to digital marketing, such as search engine marketing, pay per click advertising, and more. One great benefit of choosing a digital marketing agency to run your social media is that you benefit from cohesive voice and consistent strategies across digital marketing channels.
For instance, if your website content is very professional, you probably don’t want your social media posts to be riddled with a lot of slang. This is a risk when you choose someone else to do your social media marketing. Also, unless the person in charge of your social media also knows what your primary SEO keywords are, you could be missing out on opportunities to advance your search engine results and social media presence simultaneously.
Tons of Houston Social Media Marketing Resources
Need another reason to hire a social media team for your company? A dedicated social media team has access to way more resources! First of all, we have an entire team of experts at our disposal to help create your social media strategy. Unless you’re a large company, you probably don’t have the means to hire that many professionals dedicated to social media and digital marketing. We also use a lot of innovative tools that are often cost prohibitive for just a single small or mid-market business. So, you get access to all these resources without all the expense and hassle of doing it all internally.
Houston’s Trusted Digital Marketing Agency for Over 20 Years
Your business needs a comprehensive online marketing strategy, and our team at Bizopia is here to make it happen. We offer website design, SEO, content marketing, social media, pay per click advertising services, and so much more for businesses looking to get a leg up in their industry. As a leading Houston digital marketing agency, we eat, sleep, and breathe digital marketing. We’ve been doing this for over 20 years and helping our clients find success online. Whether you’re looking to increase leads, boost sales, give your target audience a great industry resource, or all of the above, we’re here to help you achieve those goals. Get started now by filling out our free website and digital marketing analysis form or giving us a call at (832) 327-3230!