The Benefits of B2B Social Media Marketing

While many consumer brands have begun to shift to a more digitally-focused style of marketing, many B2B companies have been making a much slower transition. Because social media relies heavily on consumer engagement, many B2B companies have felt that social media marketing tactics do not apply to their business or target audience.

As social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn have become a more ingrained part of our daily lives, more and more B2B businesses have begun using them. Companies like Cisco, IBM, and Intel have all run successful recent social media campaigns. By embracing social media, these companies are expanding their potential client base and helping to ensure future success. Below are just some of the benefits of B2B social media marketing.

1. Increased exposure
   Social media offers unprecedented exposure. Facebook has more than 1.3 billion users per month, with even less popular sites like LinkedIn still boasting an impressive 187 active monthly users. While not every contact will lead to a business deal, the exposure social media provides can help expand your network of contacts. Likewise, a greater social media presence can also help companies stay relevant in the changing digital marketplace.
   
   
2. Increase engagement
   B2B companies are finally catching on to what consumer brands have known for years – social media offers unprecedented access to customers. Media such as video tutorials and customer stories can help increase interest and build loyalty. Likewise, customer service can now occur one-on-one across a variety of platforms; because social media users tend to be vocal about their experiences – whether good or bad – this gives companies a unique opportunity for engagement.
   
   
3. Increase traffic
   Every update, post, blog, and tweet contributes to your website’s search engine ranking. This, in turn, brings more traffic to your site. Next, because the B2B sales cycle is longer, it is important to continue producing consistent, compelling content that will lead to future sales. The better quality content that is either curated or created, the more it will be shared; this further expands your business to customers that might not have been reached before.
   
   
4. Increase market insight
   Using social media can help you get to know your target audience better. Doing so can help you create content that is relevant to them, continue to increase traffic, and lead to future sales growth. Likewise, analytics can be used to evaluate user data like never before in an effort to learn more about your target audience.