Social Media Marketing: 5 reasons why it should be used by B2B companies

Contrary to popular belief, social media marketing can be used by B2B (business to business) companies not only B2C (business to customer) companies. B2B’s who are not utilising social media are missing out on many opportunities to communicate and collaborate with other businesses.

There are 5 reasons B2B companies should use social media marketing.

1. Customers are on social media

Large suppliers of products usually sell their products to retailers who then sell them to clients. Retailers make money regardless of the brand of their products, so suppliers are responsible for their own marketing- the retail companies are definitely not going to do it for them as they have nothing to gain from it.

Suppliers realise that the marketing of their companies are in their own hands, so usually use various advertising platforms like TV, radio and print. But having a strong presence on social media with many followers is extremely beneficial and reaches more potential clients at a faster rate.

A B2B company can use their social media profiles to support and promote their brand by getting involved in local or international responsibilities like solar power (if the company sells electrical products for example). Through their various profiles online they can also interact with users by posting relevant material like recipes or video tutorials (for example) which are in line with what they sell.

2. Customers need support

B2B companies can also offer customer support through social media. Customers can get direct communication access through things like Facebook messenger to lodge complaints or ask support for products etc.

Richard Branson says that social platforms are essential to business growth and should be central to any business’s marketing strategy and should be included in the budget as top priority. Social platforms are no longer just add-ons but should be central to all things relating to marketing.

3. Business partners are on social media

Facebook conducted a study and found that social media marketing helps B2B companies collaborate with business partners effectively and that business executives were 74% more likely to be on social media platforms, and are generally 2 times more active on Facebook than other users.

Business owners use social platforms to build collaborative relationships, build social connections, engender trust and coordinate various activities.

The results showed that of the 115 marketing specialists in B2B positions who took part in a survey, 79% rated social media as the best and most effective marketing channel and 38% said that if their budget was increased within the next year they would spend it on social media.

4. Social media brings customers to your website

Social media can promote a brand in several ways.

Companies can introduce new technologies on social media which helps the brand portray that they are a thought leader bringing innovative new products to the market.

Social media helps raise brand awareness which attracts more customers to your website where they can learn more about your products and show interest in purchasing. The sales team will then take the next step in finalising the sale.

Social media is a very important way of positioning the brand within the market place.

5. Social media assists sales

Social media marketing promotes sales, and at the end of the day that is the ulimate goal.

Most B2B sales don’t occur online, but social media helps identify potential customers and position the products to appeal to those customers, building relationships with them and then closing the sale.

Here is a breakdown of each of these aspects.

Identifying prospects

Business has become global and the amount of potential companies has increased drastically and is more diverse. It is a mammoth task identifying prospective customers who desire, need and are in the position of purchasing your products. In some cases it is manageable because there is a specific group of people who your products are designed for, but in other cases there are thousands of different prospects and identifying them is time-consuming and very costly.

Social media makes identifying customers much easier because of instead of combing through data, customers can show their interest in your product by engaging in social media posts. This way, the brand can see exactly who their target audience is.

Positioning

Positioning allows certain elements of your brand or product to be highlighted, and segment certain consumers (in this case, businesses) who share the same values and priorities. The message can then be changed and adapted to conform to the consumers’ needs and capture their interest.

A specific target audience can be reached through social media because there are ways to reach a certain group of people- something traditional methods of marketing struggles to do-and is perfect for positioning the brand in the market.

Developing relationships

Customers don’t buy from businesses- they buy from the people in the business.

Social media is a tool that can be used to build trust between sellers and buyers which is very important for making a sale. Social media creates the perfect way to communicate, provide support and helps erase any misunderstandings.

Lead nurturing

CRM (customer relationship marketing) software has been developed because social media is such an amazing way to build relationships and make sales, that live links to prospect clients’ social platforms are contained within this software. This allows a salesperson to view the prospect’s profile and learn more about them. With this information they can build relationships and share common interests.

Social media has changed the business world forever, and if used correctly can make businesses thrive.