The Benefits of Social Media Marketing

B2B buyers are on social media. Find out why you should be connecting with them on their favorite platforms.

Don’t let the “social” in social media marketing fool you. Social media marketing is a valid—and some might say essential—tool for connecting and building relationships with business customers.

The way we’re doing business is changing right before our eyes, and with 75 million boomers^[1] expected to retire by 2030, these changes will continue to accelerate. Their replacements have grown up in a world in which they didn’t have to pick up a landline phone and ask questions about products and services. They have access to information, reviews, and testimonials right in the palm of their hands.

In fact, Gartner’s research reveals that close to half (44%) of millennials prefer to avoid interaction with sales representatives^[2] in a B2B setting. This is not to say that they’re all on TikTok sharing videos of themselves using their favorite products, but it does herald a shift in the way business buyers will do business. If you’re still asking why you should use social media marketing to connect with B2B customers, we’ve created this guide to help you understand its value for increasing customer acquisition and retention.

Why is social media marketing important?

If you’re not actively engaging on social media, you’re missing out. Nearly half of B2B marketers include Facebook in their strategy, and 80% of them rely on LinkedIn for social marketing leads^[3]. When you consider the sheer number of users on social media, you can understand why they’re there^[4]. Check out these stats:

These numbers include personal as well as business users, but the lesson is clear. Being active on social media platforms increases your company’s reach, which leads to more leads and touches on the customer journey.

B2B vs. B2C social media marketing

Although they do overlap, B2B social media marketing differs from B2C social media marketing because they target two groups with distinct consumption habits. A B2B customer wants educational content that helps them make purchasing decisions for a company. A B2C customer tends to be more interested in entertainment—education may be more of an afterthought ^[5].

As a result, you’ll notice that the type of content used in B2B social media marketing differs from the B2C crowd. Businesses include a greater variety of content, including white papers, research, podcasts, and infographics. This content exists to give followers the information they need, while B2C content usually takes an entertainment-first approach. The content may be educational, but it’s embedded in entertaining videos or eye-catching memes^[5].

B2B social media marketing plans also have a different posting schedule than you’ll see with B2C marketing strategies. A B2C company has greater competition on social media platforms and may need to post more frequently to catch its followers’ attention. As a B2B company, you’re adding value to your followers’ feeds and may not need to post as frequently—even if you have a content posting schedule.

Advantages of using social media marketing

There’s a reason a majority of businesses plan to increase their social media presence^[6], according to Hootsuite. The advantages of social media marketing (greater reach and influence) tend to outweigh the disadvantages of social media marketing (time consumption), especially when you hire a social media marketing agency to handle it.

Before you make a decision about your company’s social media marketing strategy, consider the benefits of implementing one:

Increase trustworthiness and brand recognition

The first step in the customer journey is brand recognition. No one buys from you if they don’t know who you are and what you offer. Social media marketing is a proven tool for increasing brand awareness^[4] and improving customer service. Not only does it keep the customer at the forefront of your engagement, but it allows the business to appear more human^[7]. Each time you post, you create an opportunity to engage with your audience and drive traffic to your site.

Business Instagram account in Instagram (Source)

Foster an online community

The stark reality is that your customers really don’t want to engage with you. More than half of B2B buyers admit they would rather find information about your products and services on their own^[8], often without any interaction with your company. Through social media, you can create an online community where they can find the information they need through the content you post and the support of other community members. Not interacting with you isn’t a bad thing because it frees up time you can spend on other aspects of running the business. Customers will reach out when they really need your assistance, and that creates an opportunity for you to show them your superior customer service.

Generate more sales

B2B customers typically don’t purchase goods through social media the way B2C customers do. You may find that social media marketing generates more sales through indirect channels. It helps you identify potential customers—your followers who engage with your content are already showing interest in your company and what it offers. This creates opportunities to position your company as a partner or industry leader in addition to developing relationships^[9].

Advantages of hiring a social media marketing agency

Effective social media campaigns don’t happen by accident. It takes time to research your target audience, identify their needs, and create content that connects with them. It takes even more time to monitor interaction and engage with social media followers. Hiring a social media marketing agency that understands the needs of a B2B social media marketing campaign can be one of the most valuable investments you make. You get the benefits of social media marketing without giving up your time that’s often better spent doing what you do best, managing the business.

Save time

Effective social media marketing requires engaging content that resonates with the audience^[10]. Identifying and finding out the needs of the target market takes time that you could be spending in other areas of business development. Creating an empathetic yet authoritative voice requires a level of skill that you may not have. A social media marketing agency has the necessary resources—including professionals who specialize in content creation—to design and implement a marketing campaign faster than you could and without filling up your schedule.

Relieves stress

Traditional advertising tends to be maintenance-free for business owners^[11]. You tell the advertising rep what you want and let their experts design an advertisement that’s tailor-made for their outlet. They understand the target audience and how to market to them. Working with a social media marketing agency is no different. They understand the different social media platforms and how to connect with the users on them. It creates a stress-free environment for you because you let someone else figure out the details.

Protect your reputation

Social media marketing agencies do more than create content. They also can manage your online reputation by previewing content, responding to comments, and protecting your accounts^[12]. Poorly written content with grammatical errors can give the impression you don’t pay attention to detail. Ignoring comments from users may suggest you don’t care about your customers. Let the agency take care of these details for you and build a positive reputation online.

Adapt to changing trends

The social media landscape is ever-evolving, and successful marketing strategies stay on top of trends. Platforms that held much promise one year may fade into obscurity the next—or sell out to one of the big guys. This year’s viral video trend will be replaced by another next year. Keeping up with the type of content users connect with is a full-time job. Let the social media marketing agency keep up with what everyone’s talking about on social media^[7].

Maximize your budget

Of the eight tips Gartner recommends for maximizing your social media marketing budget^[13], a social media marketing agency can directly implement seven tips. The agency can effectively target your audience, give you a presence on multiple platforms, create engaging content, and make use of paid social advertising—and they’ll likely do a better job at it than you ever could. Chances are that you’ll discover the money you pay a social media marketing agency is money well spent.