Beyond LinkedIn: Social media for the serious B2B marketer

We often view LinkedIn as the holy grail for B2B—a serious platform for serious people doing serious business. But what about the vast, vibrant world of social media that lies beyond? For the savvy B2B marketer, other platforms offer untapped potential to reach audiences in new, engaging ways. Let’s unpack how you can leverage these platforms to elevate your B2B marketing strategy.

X: Real-time engagement

X is a goldmine for real-time engagement. It’s where conversations happen—instantly and with impact. For B2B marketers, X offers a unique platform to join industry conversations, share thought leadership, and even provide customer service in a pinch.

By engaging in relevant hashtags and industry chats, you can elevate your brand’s voice and authority. Remember, the key here is engagement, not just broadcasting. Dive into discussions, answer questions, and retweet content that aligns with your brand’s ethos.

X os also great during live events and conferences. By tweeting in real time, engaging with attendees, and using event-specific hashtags, you can significantly extend your reach and enhance audience engagement.

Best Practices for X:

• Use X lists to keep track of influencers and key discussions.
• Engage regularly by responding to tweets, retweeting relevant content, and maintaining a consistent presence.
• Monitor analytics to understand what content performs best and optimise your strategy accordingly.

Facebook: Detailed targeting and deep dives

Think Facebook is passé? Think again. With its vast user base, Facebook gives you a playground for detailed targeting and rich content experiences. Video content, especially, performs exceedingly well on this platform.

Consider hosting live Q&A sessions, sharing behind-the-scenes looks at your business, or creating informative video series. Facebook’s robust advertising tools allow for detailed targeting and retargeting strategies, letting you slice and dice your audience to ensure your content reaches the most relevant viewers.

You can also use Facebook’s robust advertising tools to define and reach specific demographics. Detailed targeting options allow you to deliver content directly to your ideal customer profiles, enhancing the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Best Practices for Facebook:

• Develop a content calendar that includes a mix of media formats.
• Regularly test different ad formats and targeting options to refine your approach.
• Engage with your audience through comments and messages to build a community around your brand.

Instagram: A peek behind the curtain

Instagram is a storyteller’s dream. It’s where visuals meet business narratives in a grid of squares. For B2B brands, this is your canvas to showcase not just your products or services, but the culture and people behind them.

Share images and stories of your team, your production process, or your corporate events. Do Instagram Stories and Reels to offer quick, digestible insights into your industry or to share snippets of your business in action. These features are excellent for sharing quick, engaging glimpses into your industry or company. They can be used to highlight customer testimonials, product tutorials, or exciting announcements.

The visual nature of Instagram makes it an excellent tool for building brand aesthetics and identity. This transparency builds trust and fosters a stronger connection with your audience.

Best Practices for Instagram:

• Maintain a consistent visual style that reflects your brand’s identity.
• Use appropriate hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts.
• Engage with followers through polls, questions, and interactive stickers in Stories.

YouTube: The power of video storytelling

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. For B2B marketers, that means an enormous opportunity to be discovered through video content.

From detailed how-to videos and webinars to customer testimonials and company stories, YouTube allows you to create a deeper connection with your audience. The platform also offers excellent SEO benefits, as Google loves to rank valuable video content in search results. Make sure your videos are optimised with the right keywords, and don’t forget to include calls to action in both your videos and video descriptions.

Create video content that addresses common customer questions, offers solutions to industry-specific problems, and showcases detailed product reviews or demonstrations. Then, optimise your video content for search by incorporating relevant keywords in your titles, descriptions, and tags. YouTube’s integration with Google Search enhances the visibility of your content, driving more organic traffic to your channel.

Best Practices for YouTube:

• Develop a regular posting schedule to keep your audience engaged.
• Include clear calls to action in your videos to guide viewers to the next steps.
• Monitor viewer comments and feedback to gauge response and adapt your strategy.

TikTok: The new frontier

Yep, TikTok. Don’t dismiss it as just a chaotic dance-video hub for teens. It’s rapidly becoming a powerful tool for brand storytelling and is increasingly overtaking Google in terms of search. The key to TikTok is creativity and trend-savviness.

Can you take a current trend and twist it to relate to your industry? TikTok’s algorithm favours high-engagement content, so the more creative and engaging your content, the better your chances of being seen. It’s a platform where you can experiment with lighter, more humorous takes on your business, showing a different side to your brand.

Share lighthearted, behind-the-scenes looks at your business operations or snippets from corporate events to engage with a broader audience.

Best Practices for TikTok:

• Keep up with platform trends and be creative!
• Use TikTok analytics to understand what types of content perform best and refine your approach.
• Encourage user interaction through challenges or branded hashtags.

Embracing the full spectrum

LinkedIn is always going to be important for B2B digital marketing. But using multiple social media platforms can really help increase your brand’s reach and engagement.

Diving into the full spectrum of social media platforms allows B2B marketers to break the mould and connect with audiences in more dynamic, memorable ways. Each platform has its strengths and nuances, and the key to success is crafting a strategy that understands and uses these differences.

To reach your audience effectively, tailor your approach to each platform’s strengths and target demographics. It’ll boost your visibility and help you build strong connections with your audience. And remember, the landscape of social media is continually evolving. Stay informed about the latest trends, platform updates, and best practices. Regularly review your performance metrics to understand what works and where there is room for improvement.

Whether it’s the instantaneity of X, the depth of Facebook, the visual appeal of Instagram, the storytelling might of YouTube, or the creative playground of TikTok, there’s a world beyond LinkedIn waiting for you.