In the B2B world, Facebook is highly underutilized. Even though 39 percent of B2B marketers have used Facebook to generate leads, studies show that LinkedIn is the most-used social platform for B2B companies. Facebook is more difficult to engage with as a business platform, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook it.
Keep the following seven items in mind as a B2B marketer using Facebook so you too can take advantage of the world’s largest social network.
- Make a strategy. It’s all about strategy. Whatever your trade, start by building a database of your target market. Ask questions that will elicit responses and be sure you have participants from your company to enhance your presence. A conversation is bound to spread and even if it doesn’t, the engagement on Facebook will rise. So be sure to encourage your employees to share their opinions and your company’s activity.
- Use images. Remember that people take in pictures are more easily than text or videos. Share advice or even statistical data with pictures. People tend to look for eye-catching things that they can understand quickly.
- Reward curiosity. Play on people’s curiosity. Everybody is curious about things in the making, so show a bit of what goes on “behind the scenes†in your business. What happened at an interesting event? How did the office prepare for the last networking meeting? Post about it and then add pictures.
- Create incentives. Offer a free demo. A free trial will attract people to your page. You will get likes and shares and generate talk on Facebook and other social platforms. You can also offer other kinds of things for free: e-books useful in your line of business, videos with advice, or anything else you can think of – but remember to keep it useful and relevant.
- Promote other content. You’re probably creating content on another platform like blogs or webinars. Don’t simply provide a link to Facebook. Find a good excerpt or create a short summary and post it. You’ll definitely increase both Facebook likes and blog visits. Re-share and retweet content that will resonate with your audience. Likewise, promoting content from other sources will encourage their community to “overflow†into yours, and provide you with an opportunity to repost items that are already getting a response.
- Engage with other businesses. Make your page interesting for other businesses. You can catch their eye by sharing industry news and your opinions in an engaging way. Be sure to like other businesses and post on their pages if allowed. Share the useful information you have and keep an eye on whatever they’re doing. There are businesses out there that need you — go out and find them on Facebook.
- Integrate social into your marketing strategy. Last but not least, integrate Facebook with your other marketing efforts. Include your tweets, blog posts, and discussions on LinkedIn on Facebook. Even though you may be B2B, businesses are made up of people. Most of those people engage on Facebook in their spare time. Try to attract them with your content and brand philosophy. With SimplySocial, it takes no more than a few minutes to post something on Facebook. You don’t need to post a lot; one item a day will do as long as it is consistent and relevant. When done, ask a few of your employees and friends to like and share, and you’re all set.
See, it wasn’t that hard after all, was it? Start sharing your B2B experience on social media and let yourself be inspired by the dynamics of a beautiful online world! Don’t be afraid to experiment to find out what type of content your audience is really craving.
Tyler Arnold is Co-Founder and CEO of SimplySocial Inc., a software tool that helps large companies create great content for their social media profiles. As CEO, Tyler assists with key accounts, business development, and talent acquisitions as SimplySocial grows its presence around the world.
The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.