Across the globe, B2B leads widely use social media platforms for inter-business networking and marketing communication. From announcing new offers to posting informative content, social platforms provide excellent scope to portray business expertise. Yet, the incredible lead generation potential of social media is highly underrated. A majority of B2-B marketers are unable to harness their social presence to acquire high-value leads. This leads to far more attention paid to SEO, telemarketing, and email marketing. Consequently, social media strategies get restricted to raising brand awareness and engagement, with no tangible returns.
B2B Lead Generation via Social Media
The instant, transactional focus and shorter sales cycle of B2C businesses are poles apart from the B2B sales funnel. Thus, B2B lead generation is deeply vested in building interpersonal solid relations, emphasising expertise, and making subtle pitches. This makes social media platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and SlideShare ideal channels to attract and nurture leads. Since this realm is fast-paced and constantly evolving, businesses must ensure their marketing teams remain abreast of the changes. If constant upskilling is not feasible, outsourcing social media management to a seasoned B2B lead generation agency is recommended. Here are some important social media directives that every marketer should implement for successful B2B lead generation:
- Target Organisational Decision Makers on the Apt Social Platforms.
This is the most crucial B2B lead generation strategy for social media. Only marketers with an eye for detail and an analytical approach can narrow down the right platforms. A data-driven study of the ICP browsing behaviour, intent, and preferences will determine where they spend the most time. Instead of wasting time on platforms where the target audience presence is minimal, businesses should focus on networking with key decision-makers.
- Customise Social Media Content as per the Buyer Research Process.
Creating and sharing content on social media has become so common that most of it is mediocre and monotonous. Most B2B prospects today are unwilling to share their contact details until they have conducted substantial research. The only way to rope them in, right from the research phase, is to map their research process. Creating and sharing content that aptly caters to their requirements will fetch a positive impression. Eventually, they will be willing to share their contact details without much persuasion.
- Focus on Social Media Optimisation for Organic Traffic.
Many businesses ignore social media optimisation in the quest to perfect website optimisation and GMB profile. Adhering to the latest SEO directives is necessary for seamless audience generation and streamlining organic traffic from social posts. This includes adding relevant pictures, updating URLs, keyword-optimised posts, adding website links, and regularly replying to queries on social forums.
- Gated Content Promotions should be a Regular Feat.
Social media posts enable businesses to share their gated freebies regularly. For robust B2B lead generation via social posting, the gated content/resource/tool should be of substantial value to the target audience. Regularity in posting and clear CTAs are additional requirements to gain maximum results from these endeavours.
- Audience Generation via B2B Events and Forum Discussions.
Social platforms are instrumental in organising successful B2B events. Even local businesses and SMEs can ensure phenomenal audience generation with the right networking and promoted posts. For B2B businesses that cannot afford large-scale online events, demonstrations followed by a free trial will suffice. The right LinkedIn influencers can maximise the viewership of these events, thus boosting lead generation.
- Consistency of Communication and Uniform Branding Matters.
Many small and mid-sized businesses don’t pay attention to visual branding and marketing communication. Even slight inconsistencies can create a negative perception, however subtle it may seem at first. For instance, if the business name is spelt differently on LinkedIn (vis-a-vis the website), it will confuse/put off prospects. Similarly, differences in the logo size, logo colour, business address, and so on makes businesses appear unreliable.
Conclusion
The secret behind opportunely generating B2B leads via social media is targeting the right audience on the right platforms. Given the immense competition, only a razor-sharp and highly targeted approach will work. Businesses that have cracked this formula perform exceedingly well at targeting high-profile prospects. Furthermore, marketers who always remain well-acquainted with the latest social marketing trends and technology are bound to deliver longstanding results.
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