How do you avoid common pitfalls and challenges of B2B social media marketing?

Spend 10 days "discussing strategy"...you know, to really "find the synergies between your stakeholders" and operations. This, a lightning-strike-revelation from Zeus himself, will immediately give you the goals you need. They'll actually autofill on to the 51-point slide deck your marketing manager copy-pasted from last year. Source: Trust me bro, I got a D in Marketing.

You can start defining by: 1. Clear Objectives: Set measurable goals, like boosting MQLs by 30% in six months. 2. Targeted Audience: Identify & understand your audience, such as mid-level IT managers of your target industry. 3. Tailored Content: Craft content addressing specific pain points of the target audience. 4. Competitive Positioning: Clearly define how your brand stands out from competitors. 5. Differentiation Strategy: Showcase unique features or value propositions to distinguish your product. 6. Real Results: In a similar initiative, engagement & conversion significantly increased, surpassing the set objectives. 7. Strategic Alignment: Ensure your goals align with broader business & marketing strategies for comprehensive success.

Waste zero time on defining goals and audience. This is the kind of thing that people will waste a day on creating a 75-slide deck. Write out 3 bullet points and then get GOING.

Before deep diving into content planning and creation, really understand what your goals are and how you’ll define success. Understand why creating a social media strategy is important for your brand and your executive. From big-picture to program-specific, walk through how you’d like to position your executive, what they’ll talk about and engage with, what you’re looking to accomplish and how frequently they’re able to post content. Well-defined goals will direct your measurement: are you looking for growth in visibility and awareness, lead generation, talent recruitment or engagement? Aligning your goal(s) with the right social media metric will allow you to accurately measure success over time and adjust your strategy as needed.

Before you start creating your ebook, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your B2B social media marketing campaign. What are your objectives, metrics, and KPIs? Who are you targeting, and what are their pain points, needs, and preferences? How do you want to position your brand and differentiate yourself from your competitors? Having a well-defined goal and audience will help you craft a relevant and compelling ebook that speaks to your ideal buyers.

I often do strategic analyses of platforms for B2B companies, and I can confidently say that LinkedIn is the most effective platform for them. And I’m not just saying this because I’m writing on LinkedIn ?? It’s a place where you can get your message to the right audience. You can precisely target your ideal audience with ads or invite them to follow your company page. This leads to higher engagement, better reach, and better quality content views than on other platforms. Facebook and Instagram are more for personal use, though B2B companies can use Instagram for Employee Advocacy programs and attracting candidates.

The platforms aren't just different for industries and marketing objectives. They vary from one brand to another, and it's important to remember: If YouTube works for your competitor, it gives your company no guarantees. Look deeper into the platform and ask yourself: - Where does their content lead? - Is the substance good? - How do buyers react to the content? What do they highlight the most? Using this data, think of the social media channel you can easily leverage at the beginning, and gradually expand into new channels popular with your ICP.

I have seen many organisations post the same content across all social platforms. I don't understand why they do that when each platform can be used in its own unique way. 1) Use LinkedIn, to showcase case studies, customer testimonials, and thought leadership posts, shaping your brand image and generate traffic to your website. Also run ad campaigns to drive leads. 2) Use Twitter to post live updates, host AMAs with founders and product managers, and share valuable insights from your webinars and podcasts. 3) Use Instagram to offer glimpses into your vibrant company culture – employee stories, behind-the-scenes content, company events updates etc. In summary have separate goals for each platform and use them to their full advantage.

In my opinion, choosing the right platform and format is crucial for avoiding pitfalls in B2B social media marketing: - Know Your Audience: Focus on platforms like LinkedIn for B2B, but also consider Twitter and Facebook based on your industry - Content Format: Use long-form articles on LinkedIn and short updates or infographics on Twitter - Consistency: Maintain a regular posting schedule with a content calendar - Quality Over Quantity: Prioritize high-quality and valuable content - Engagement: Actively respond to comments and messages - Analytics: Track performance and refine your strategy By doing so, you can effectively reach your target audience and avoid common challenges

To make your B2B social media marketing more effective, concentrate on personal profiles. In the B2B world, trust is built between individuals, so it's essential to highlight personal profiles. While a company page is still necessary, it serves more of a support role. The main goal should be using personal profiles to share regular content and achieve business results like lead generation. There are plenty of creative ways to approach this. Remember, people trust other people.

I think if we look at content our audiences are already consuming, plus associated interests through things like GA4 we can get an idea of what we should make content about. So often on b2b it’s who can talk about themselves the most. But relatability is as important as credibility.

Avoid excessive self-promotion. Focus on providing value. Share industry insights. Engage with your audience. It's sometimes that simple! If your content is not engaging or authentic, it will simply not resonate with your target audience.

To avoid common mistakes in B2B social media marketing, make sure to create valuable and engaging content. Share high-quality, useful, and relevant information that helps solve your audience's problems. Use different formats like articles, infographics, videos, and case studies to keep things interesting. Get your audience involved by encouraging conversations, responding to their comments, and offering helpful answers. Keep an eye on how your posts are doing and adjust your strategy as needed. This approach helps you connect with your audience better and keeps them engaged.

B2B social shouldn’t be boring. We still need to connect with humans. Build trust. And tell stories. The businesses doing it right have people at the front and centre of their content. They use LinkedIn to engage in important cultural conversations. And they don’t just say they’re doing things. They show you. Honeywell are a great example of how to get it right Consistency - They stick to the same brand themes which are recognisable without the logo Thought leadership - They know their stuff and they share it via experts, enhancing their rep as a reliable source Commitment to sustainability - They consistently show they care about more than just profits Educational content - They teach on important topics and keep it human-centric

Ugh, what does this even mean? You can't optimize a gated asset for SEO. 99% of stuff that we've gated isn't good enough to deserve that gate. Ungate it and make it so good people will want to share with their peers, on social and if it's a fit, consider distribution by SEO. But for the love of god, don't follow the advice generated by LinkedIn's AI for this part.

I would say, It's essential to focus on several key aspects. Firstly, the title and description play a crucial role. Including relevant keywords in the title and description can lead to a 36% higher open rate on social media. Secondly, consider the visual appeal of your ebook cover. Bright-colored covers are 20% more likely to attract attention on social platforms, while high-quality and visually appealing images within the ebook can increase reader engagement by 80%. Thirdly, social sharing buttons incorporated into the landing page can result in a 700% increase in traffic from social media. Lastly, utilizing schema markup can improve the chances of your ebook appearing prominently in search engine results by up to 30%.

Optimize your eBook for SEO by incorporating relevant keywords in the title, metadata, and content structure. Ensure a visually appealing cover design and create shareable content to encourage social sharing. Integrate social sharing buttons and provide pre-formatted messages to facilitate easy sharing across platforms, driving increased traffic and engagement.

?? Optimizing your ebook for SEO and social sharing is crucial for maximizing its impact in B2B social media marketing. Conduct keyword research to identify relevant terms and incorporate them strategically throughout your content. Craft compelling titles and meta descriptions that entice clicks and accurately represent your ebook's content. Additionally, make sure your ebook is easily shareable by including social sharing buttons and encouraging readers to spread the word. Monitor performance metrics such as website traffic, social shares, and engagement to evaluate the effectiveness of your optimization efforts and make adjustments as needed to enhance visibility and reach.

Avoid rigid approach to social , instead of making the content about the organization - make it about the consumer - how we solve their issues and provide real world solutions. Two things to incoporate in your social strategy : 1) community building - interact with your community , give shout outs , engage and build a relationship with them 2) Executive branding - elevate your thought leadership and build trust for your brand by cretaing brand champions in your leadership.

When promoting an ebook, steer clear of the tempting trap of gating it and just running LinkedIn ads to generate leads for sales. Instead, focus on extracting key insights from the ebook and crafting engaging social posts around them. This approach not only sparks genuine interaction but also attracts your ideal customer personas, creating a more meaningful connection with your content. Let's share those insights, ignite conversations, and drive interest in the ebook organically!

Apart from the tactics mentioned, I would say go for video marketing. 1) Make a short video on why we should read your ebook. 2) Get testimonial videos from those who've read your book and found it useful. Also pull out some interesting insights from the eBook and post them on X and LinkedIn with a link to download the eBook.

When promoting an ebook, don’t fall victim to the lazy tactic of gating it, running LinkedIn ads to said gated ebook and handing the leads onto sales. Instead, better to pull out key insights from the ebook and promote those social posts to drive appropriate interaction with the ebook from the ideal customer personas.

I would say, consider sharing it via email, as email campaigns have an average open rate of 15.1% and a click-through rate of 3.9%. Leveraging social media platforms is also crucial, with LinkedIn being particularly effective for B2B content, generating a conversion rate of 2.74%. Additionally, consider utilizing paid advertising on platforms such as Facebook, where ads targeted to custom audiences can yield a 14% higher engagement rate. Moreover, collaborating with industry influencers can boost your ebook's visibility and credibility, potentially resulting in a 54% increase in leads. Lastly, repurposing the content into blog posts can extend its lifespan and generate 106% more organic traffic.

The work is not done once you have created the ebook. Get creative with repurposing. Think about social assets, newsletter series, youtube series, podcast series, bite-sized blogs, and guest blogs. This way, you get the maximum juice from the heavy lift behind an ebook.

In B2B social media marketing, getting leads is just the start. Following up and nurturing those leads is like tending to a garden—you need to water and care for them. This means staying in touch, answering questions, and offering helpful information. By doing this well, you build trust and increase your chances of turning leads into customers. Don't just collect leads—take care of them, and they'll grow into valuable relationships.

1. Maintain consistent and personalized communication with leads. 2. Provide valuable information tailored to their needs and interests. 3. Utilize multiple channels such as email, phone calls, and social media. 4. Implement lead scoring and segmentation strategies to prioritize leads effectively.

If you listen closely to many thought leaders and content creators today on podcasts, YouTube, etc., you'll start to hear them urging you to sign up for their email list/newsletter. Two reasons... First, they are concerned that when you only engage with them on the platform, they run the risk of losing you if something every happens to the platform. Second, they want to be able to communicate with you when the time comes to present more engagement opportunities (a new ebook, a new podcast, a new newsletter). Do whatever it takes to gather as much contact info as is reasonable so you can stay in touch with your prospects and audience all along their customer journey with you.

Converting leads into customers is the ultimate goal of your B2B social media marketing efforts. Use CRM software to store and manage lead information, enabling personalized and segmented follow-up communications. Engage with leads on social media, invite them to webinars or events, and initiate one-on-one conversations via phone or video call. These nurturing strategies help showcase your products, address questions, provide demos, and discuss specific needs. ?? TIP: Develop a lead scoring system to prioritize and tailor your follow-up efforts based on each lead's engagement level and likelihood to convert.

Doing your homework and personalizing outreach makes a huge difference. It shows you're at least trying to get to know them and that you understand their unique situation. People want to feel heard, so tailoring your approach can make all the difference.

One of the challenges of B2B social is that among a brand's followers there are engagers and there are lurkers. And your future customers are often the lurkers. Because engagers tend to be your peers and not customers. And because lurkers don't want to announce their interest in you too soon (lest they be subjected to high-pressure sales tactics before they're ready). So be sure to balance the needs of both audiences, even if only one is really felt in the daily metrics.

If you're not investing in a retargeting strategy to ask your visitors back during a campaign, then you're not maximizing the client decision journey. Close the deal with slightly different content that's closer to the expertise/service you offer. Since they have already visited your website, they should know about you already.

B2b marketing is a long term game. You don't just pour in a few bucks and expect direct sales. People who are going to buy from you might not even interact with your content. But they will see you, they will talk about you. And once they are ready to inquire or to buy, you have to be at the #1 spot in their brain.

If you're going to run ads on social media, make sure those ads don't look like giants like McKinsey, Salesforce, etc. What works for these companies will never work for a small or mid-size B2B startup.

Use social listening tools to identify B2B pain points, industry frustrations, and trending topics. Create content that directly addresses these anxieties and aspirations – blog posts, X/Twitter threads, or LinkedIn articles offering practical solutions or relatable perspectives. Sort of a no-brainer, but you don't see it alot.