Does social media really work for B2B?

There is no doubt that social media is a fantastic channel for influencing a consumer audience, but in the B2B sector there is still scepticism about its effectiveness even though many industry reports show that it’s extremely successful.

In this short article let’s just focus on LinkedIn where a State of B2B Marketing Report from Wpromote shows it to be 277% more effective for B2B lead generation than other social media channels and is used by 89% of marketers, of which 62% say it generates leads for them. And according to a Content Marketing Institute report LinkedIn was second only to search engines for success.

It enables businesses to connect to the right audience and this is where the business experts tend to be; but it’s also important to recognise that instant results are not guaranteed as social media is a gradual process of raising awareness and building trust with an audience over time. A typical buyer consumes 7 to 10 pieces of content before making their choice and according to a report on GlobeNewswire, 75% of them say thought leadership helps them determine which vendor to approach.

The advantage it has over other social media channels is that it can target professional data such as position, seniority, industry and location so that you don’t waste budget on reaching the wrong audience – in fact LinkedIn claims that the cost per lead is 28% lower than Google Ads. And yes, you could run ads, but good B2B content is much more appealing and prospects don’t feel like they are being sold to. Everything on LinkedIn is within a business context where members come to research business topics and advance their careers, creating a receptive mindset for B2B conversations with adverts appearing alongside this content in the news feed for a seamless user experience.

The beauty of social media is that it helps prospects to identify themselves when they follow, like, share or comment on content, giving a good indication that they have an interest in your product or service and you have the opportunity to connect with them immediately.

Good content will ultimately drive people to visit your website to discover more, but it’s crucial to make the transition smooth. If your brand identity on social channels is inconsistent with your website and the landing page you direct them to is irrelevant to the content the prospect has just come from, then you risk losing their interest.

No platform reaches a captive audience more effectively thank LinkedIn and it is wise to publish posts at least 3 times a week to stay front of mind with your prospects.