In this article, we investigate how social media can increase lead generation for B2B companies.
Table of Contents
B2B Marketing: A Brief Overview
B2B marketing (Business to Business marketing) is an abbreviation for “Business to Business marketing.” In essence, it refers to any method that qualifies companies to market their products or services directly to businesses that will resell or utilize the services in accordance with their business practices.
Car manufacturers require parts from other firms to assemble automobiles, while cafes rely on beans from different businesses to sell coffee.
B2B (Business to Business) transactions typically involve two wholesalers or wholesalers and retailers who collaborate. This distinction distinguishes it from Business to Consumer transactions wherein companies transact directly with individual consumers.
Imagine being in business selling coffee beans to restaurants and cafes within your local community. There will likely be competitors offering coffee bean supplies, so why should a firm choose you over other suppliers?
Thus, having an effective marketing plan, including lead generation, is crucial.
What is B2B Lead Generation?
Your marketing strategy serves as the blueprint for how you’ll raise awareness of your brand to potential buyers. What methods will be implemented to attract other companies?
Which channels, be they digital or traditional, will you utilize the most? Which resources will be necessary? Will this task be feasible on its own, or will an outside team need to assist with it?
B2B lead generation starts by finding and convincing your ideal client, commonly referred to as Your Buyer Persona, to buy from you. Therefore, let’s focus on this first step of lead generation for B2B companies.
An effective B2B buyer’s profile goes beyond simply being leads or communications you send; it represents your ideal client decision-maker – someone likely to pay money and purchase your product or service. Therefore, it is crucial that you consider all factors which could sway their decision and consider who makes them.
Example of such factors would include their behavior, motivations, or objectives in business. Furthermore, is their location significant as this impacts their brand or company image?
Referencing the coffee bean analogy: Does your ideal customer frequent local cafes that specialize in serving high-quality beverages to be enjoyed in an intimate setting or one of the multiple outlets focused on serving drinks as they head off to work in the early morning hours?
Marketing your business will likely demonstrate how it influences which customers come through the doors – even though both may want the same thing!
3 Top Strategies To Improve B2B Lead Generation
If your goal is for your business to expand, then an effective lead generation plan must be in place. Even if one already exists, there’s always room for improvement!
Here are three effective strategies to increase B2B lead generation.
1. Content Marketing
Sharing relevant and informative material related to your company and industry can significantly strengthen your reputation and brand. From blogs, articles, tweets, blog posts, white papers, comments, and newsfeeds, there are plenty of ways content can be made.
At the core, your content must be engaging, informative, or valuable – ultimately providing value to your audience. Simply put, taking time and care to make helpful material rather than merely publishing blogs could pay dividends!
Anything you write or post indicates the type of business you run. Generating engaging or informative content gives people a reason to learn more about you while increasing its profile within its field.
2. PPC
Marketing PPC or pay-per-click advertising can be an excellent strategy for lead generation in B2B environments, providing quick results without as long a process as content marketing does. PPC operates via keyword bids in Google and works using specific terms as keywords to drive clicks to ads.
Your advertisement is charged each time someone clicks on your advertisement regarding the keywords you select; more popular keywords typically cost more and receive more clicks.
Strategically making yourself visible to clients will enable you to attract their attention with the goods and services they desire while gathering valuable data about them.
3. Social Media
Social Media marketing is unquestionably one of the top marketing channels due to its broad reach. And best of all: it’s completely cost-free! However, investing your time and energy can take some dedication if time constraints exist. If this is the case for you, then consider hiring a professional who can manage this for you instead.
Yes, your business could be present on social media, and you might get noticed accidentally; but to truly expand and gain leads, it is necessary that your social media marketing be appropriately done.
Lead generation for B2B companies comes in many forms, and there are various techniques and tips available, but in this article, we’ll focus on using social media effectively for lead generation.
How To Use Social Media To Improve B2B
First and foremost, to generate leads efficiently, utilizing as many social platforms as possible is beneficial. This lets your company broaden its net and maximize as many leads as possible. Furthermore, using social media effectively ensures qualified leads.
Social media plays a pivotal role in shaping brand identities and reputations; however, when misused, it has the power to dramatically damage them.
How well-informed are you about the social media platforms you utilize? Do you understand the differences between LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter?
Here’s an overview of ways social media can increase lead generation for B2B companies.
Know Your Platforms
LinkedIn is an essential platform for business-to-business marketing. LinkedIn allows you to quickly build business networks at no cost and connect with professionals in your field while providing access to informative content and making personal connections that could prove fruitful in the future.
LinkedIn allows you to create an individual and business profile, so as with all social media platforms, it will reflect upon you and your company. Thus, be mindful when posting casual comments related to people from your field.
Facebook is one of the world’s premier online social networking platforms and allows individuals to maintain both a personal profile and a separate professional one – though these will be tied together. When creating your professional page, a personal one must exist first as part of its makeup; therefore, make sure it reflects how it may appear to potential clients.
One of the best tips for using Facebook would be to join an appropriate Facebook group in your field. Companies create a group to publicize their initiatives, with members joining and posting comments or joining discussions within it.
Share your content through a personal business page to attract leads organically. Facebook can also be an effective way of driving visitors directly to your site.
Twitter is an instantaneous communication network, so spending time there will benefit lead generation efforts significantly. Simply posting comments may work for some but should not be your sole strategy for lead generation.
Twitter can be an invaluable asset to customer satisfaction and service delivery. There may have been an issue with your service provision; one of your customers has spoken negatively about your business on social media; Twitter delivers an efficient tool for dealing with these situations effectively.
If you have created an exceptional and endearing Twitter profile that projects positive images of yourself and represents who you are in a favorable manner, now is the perfect opportunity to show your thanks and show that it truly represents who you are.
Responding appropriately can quickly help block negative remarks online and generate new leads.
Instagram is an image-sharing platform, but you can also comment and use hashtags, making it useful as a quick shopfront version of your website. Furthermore, its story-telling abilities help your business.
Sharing images or videos that showcase what goes on behind the scenes can help build your brand image and increase customer trust in your company.
Optimise Your Profile
Facebook and LinkedIn offer profile pages or company pages for you to maintain, but it’s wise to consider how this appears to others. For example, use professional photos of yourself or your company as the starting point; do not take pictures and use filters unless necessary.
Consider LinkedIn like an online page rather than your CV; be mindful of any aspects that distract or do not align with your branding, then delete or alter as necessary.
No need to list everything from hobbies to awards won in high school, mainly if none apply to your company.
You must present yourself in the most professional light possible to attract like-minded professionals. Ensure your profile contains engaging professional photos and updates with calls to action that you regularly create and post.
Your LinkedIn profile can be a valuable way to drive visitors to your website by generating leads that have an existing interest in what you offer via LinkedIn content.
Use Incentives or Lead Magnet Offers
Each person appreciates an incentive when undertaking tasks, so offering incentives as part of a lead attraction strategy can be effective in getting high-quality leads. A well-executed offer could entice customers to provide their information voluntarily – acting as an ideal attractor offer!
But, it is vital to establish a plan or strategy to create lead magnets that people require, such as discount coupons and freebies, case studies, white papers, and webinars.
B2B marketing relies heavily on white papers to communicate news or information pertinent to other people, making this form of communication an effective means of lead generation through your social media channels. By purchasing data access, they gain access to this whitepaper.
By hosting webinars, your company can attract new leads. A webinar allows speakers to present videos, presentations, and web pages live over the internet with any participant who might join from any location – giving your content directly into everyone’s hands wherever they may be.
Share Testimonials
Do you have many satisfied customers? If that is the case, do they have a way of sharing these stories with others? Your reputation can grow by posting reviews or testimonials via your social media platforms and increasing your visibility of them through this route.
Research indicates that 90% of users either regularly or frequently review online, and 84% consider these reviews just as reliable as personal recommendations. If your business wants to grow and gain new prospects, posting reviews on social media could be the ideal way.
Consumers tend to purchase items when they have watched a film that depicts how the product or service can assist people who share similar interests as themselves.
Think creatively when deciding how to post your review online. Can you create an informative video instead of simply posting photos and captions?
Blogs
Does Your Company Require An Online Presence?
Once your blog has been written and posted online, its reach can be extended further by sharing it in multiple forms – such as featuring it on your website for business or linking it through Twitter updates on Facebook or LinkedIn posts.
Content can also be utilized as a hyperlink in electronic marketing newsletters, which means the same piece could generate leads across several platforms.
Regular and consistent blogging is key in this instance. Being present and responsive to reader reactions is also vital; perhaps organizing and planning each blog post could prove invaluable.
But, if you plan to write about an outdated news item related to your industry or business, doing so too far in advance could negatively affect both you and the organization that employs you.
Therefore, you should know which content will be released at certain times and generate potential leads by responding to comments on your blog.
SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. In simpler terms, using keywords you wish to include in your articles will improve its ranking on foremost search engines such as Google and Bing search results pages.
Imagine you’re looking for an automotive B2B company in Norfolk selling auto components; important search terms may include car parts and Norfolk/East Anglia as well as East Anglia/Oceania – perhaps you are using search terms such as, “Where can I find an automotive spare parts provider in East Anglia?’ as your search term(s).
Search engines look for words they recognize within the text, so using keywords they identify will increase the chances of your company appearing on search pages. Therefore, ensure these keywords appear as naturally as possible throughout all your content and conduct an in-depth study on what users might use when searching for your company.
Take time to reflect on who your buyer is. What words does your ideal customer type into search engines to locate you? Make these keywords part of the content on both your website and social media sites.
Paid Adverts
Paid advertisements on social networks can be effective; however, remember that each platform has its own way of engaging users; an ad that works well on Facebook might not work well on Twitter and vice versa.
Be mindful that social media usage is widespread. Therefore, the more pertinent your advertisement is to its topic or target market, the higher its potential to evoke emotional responses or attract new prospects.
Assuming your company is an independent brewer of beer, and you want to promote the release of a new beer to coincide with watching Euro tournament football games, your advertisements could prove very successful. Perhaps there’s even an important local sporting event taking place nearby where people could watch its final.
Local events are an effective way to generate new leads for your business, as the advertisements target those living nearby and may generate positive reactions from those attending the event.
Additionally, you can tailor advertisements to attract specific interests. Create a lead magnet or offer discounts when people buy beer before it becomes Euros final – one-off discounts or time-limited offers work well when using paid ads via social networks.
Be sure to plan advertising carefully, however. Advertising plays an integral role in your overall strategy for marketing.
Referral Campaign
Referrals are like favorable reviews or word-of-mouth advertising, with social media being an excellent platform for initiating referral campaigns. Offering incentives or discounts as incentives could further encourage people to share your company with their networks; should that friend sign on as a client and complete registration, you would gain another lead and receive their membership fee discounted accordingly.
Improve Your Brand
Social media’s name says it all – its main benefit lies in being “”social.”” Customers can engage with your company directly by posting comments and listening to your responses, enabling you to build professional relationships effortlessly and at no cost.
Furthermore, you could seek feedback and utilize surveys to enhance your service or product. Doing this simultaneously increases awareness for your company while learning ways to enhance it further.
Engaging with the public can help your business to expand and open doors to turn potential clients into customers.
Take your time and listen carefully to conversations on social media related to your expertise. Tracking conversations around that subject matter on social media lets you quickly identify what people dislike about it.
This will enable you to identify what areas your company excels in and where there may be room for improvement while gathering insight from others regarding your competitors! It can also give you a sense of what others think of their offerings.
Measure your data
Your B2B marketing plan could feature innovative tactics for utilizing social media to generate leads – but how can you assess its success?
Are You Realizing the Results That You Desire?
Now is the time to look closely at and evaluate your data using tools such as Hootsuite and Google Analytics as guides. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn each offer their analytics software solutions.
Once you’ve gathered all the relevant data, it will become easy to discern what worked and what didn’t. Did your paid advertisement generate leads, is Facebook driving visitors to your website, or are the people on Twitter becoming potential customers?
Analyzing your data allows you to make changes that will generate more leads for your business.
Why Use Social Media To Improve Your B2B
Social media may only sometimes be straightforward for B2B companies looking to utilize its lead generation process; however, if your goal is expanding the size of your business, it should indeed be implemented as part of this effort.
Social media can help build brand recognition among other companies within your industry that may want to use or purchase your product, thus expanding your customer base.
Engaging the online community through participation will build trust for your company while simultaneously responding quickly to any concerns or inquiries raised about it.
This strategy can be especially advantageous when starting a new company and enhancing its image.
Social media is vital for large businesses that must maintain their identity while simultaneously building leads that will help expand.
Social media platforms can also bring visitors to your website, with potential customers finding it through Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Thus, it’s ideal for creating multiple expert profiles, as this can generate more leads if done effectively.
Conclusion
At first, this may appear daunting; however, numerous tools and applications for social media and blogs and articles are available to you to make this easier.
If you want an experienced team of marketing specialists working behind your lead generation efforts, look at a digital agency such as Life 4 Leads.
Life 4 Leads staff specialize in lead creation – not as a separate activity but as their primary duty. You’ll see tangible results within days!
Reach out to lifeleadgeneration.com now and see what assistance they can offer you today.