Social media is a common tool for most modern businesses, and for good reason — Business2Community reports 66% of B2B marketers believe that lead generation is a benefit of using social media marketing. But connecting with potential buyers is harder for B2B than it is for B2C companies. While we wish our following could be as extensive as Taco Bell’s, creating a social media plan for B2B is much more difficult. After all, a B2B transaction is typically a little more complicated than buying a taco. There are a few do’s and don’ts B2B companies should follow when tackling their social media plan.

• Do find your audience. No matter what industry you are in, there are people out there interested in topics relating back to it. A great way to build your social media repertoire is to find influencers related to your field. Browse hashtags relevant to your industry and see who is commonly using them. You can also use websites like WeFollow, SocMetrics, and Followerwonks to find major influencers on various topics.
• Don’t use social media just to advertise. You’ve heard of the 80/20 rule, right? Apply it to your social media advertising policy: Only 20% of posts should advertise your brand, with 80% dedicated to topics that are helpful and interesting. Offer helpful information from your blogs and share other content created for your website.
• Do use analytics to see what works best. Social media is constantly changing, so a stagnant strategy will not be effective in the long term. Use tools like Google Analytics to track the web traffic your social media posts bring in to determine which posts were most successful, and which weren’t.
• Don’t make it a one-person job. The best social media plans involve collaboration with others and pulling from multiple sources of information.
• Do use multiple platforms. Your audience is everywhere, so your social media presence should be too. Different platforms have different strengths: LinkedIn is popular for people looking for industry connections, Google Plus profiles rank high in search results, and Twitter feeds can help you identify industry trends and influencers.

Every business is different, so their social media strategy will be too. Figure out what works best for you when connecting your B2B business with buyers.

If you are struggling to connect with your potential buyers, a great content marketing plan may be the solution. Contact the professionals at Proven Systems at (800) 720-5398 or info@provensystems.com for a no-cost consultation.