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The Importance of B2B Social Media Marketing Strategies
The use of social media is a mainstay in the marketing world. It’s consistently seen as one of the most vital resources any B2B business can leverage. Though it can help connect a brand with its clients and consumers, the use of social media for marketing evolves and changes at a rate similar to that of the larger business world: fast!
Why B2B Companies Should Incorporate A Social Media Marketing Strategy
- 84% of B2B buyers or decision-makers use social media at some point during their decision-making process.
- 95% of B2B marketers use social content as part of their content marketing strategy.
- 89% of B2B marketers are leveraging LinkedIn to generate leads.
Big Industry Examples of Effective B2B Social Media Marketing Strategies
Once seen primarily as a platform for B2C interactions, social media has become integral to B2B marketing efforts, offering unprecedented opportunities for companies to connect, engage, and build relationships with their target audience. In this blog, we delve into the importance of social media use within B2B and B2C marketing, examining strategies employed by industry giants like Adobe and Tesla whilst also diving into the innovative B2B approach of General Electric.
General Electric – Creating A Brand Of Trust
General Electric (GE) leverages social media to build trust between its brand and its consumers. Recognising that B2B buyers prefer to purchase from companies they trust, GE actively markets itself on social media as a core component of its B2B social media marketing strategies. LinkedIn is their primary focus, putting GE in front of many potential B2B buyers. With 75% of B2B buyers using social media to inform their purchasing decisions and 50% trusting LinkedIn as a reliable source, GE’s presence on this platform is strategic and is leveraged to secure investment and consumers.
GE’s approach ensures its brand is visible to key decision-makers in the B2B industry. Analysing GE Aerospace’s LinkedIn engagement strategy strongly emphasises showcasing the latest industry developments, events, and major deals. This strategy aims to build confidence among buyers and investors, a tactic consistently applied across all of GE’s LinkedIn branded accounts. Additionally, GE’s social media content includes thought leadership articles, engaging videos, highlights from industry events and insightful infographics. By sharing industry trends and expert opinions, GE positions itself as a knowledgeable and reliable source within its industry space, furthering its growth among LinkedIn users.
Essentially, General Electric uses social media to cultivate a brand of trust and integrity, enhancing the perception of its brand among customers and investors, from which they leverage deals and investments. Smaller businesses can adopt General Electric’s trust model social media strategy.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you achieve this.
Tesla – Encouragement of Word Of Mouth Marketing
Known for its relatively individual approach to marketing, Tesla aligns its broader marketing strategies, at least in large part, with the success of its social media campaigning. The brand considers itself a ‘pioneer’ of modern vehicle engineering and deploys a fairly unique marketing structure, wherein its use of X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube makes up the vast majority of its marketing output. Moving away from traditional ‘car-based’ marketing strategies – television adverts and billboards – Tesla emphasises adaptable, ‘relevant’ content, encouraging word-of-mouth marketing.
Furthermore, Tesla claims to deploy a ‘$0’ marketing budget. This effectively highlights the importance of social media within their marketing strategy – by eliminating the cost of PPC advertising, Tesla relies solely on brand recognition to provide them with potential customers. With a reported 71% of social media users becoming more likely to purchase following a reference on their platform of choice, there is a clear belief that this strategy offers a viable means for vast brands to use their existing reputation as the primary focus when marketing themselves.
The brand’s most recognisable face, CEO Elon Musk, is a largely outspoken character on X (a social media channel he now owns), and has a tendency to produce provocative, controversial remarks with the knowledge that they will transmit worldwide. Whether or not this doubles as a deliberate marketing strategy is impossible to prove, but the marginal increase in sales across 2023 and constant growth in terms of brand recognition would certainly imply that his personal brand exposure is doing no damage.
Finally, Tesla’s emphasis on data analysis aids its campaigning by tailoring content efficiently. By analysing user interactions, sentiment analysis, and demographic data, Tesla gains valuable insights into consumer preferences and market trends, enabling the company to tailor its messaging and offerings accordingly to further their marketing strategies and approach. This data-driven approach enhances the effectiveness of Tesla’s marketing efforts and informs product development and strategic decision-making across the organisation. Need help with implementing a data-driven approach into your social media marketing? Get in touch now.
Adobe Marketing – Standing Out Amongst Peers
Two key reasons for leveraging social media within the B2B marketing climate are to enhance your brand’s visibility and add a further channel for your brand to stand out. Modern industries are often crowded, and using traditional marketing methods to remain ahead of the curve is not as effective as it once was. A prime example of a company that has bought into its use of social media is Adobe. The software giant has efficiently utilised multiple platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter to share industry insights, thought-provoking content, and updates about its products and services. Adobe is supported by the insight that their product is tailored towards consumers likely to be active on social media, as their products are varied software that remains at the forefront of their relevant sectors.
Additionally, Adobe actively produces blogs and articles sharing industry insight on its website. Alongside benefitting existing users of Adobe’s software and tools, it helps the company to target less brand-specific consumers and move towards enticing marketers into sharing an interest in their brand – although this is a viable method for a brand with the profile of Adobe, it is an example of a company using their existing profile to generate further interest. Adobe’s high level of credibility and brand recognition presents them with the ability to reach users who are generally seeking wider business information but opt to visit Adobe’s blogs due to their existing awareness of the brand.
Want To Deploy Your Own B2B Social Media Marketing Strategy?
For smaller businesses looking to replicate Adobe’s or any of the aforementioned brands’ social media marketing success, we recommend partnering with a marketing agency like Growthlabs. Our expert team can help you develop a tailored social media strategy to enhance visibility, engage your audience, and stand out in a crowded market.
Contact us today and start building your brand’s online presence now!
