As covid-19 impacts all corners of the economy, b2b marketing is being forced to adapt. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the need for home and building products brands to continue to network via social media and maintain connections with architects, designers, specifiers and contractors.
When you look at the options of social media platforms you can have as a b2b marketer, it can be a challenge to know which platforms to sink your resources into. And once you’ve chosen your key platforms, knowing the best practices for each can be equally daunting.
Finding the right recipe for posting and content is a tricky balance. Here are three tips:
Know the right platform to reach your audience.
Knowing what platform your target audience is active on is the first step to have a successful social presence. For example, if you manufacture drywall you won’t find your target audience of contractors and architects on TicTok. The majority of users on TikTok are generation Z – a younger demographic than most manufactures are targeting. Don’t waste your time and ad dollars on platforms that are not relevant to your business. If your product is visually appealing, take time to invest in the visual inspiration platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram to showcase finished projects and products. Knowing your target is the first component before investing effort into any platform.
Maintain the right frequency of posting
There isn’t a magic formula of how many times a day or week you should or should not post on social channels. However, having a consistent content schedule is a good idea. Crafting a calendar is the best way to plan out content ahead of time to develop the consistency you need for a social presence. Setting up a schedule ensures you will not have big gaps between posting. Taking care to make sure you are not overloading your follower’s feeds with too much content is just as important as posting too infrequently. Consistent double and triple posting run the risk of annoying your followers and losing your base.
Make sure to post a balance of content
As a manufacturer on social media it can be easy to look at your social channels as just a free way to broadcast your offering. However, this approach won’t help you grow an active, loyal follower base. Make sure your content strategy includes a balanced ratio—e.g. not just direct product marketing—of planned content. Creating a posting schedule that includes various content elements will help you achieve a good balance with valuable content for you followers to engage with. It is important to include thought leadership and useful information that will educate and inform your followers as much as or more than posts that try to sell your products. Follow a schedule to make sure that for every promotional post you share you share three thought leadership/informative posts.
Following a best practices like these will help bolster your social presence and extend your reach.
Ready to refine your social media tactics? Fill out an inquiry or contact Dana Gulick: dgulick@stonerbunting.com.