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5 ways to grow your B2B social media following
This week, research consultancy Future Thinking revealed that 44% of consumers follow retail brands on social media. Yet, even with all of this potential, there are many businesses that neglect their social channels – particularly when it comes to nurturing B2B relationships.
Lack of understanding or time dedicated for management are two key reasons why B2B social media strategies fail to flourish. However, without putting the work in, it’s unlikely that you’ll capture the interest of any of these possible new customers.
Growing your social media following is not the difficult process that so many businesses assume it is, there are basic ways to ensure your social media channels are a success. Here are a few easy steps to boost your presence:
Make the most of trends
It may sound obvious, but capitalising on hashtags is a brilliant way to engage with others on social media. Hashtags are there for a reason – people all over the country are talking about them – so posting social content that jumps in on this trend will gradually get you noticed. Industry events are a great place to start – Fieldworks has received traction already this year by creating content around #NRF2015 and #RBTE2015.
Shout about your content
The power of content can be invaluable in boosting a brand’s SEO, but simply hosting it on your website is good enough. Social media is a great way to promote content, showcasing your company news and blogs to those who may not visit your website regularly. Furthermore, the more unique content you post on social networks, the more likely it is that people will follow you to keep up to date with it.
Make the most of social tools
Social media management tools do exactly what they say on the tin – they help you manage the daily running of your social networks. There are countless services that not only let you schedule multiple posts throughout the day, but also track the performance of your channels, measuring the clicks, engagement and reach of individual posts. Fieldworks is a big fan of Hootsuite, for instance. Monitoring activity will give you a better understanding of what’s proving of interest to people, so you can fine-tune your future posts to increase engagement.
Be visual
B2B social media isn’t all about the words – it’s a very visual outlet too. Often, people will quickly scroll through a social feed when they have a free minute, only stopping to click on the posts that capture their eye. Bulky text has a habit of going unnoticed; you’re more likely to grab attention with a photo, infographic or even a video.
Show your personality
Social media is not simply a means of blasting out your brand’s message to all who may see it. A constant stream of sales collateral is unlikely to win you any points in the follower race, however interesting you may think your pitch is. Instead, show some personality – ask questions, host competitions, support a charity – these far more successful ways to become memorable on social media.