So, you’ve got your social media posts written, scheduled and ready for the next three weeks. Great, you’re off the hook until next month’s batch, right? Ehh..wrong! A B2B social media strategy that includes mass-produced posts may seem sufficient, but it is not taking full advantage of social media, and your audience can see right through them. B2B social media takes more than just checking a box. Maximize your use of these platforms, and you can really move the needle for your brand.

What Are Your S.M.A.R.T. Goals?

One of your goals may be to just use social media. That’s great, but it’s only the beginning. You need to have trackable statistics that align with your B2B marketing strategy. These goals should be S.M.A.R.T.—as in specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Don’t just post blindly. By setting time-sensitive goals before you begin, it’s easier to measure success, failure, or where you can improve. Do you want to nurture leads, grow your referral traffic, or build brand awareness? Identifying objectives is important in any other marketing tactic, so social media shouldn’t be any different. Some examples of S.M.A.R.T. social media goals:

• Boost brand engagement
  • Achieve 10 mentions per week on Twitter.
• Drive traffic to your website
  • Pull 500 website visitors per month from LinkedIn.
• Generate new leads
  • Create 5 contacts per week through Facebook posts.
• Increase brand awareness
  • Gain 1,000 Twitter followers by the end of the month.

Know Your Customers

Do you know what social media channels your customers are most likely to use? A buyer persona will help you discover your ideal customer’s demographics, which you can use to find their preferred platform. According to a 2017 industry report by Social Media Examiner, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are the most commonly used social media sites by B2B marketers. It is also important to notice the difference between B2C and B2B. B2B marketers were more focused on LinkedIn (37% more) and Twitter (10% more).

These results make sense, as you wouldn’t imagine most B2B buying decisions being made based on a Snapchat story (or, maybe not just yet). Use the platforms that your target audience is active on. Don’t just use every social media outlet because it exists; that’s a waste of your time, money and effort.

And Then Engage Them

Now that you’ve created S.M.A.R.T. goals and identified the best platforms for your target audience, here comes the fun part. This is where you get to show your creativity with your content. Whether you are using video, graphics, contests, live video, or eBooks, you need to get their attention.

 And don’t be afraid to show some personality, either. A golden rule of social media that I like to keep in mind is that “People connect to people, not corporations.” Respond when you are mentioned, and use the tone of your business, but humanize it. You can even take a little humorous jab at the competition:

Take a look at how many retweets, likes and mentions Wendy’s got from that single Tweet, and think about how much exposure that translates to. You want to create a community on the platforms you choose. If done right, instead of pushing your content, your B2B social media will create a pull effect and your audience will want to visit your page just to see if they missed anything!

All marketing tactics should be thought of as part of a larger whole, rather than separate pieces. By strategically integrating all marketing tactics, the marketing programs become more effective and cost efficient. As a B2B agency, we use integrated digital marketing to meet this improved performance need. To learn more about how it will benefit your business, download our free eBook: A Better Path for B2B Technology Marketers.