• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 25, 2018

According to recent research performed by Content Marketing Institute, presented by author Chris Richardson, 83% of B2B marketers use social media networks for traffic/client generation, making it the No. 1 preferred tactic. And, the same research shows that the average B2B organization is present on six social media channels. 

Social media marketing has become tougher than ever, says the report. Everyone has access to it, yet only the smartest and most resourceful will prevail, says the report. 80% of the B2B marketers possess a specific strategy when it comes to their social media marketing attempts yet only 32% have actually documented their strategies.

The report shows some simple yet effective ways to improve your social media marketing performance. The key is to understand the simplicity of your strategy, and to offer it your 100% willpower, discipline and care.

Know your audience well – The No. 1 rule in business (B2B and B2C) is to know your customer, says the report. In B2B marketing, your audience is made up of professionals who clearly know what they’re doing. To save you time, energy and budget, you should ensure that you know exactly what type of professionals you’ll approach in the future.

• Create buyer personas – To optimize your audience establishing process, you should create buyer personas that are the imaginary and ideal future customers of your business. Your social media marketing strategies should be aligned with their mindset, needs, problems, desires, circumstances and personal characteristics.
• Analyze your competitors – Social media profiles are open, especially the business ones. Pay attention to your competitors’ strategies: content marketing, SEO, influencer marketing. 
• Feature your employees’ voices – make sure you use their voice to improve your brand’s awareness, influence, and trust. If your brand members are happy, your brand will look happy, and therefore it will become more approachable. This strategy is employee advocacy, and it’s the perfect strategy to humanize your company and demonstrate competency at the same time.
• Don’t be afraid to invest in social ads –In the B2B environment, you can’t expect to be one of the top figures unless you’re truly dedicated and resourceful. If you dare to develop and activate an out-of-the-box ad campaign (no matter on which network), you are likely to see amazing results.
• Diversify your multimedia content – When you distribute your content on social media, ensure that you’re not sharing only text. Diversify your content and offer your followers a chance to indirectly tell what they like (through engagement). Post videos, audio, graphics, whitepapers, text and keep rotating.

According to Small Business Trends, 70% of small businesses don’t leverage CTAs on their online platforms. Create powerful CTAs and lead your traffic to your email or products better than ever. As long as your online platform has a decent brand awareness and reputation, you will be treated as an authority in your field. Whenever breaking news get published, ensure that your brand’s name is always present in the comments, ensuring that value & quality answers and opinions have been provided.

Chris Richardson has been working as an editor at a publishing agency in London, UK for five years. He is also a professional content writing expert in such topics as career growth, self-improvement, blogging and technology innovations. Feel free to connect with him on Google+.