• Increase engagement by improving social media efforts and aligning them to a broader multichannel marketing strategy
  • To do so, consider segmenting your social audiences, aligning your keyword strategy and working from a master calendar
  • Effective B2B social media requires not just a presence on social channels, but also thoughtful and strategic content planning

You’re a busy B2B social media bee, posting to your LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook accounts every day. Maybe you’ve even got some Instagram and YouTube action going on. But sadly, your social media efforts are not creating the kind of traction or engagement that you would like to see.

Social MediaWhile the following three tips may not solve all your social media challenges, they will definitely help improve your social media efforts and align them with your broader multichannel marketing strategy:

  1. Segment your social audiences. If you have a well-formed go-to-market strategy, then you should already have defined target audiences. Just make sure that your multichannel marketing activities, including social media activities, are actually aligned and focused on those audiences. Social media marketing is not about gaining random followership; it’s about connecting with the right audiences. If you aren’t using proper audience identification and segmentation for social (like you do for database marketing) then you are essentially running a social spray-and-pray strategy. For example, consider building segmented lists on Twitter (including verticals, influencers, competitors, customers, etc.) so you can monitor your intended audiences and post content that speaks to their trends.
  2. Align your keyword strategy. Your SEO keyword universe should be built into and aligned with your social strategy. When crafting social content, posts and hashtags, consider the search lexicon of your target audiences. You need to speak their language to make sure that what you say resonates with their comfortable vernacular. A solid SEO strategy also boosts your chances of being found by universal search engines and social searches. Work with your Web team to align and prioritize your keywords, and then make sure they carry through your Web, search and social efforts so that you build a consistent digital footprint.
  3. Work from a master calendar. Ad hoc blogging and social media posts aren’t going to give you traction or momentum in the social sphere. Think like a digital publisher and have a master editorial calendar. This calendar ensures that you have a documented plan and view of your content and social posting activities and allows you to create filtered views based on key criteria like audience segments, topics, content types and channels. Also, make sure that you look at the balance and cadence of content across various post types – such as PR, thought leadership content, gated content, product launches and event promotions  – and plan out and document organic vs. paid social promotions. By having this master view, you can see where you are over-posting or under-posting for certain audiences or content types and where you may need to make adjustments to your content mix.

B2B social media success requires a lot more than just a presence on social media channels. You need thoughtful and strategic content planning that aligns with the overall go-to-market objectives and content strategy of your business. Don’t shortchange your efforts in social media marketing by skipping these critical components! 

Tell us about social media challenges you may be facing. Leave us a comment below.