Unleashing Social Media Growth for B2B Marketing

Introduction

Leveraging social media for B2B marketing. It isn’t rocket science. 

So why is it that so many B2B marketers aren’t using it to its full potential? And since we’re talking about B2B, really we’re primarily referring to LinkedIn and its potential to drive awareness and generate demand. 

Yes, you too, B2B marketer, with the right strategies and tools can transform your LinkedIn efforts to drive a powerful marketing engine. In this piece we’ll explore the key areas where social media can make an impact in B2B marketing, SEO, analytics, email marketing, and marketing automation, providing valuable and actionable insights and recommendation

Social Media in B2B Marketing

LinkedIn is about 22 years old and has transformed from a job listing platform to a premier location for employees and companies to showcase their brand, should it be personal or professional. So why is it rarely leveraged well by B2B marketers? Company pages typically are home to general product updates and awards posts. But who is really seeing them? How many of your company page followers are just people who want a job? Or are trying to sell to you? 

How many of them are your actual prospects who are learning from you on LinkedIn and discovering just how valuable you are to them? (psst... the answer is "not many"). But you have all the makings of a powerful LinkedIn content plan that will drive engagement, awareness, and demand.

Importance of Social Media for B2B Marketing

LinkedIn can enhance brand visibility and credibility. It enables relationship building and allows networking with industry professionals. Despite this, LinkedIn remains underutilized for generating awareness and demand. 

Content creators like Adam Robinson (Retention.com and RB2B) and Devin Reed (thereeder.co) are two examples of influencers changing the game with LinkedIn. They’re driving substantial revenue through their strategies, proving that with the right approach LinkedIn can be a goldmine for B2B marketers. 

Strategies for Effective B2B Social Media Marketing

Successful B2B social media marketing starts with robust quality content creation and curation. Your company's blogs, case studies, and other content form the foundation of a sustainable LinkedIn strategy. By repurposing this content for LinkedIn, you can maintain a consistent presence and engage your audience effectively.

Tagging companies on LinkedIn can significantly boost engagement. Hyperise provides a great example of how this tactic can enhance your B2B marketing efforts. But creating compelling content is just one piece of the puzzle.

Leveraging Company Content

Your existing content is full of gems waiting to be leveraged. Use your blogs and case studies to craft LinkedIn posts that speak directly to your audience. This approach not only drives engagement but also positions your company as a thought leader in your industry. 

Social Media and SEO

Many marketers treat social media and SEO as separate entities. But by integrating your social media efforts with your SEO strategy, you could amplify your brand’s online presence and drive more organic traffic to your site. The synergy between these two can unlock unparalleled growth for your business.

The Relationship Between Social Media and SEO

Social media signals play a crucial role in search engine rankings. When your content gets shared on social media, it increases your website’s visibility, driving more traffic and improving its SEO performance. Social shares can indirectly affect SEO by increasing the likelihood of backlinks and brand mentions.

Best Practices for Integrating Social Media and SEO

Creating shareable content is the first step. High-quality, engaging content is more likely to be shared across social platforms, leading to increased visibility and SEO benefits. Leverage social media to build backlinks by sharing content that other websites find valuable enough to link to.

OptinMonster and Semrush provide success stories of brands that have effectively integrated social media and SEO . For example, Semrush details how social media efforts can boost SEO through increased content visibility and engagement.

How Social Media Traffic Boosts SEO Performance

When social media drives traffic to your blog post, it signals to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant. Higher traffic volumes can lead to longer dwell times, lower bounce rates, and increased on-page engagement—all positive indicators for search engine algorithms. These metrics can improve your page’s ranking, making it more likely to appear in search results and attract even more organic traffic.

Social Media Analytics

Ever feel like you're flying blind with your social media strategy? Without analytics, you're just guessing what works and what doesn't. Tapping into social media analytics can turn that guesswork into data-driven decisions, boosting your marketing efforts and driving tangible results.

Importance of Analytics in Social Media Marketing

Analytics are essential for measuring the effectiveness of your social media campaigns. They provide insights into what’s working and what isn’t, allowing you to adjust your strategy accordingly. Understanding audience behavior and preferences through analytics can help you create more targeted and effective content.

Key Metrics to Track

Key metrics to track include engagement rates, reach, impressions, conversion rates, and ROI. Engagement rates help you understand how your audience is interacting with your content, while reach and impressions show how far your content is spreading. Conversion rates and ROI give you a clear picture of how your social media efforts are impacting your bottom line.

There are numerous tools available for social media analytics, such as Google Analytics, HubSpot, and Sprout Social. These tools help you track and interpret data, making it easier to make informed decisions. HubSpot provides a detailed guide on using data in content creation to drive engagement, illustrating how analytics can refine your strategy .

Integrating Social Media with Email Marketing

Think social media and email marketing are two separate worlds? Think again. When combined, these two powerful channels can amplify your reach, boost engagement, and drive better results than ever before.

Some of the benefits? Combining social media with email marketing enhances audience reach and engagement. Cross-promotion opportunities allow you to maximize the impact of your content, reaching your audience where they are most active. Integrating these channels helps create a cohesive and comprehensive marketing strategy that leverages the strengths of both.

Strategies for Integration

Embedding social media links in your email campaigns encourages your email subscribers to engage with your social media content. This not only boosts your social media presence but also keeps your audience engaged across multiple platforms. Additionally, using social media to grow your email subscriber list is an effective way to nurture potential leads and convert them into loyal customers.

Successful integrations of email marketing and social media have been highlighted by various sources:

• MailerLite emphasizes the importance of embedding social media links in email campaigns to drive cross-channel engagement .
• SocialPilot discusses how social media contests and giveaways can help grow your email subscriber list .
• MyEmma provides tips on creating compelling email content that encourages social media sharing .
• Constant Contact and ShortStack offer insights into how small businesses can integrate social media marketing and email marketing to generate better results .

Air Traffic Control, LinkedIn Awareness, and Email Engagement

Oftentimes we think of LinkedIn in a performance marketing silo when trying to create demand. We'll put out a slough of well-tested creative to an ICP-rich target list and spend a pile of cash to get those folks to our website. But what if LinkedIn wasn't used to generate inbound leads? Or even clicks?

At ATC, we often see customers see LinkedIn as a channel to increase email engagement rates.

Here's how we see them do that:

1. They'll filter ATC Content Recommendations by a list they're targeting an email campaign at.
2. For each of the top 3 recommended content items for that list, they'll create a LinkedIn thought leadership post by one of their senior leaders.
3. Having loaded up their target list to LinkedIn as a custom LinkedIn Ad Audience, customers will request to boost those thought leadership posts to the custom audience.

Voila. Highly relevant content that increases awareness of the business and some of its most compelling ideas for these new prospects. Following that a week or so later with emails, customers will see higher open and engagement rates.

Social Media and Marketing Automation

Managing social media can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re juggling multiple platforms and campaigns. Marketing automation offers a solution, transforming chaos into streamlined efficiency. With the right tools, you can personalize interactions at scale and ensure your social media strategy runs like a well-oiled machine.

HubSpot Social Media Management Tools

HubSpot offers built-in social media management tools that integrate seamlessly with its CRM. These tools allow users to schedule posts, monitor engagement, and track performance directly within the HubSpot platform. The native integration ensures that all data is consolidated, providing a holistic view of your marketing efforts .

Oktopost

Oktopost is a B2B social media management platform designed for enterprises. It focuses on social media analytics, employee advocacy, and lead generation. Oktopost’s integration with HubSpot allows for advanced social media tracking and reporting, ensuring that social media efforts are aligned with broader marketing strategies .

Sprout Social

Sprout Social offers robust social media management features, including scheduling, monitoring, analytics, and social listening. Its user-friendly interface and comprehensive reporting capabilities make it a popular choice. The integration with HubSpot allows for seamless data synchronization, helping marketers maintain a unified view of their social media and other marketing activities .

Lately.AI

Lately.AI leverages artificial intelligence to automate content creation and management. It analyzes your existing content to generate social media posts, saving time and ensuring consistency. The integration with HubSpot helps in synchronizing content and analytics, providing insights into what works best for your audience 

Recommendations

• HubSpot: Best for small to medium businesses with low to moderate content volume. Ideal for those already using HubSpot’s CRM and marketing tools and looking for a seamless, integrated solution.
• Oktopost: Best for large enterprises with high content volume. Suitable for organizations that need advanced analytics and employee advocacy features.
• Sprout Social: Best for medium to large businesses with moderate to high content volume. Ideal for teams needing robust scheduling, monitoring, and comprehensive analytics.
• Lately.AI: Best for small to medium businesses with low to moderate content volume. Perfect for teams looking to automate content creation and leverage AI for social media management.

Final Word

It’s pretty unlikely you ended up here unaware of how much of an impact LinkedIn has for B2B businesses. Still, if you’re leaving with some new strategies and ideas for how to leverage LinkedIn for growth, then we’ve done our job. There is literally almost unlimited potential for businesses and influential content creators on LinkedIn. 

Progressive marketing teams are always upleveling their strategies.  If we can be a resource in anyway feel free to reach out. And if you'd like to see the Air Traffic Control in action, feel free to request a demo.ch