Facebook marketing is effective for B2B because business decision-makers are human, and Facebook is very much a platform for humans.
Celebrities, CEOs and even presidents of countries all use Facebook. Because they are human.
And marketing is very much a human endeavor.
Why Facebook marketing for B2B?
Business is always about people. That’s important to understand because many businesses have the misconception that Facebook is not the right channel for business marketing.
But the stats speak:
- Facebook is the third most visited website in the world.
- Facebook Messenger is the top mobile app in the world.
- Americans spend just under 1 hour per day on Facebook.
- 54% of businesses say that Facebook is their most important social media platform, and the stats show that more businesses use Facebook than they do LinkedIn.
Facebook works for B2B because even business people use Facebook daily.
However, there is a technique involved in Facebook marketing for B2B, and you have to get it right, or it won’t work.
So first things first is to understand social media for business, in particular, Facebook marketing.
Once you understand marketing on Facebook, move on to these 5 steps:
Step #1: What’s your objective?
Overall, what do you want to achieve from Facebook marketing? Is it to:
- Build brand awareness?
- Increase website traffic?
- Increase leads?
- Launch a campaign?
Be clear about why you want to add your business presence to Facebook because that will act as a springboard for getting the right type of attention from prospective customers.
In addition, each piece of content you post must have an objective and a call to action, which can be anything from engagement, liking your business page, sending traffic to a landing page, and so on.
Step #2: Know your audience
Now you’re aware of the types of content that do well on Facebook, the trick is to create content that is both in line with your business and relevant to your audience.
To do this, having an intimate understanding of those you want to attract is of primary importance because the success of your marketing efforts depends on this.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you must attract everyone, because then you will attract no one. Your content has to speak the language of your audience and match their needs.
For example, let’s say you target CEOs of marketing agencies. Now you need to put together a buyer persona that reflects the interests and pain points of CEOs of marketing agencies, and then base your Facebook marketing content around that.
To provide real value and attract the right eyeballs, you’ve got to know your audience inside-out.
Step #3: Plan your content
Every marketing channel needs its own strategy, and Facebook marketing is no different. First understand how humans use Facebook and then slot your content into that.
As a business, it is vital that you not disrupt how people use Facebook. In other words, businesses that are most successful on the platform, are those who simply add their content into the “Facebook flow”…Facebook started as a way to connect people, so many use the platform to keep in touch with family and friends, but also seek out content – and groups – that add value and which is of interest to them.
Content that does well on Facebook usually falls into these categories:
- Interesting snippets around certain topics
- News
- Entertainment
- Inspirational
- Emotional
Knowing this, you now need to create non-disruptive content (meaning, the most effective Facebook content is not about your goals as a business, but rather about what your audience wants).
Content that is not only promotional but adds value, is what makes Facebook marketing succeed.
Step #4: Email marketing
Email marketing is effective because it builds trust, and when marketing online, trust is of the utmost importance. It is not the norm for people visiting websites for the first time to purchase from them, and that is why email marketing is used – to nurture leads so that in time, those prospects will buy from you.
Because of this, every marketing initiative must always point back to collecting information from your audience. Your Facebook marketing strategy needs to be tied to your email marketing strategy.
Follow these steps to get going with email marketing:
- First, find an email marketing tool that also offers landing pages as a feature.
- Study the tool.
- Discover how to build an email marketing strategy.
- For optimized results, use segmentation and personalization.
Step #5: Facebook advertising
Facebook advertising is powerful, effective and very affordable, but don’t expect to win the first couple of rounds, as it usually takes know-how and some practice.
Klientboost provides an in-depth guide to B2B Facebook advertising, with examples.
Don’t forget retargeting advertising; and when you are more accomplished, you may want to consider integrating email marketing with an image personalization tool like Hyperise.
Conclusion
Online marketing is not simple, but this quick and basic guide acts as a solid foundation for Facebook marketing that works.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get outstanding results immediately; it usually takes a bit of studying, some experimenting and tweaking to get it right, and then you will need to monitor results, and aim to improve continually.
