1. Overview of the main social networks
Undoubtedly the best known of all, at least for the general public. With more than 30 million monthly active users in France, Facebook is well ahead of social networks in terms of subscribers. We’re talking about mass media here. A few years ago, advertisers on Facebook primarily targeted consumers in B2C communication campaigns. However, as the line between professional and personal life is increasingly blurred, professional pages perform very well on the platform.
B2B social network number 1 for several years, LinkedIn holds an important place in the landscape of social networks, with more than 10 million monthly users in France. The e-reputation of a company very often passes through this social network, which makes it possible in particular to improve its notoriety by the sharing of information and detailed articles. Essentially focused on the professional side, this social network makes it possible to reach users who wish to obtain detailed information on certain companies.
Twitter has managed to do well, with more than 10 million users per month in France. The primary benefit of this social network is instantaneity. Indeed, a professional company has the possibility of communicating on certain subjects and of having an almost immediate return on behalf of the Net surfers. Hashtags also make it possible to surf the buzz of the moment, and some brands with experts in Community Management manage to get people talking about them in this way.
The social network in full swing in recent months, with already more than 12 million monthly users in France! With more and more users, Instagram is gaining ground over its main competitors. Essentially focused on the visual, with the possibility of sharing photos and videos, this social network also makes it possible to capture immediate feedback. Like Twitter, instantaneity is Instagram’s great strength, with the ability to share information more visually and be close to Internet users.
Youtube
The video hosting site is the world leader in its category, with over 20 million monthly users. For professionals, YouTube makes it possible to publish videos and establish real proximity to their community. Since video is a fashionable format, many influencers make the platform and Internet users happy. Indeed, the video can be viewed on all types of screens – including smartphones – and can be easily shared, with a strong potential for virality.
2. Build an effective business strategy on social networks
Definition of targets
The content must agree with the audience, regardless of the networks of Social Media Marketing in Pakistan chosen. Thus, the first step of an effective business strategy on social networks is to define the targets. And this applies all the more in the context of a B2B market. The most important thing is to know your prospects well, to draw a typical portrait, and to define the social network (s) to target as a priority.
Choose the relevant social networks
After having defined the typical portrait that a company wishes to reach on each social network, a crucial step takes place. Indeed, you have to find the right balance between being present on one or more social networks to ensure the regular production of relevant content.
Support can then be ideal for carrying out a complete audit. The analysis of what the competition offers or even of the habits of the typical portrait, including the information sought by your potential audience, can be all criteria on which to rely to define the social network (s) on which to work position.
Optimization of editorial strategy
The next step is the setting-up of a clear editorial strategy adapted to the chosen social networks. Each social network having its characteristics, communication on each of them cannot be identical. Thus, depending on the targets for each social network, it is necessary to define a type of support and a tone to adopt in its communication.
Where LinkedIn users are used to reading rather detailed articles, Twitter users seek to find the desired information in a few characters (140 maximum for years, 280 since late 2017). The editorial strategy must therefore take into account this type of criteria, with more powerful messages on the first social network cited, and concise and powerful messages on the second.
This analysis thus leads to a clear editorial schedule, containing all the information to be shared on the various social networks chosen, as well as their publication dates and times. Indeed, these two parameters can make all the difference, with “peak hours” on social networks, to be targeted as a priority to reach as many people as possible.
Performance measurement
What would an effective business strategy be without performance measurement? With the democratization of social networks, especially in marketing, many tools have emerged in recent years. They allow companies to analyze their results, such as the number of visits to their website from a particular social network. Other tools will enable you to plan publications on the various social networks or retrieve statistical data following a post.
3. Social networks: what contributions for a B2B company?
Visibility, e-reputation, and brand image
The first added value of setting up a good communication strategy on social networks is gaining visibility. Prospects and customers of a business can indeed find the information they are looking for and see the dynamism and modernity of a business.
Also, for several years and with the advent of social networks, a company’s e-reputation has been a key parameter. Taking control of its brand image on social networks allows a company to control the information shared in public and, therefore, to have control over its online reputation.
This digital notoriety can make the difference between several competitors, for example, in choosing a supplier within the framework of a B2B company. The implementation of a communication strategy on social networks makes it possible to share the positive elements of a company (news, achievements, material, etc.) and to establish the first link with customers and prospects.
Share your know-how to attract attention and reassure your targets
Also, in the context of improving a company’s reputation, social networks make it possible to disseminate certain information to share its know-how. Readable, interesting, and well-targeted content, according to the social network, makes it possible to share elements of its functioning, such as photos or videos of its production chain, its best practices, and expertise.
Depending on the elements chosen, a company can show what it can offer its customers. By sharing this type of content, it captures the attention of its target and redirects it to its website, potentially making it a new partner. It is also a way to reassure and establish a form of trust with its customers and prospects.
With increasingly impressive statistics (for example, more than 80% of French people regularly use one or more social networks), the field of possibilities is simply gigantic. Thus, a good communication strategy on social networks can make a difference, especially in certain industrial sectors where companies do not yet use it.
Loyalty
In a world in perpetual evolution and where the norm is to go towards the least expensive, loyalty appears more important. Social networks are a very good vector of allegiance, with the possibility of creating user communities.
First, social networks make it possible to set up a dialogue, whether through posts addressed to all the people who follow the company or through personalized exchanges.
Then, social networks make it possible to set up a visual identity specific to each company. This makes it possible to consolidate its brand by generating a base of interested contacts, by animating this community, and by encouraging the most fervent customers to become ambassadors.
Finally, social networks allow customers to be rewarded. Indeed, different campaigns can be set up to offer additional services or specific benefits to their community.
Improve natural referencing
The last and not the least stage is the contribution that social networks have on the natural referencing. Indeed, the traffic generated by a website from a social network is a very interesting asset for SEO.
Search engines are fond of this type of traffic because it proves, in the majority of cases, that a website is attractive to Internet users. In addition to increasing the traffic of a website, social networks are gaining more and more weight in the way search engines organize the results of certain searches.
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