The business-to-business community seems to struggle a bit when it comes to captivating their audience through social media compared to the business-to-consumer community. In fact, according to a recent article from Social Media B2B, marketers in the industry are still scratching their heads on how to perfect the craft.
“Years of product marketing driven writing, or content as we now call it, has honed their skills on features-based marketing. No matter how exciting your products and services are, this kind of marketing is boring. And it is not going to work in a social media context,” the site states.
Here are a few tips from Social Media B2B on gaining a social media audience:
Use keywords in the headline
It doesn’t matter what your topic is, Social Media B2B recommends including words that your prospects or customers recognize in the headline. You want your recipient to connect with your brand. These are words they would personally use when talking about your business. Try creating headlines that mirror what your customers could be searching for when looking for a particular product online.
Use adjectives in the headline
Yes, keywords and headlines need to be interesting and they need to catch the attention of your customer. But besides that, your headlines need to be worthy of your customers time. If they are not invested in the headline, they will not open the email.
As Social Media B2B pointed out, “every post is an opportunity to draw in new visitors. Interesting and different descriptive words, like adjectives can do that.”
Use compelling images
A picture is worth a thousand words and sometimes in marketing it could be worth a thousand clicks. A picture will grab your reader’s attention. Social Media B2B said that “rather than use the same stock photography images of light bulbs or the diverse team around a conference room table look for interesting images that set the tone for the post.”
“You want to use images that will draw someone in, make them click and make them keep reading,” Social Media B2B states.
Do not talk about your products when blogging
According to Social Media B2B, successful blog posts are not about the products, that is what your website is fore. Blog posts should provide real value to customers and prospects for their business solutions. Look at blog posts, Social Media B2B says, as a way to “demonstrate your industry expertise by giving them something they cannot get elsewhere.”
Use Video
Sometimes video is more powerful than a status update or a blog post. A post with an embedded video, according to Social Media B2B, “can capture someone’s attention in a different way than a written post. This is an easy way to share the thoughts of an industry influencer you met at a trade show, but keep it short.” Videos should always be under five minutes, and fewer than three minutes if possible.