Social media marketing isn’t a simple endeavor for any business, but B2B companies tend to struggle a bit more when attempting to reach a target audience that will convert to sales. There are some trade secrets that really come in handy for business to business social media, but be careful because there are also some practices that will turn off the target demographic and possibly hurt the brand image. The power of social media has been proven by giants like Taco Bell and  Pizza Hut who have utilized platforms like Facebook and Twitter to bring in a younger clientele and as a valued tool in reputation management. This means that the stage is set for those in the mortgage and finance industry to start capitalizing on a positive return from social media marketing. The base of social media users is a younger generation, the same generation that is currently looking to purchase single family homes. There is massive potential for the mortgage industry on social media, but only with the right content focused social strategy.

The Key To Success

A B2B company usually solves some sort of problem for their target customer. Whether it is a software that expedites a process, a product that aides in an obstacle or a service like marketing or PR; they will strategically help their clients in some way. This is the important thing to remember when launching a social media campaign: keep solving problems for potential clients. What the target demographic for a B2B social media campaign is looking for on their feed is information, they want to see you solve their problems. If a B2B company can prove themselves as a valuable educational source then they’ll be able to build a following and most importantly convert that following to sales. In the mortgage industry potential homebuyers will appreciate learning about what kind of process is involved in purchasing a home or perhaps draw a different demographic with the steps to refinancing a home.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Competition

An important aspect to remember on social media is that the vibes are very much community over competition. Although in the sales world a company might be competition, on social media platforms these companies are friends. There are a couple of ways that friending the competition can be used to our advantage. First, a company that is already established on a platform can be a good example of how to run a successful campaign in our industry. Secondly our company can use their commenting platforms and followship to gain exposure for our own brand. Accomplish this by adding comments that are valuable to the conversation, nobody wants to read spam and posting it will only hurt our brand. The last thing that comes in handy when friending other businesses is sharing their articles and news, this can be a nice break up from our own educational blog posts. Seek out fellow B2B businesses and give their page a like, don’t be deterred if they don’t like back immediately, sometimes it takes some recognizable interaction to get a company to follow back.

Blogging is Crucial

As discussed earlier social media content should be educational when branding a B2B company, a crucial aspect to this content is that which is curated on the company’s own blog. Add a blog to the website and begin posting regularly with information that is about the product, pertinent to the industry that has a need for the product and/or related to general business practices. Aside from being the perfect fodder for building a social media community these areas of content will build SEO for the website that will eventually turn a profit. Blogging is the key to modern internet marketing and the only way to run a social media campaign that will turn followers into clients.