Businesses which operate under the business-to-business (B2B) structure haven’t embraced social media marketing efforts as quickly as business-to-consumer (B2C). However, that is starting to change, as more B2B businesses are beginning to embrace the idea of marketing through social media. Here are some ways businesses are enhancing B2B lead generation through Facebook:
Use social ads with targeting: Paid social ads are a great way to reach an audience that your business is looking to target. The benefit behind Facebook’s advertising platform is that it allows your business to be extremely specific when it comes to targeting. For example you can target by interest, demographics, location, connections or any combination of filters you choose. Another benefit to Facebook advertising campaigns for your business is that it’s fairly easy to compute ROI since Facebook tracks and reports all the activity. Also, Facebook ads are scalable and easy to adjust if needed.
Run contests with unique prizes: Now who doesn’t love to participate in a contest if the prize is actually something they are interested in or will benefit them? Run a Facebook contest! As a B2B business you have the opportunity to strategically choose prizes that will engage your audience because it’s more of a niche audience. Instead of choosing generic prizes, consider unique prizes that match with the target audience you are trying to reach. Be creative with your contest; make it personal and watch how quickly your fans get interested!
Utilize Facebook tabs: A great way to capture data and information is by utilizing Facebook tabs. That being said, does your business have a way to capture data maybe through a newsletter, e-commerce page or a form on your website to gather more customer info? You can integrate that form with Facebook. Facebook makes it easy for you to pull the web URL that you would like to direct users to for capturing data into a tab on your business Facebook page. Click here for Facebook’s page tab tutorial. Here is an example of how Marketo uses Facebook tabs for lead generation:
Appeal to decision makers: One of the most powerful features that Facebook has to offer is its ability to bypass the gatekeepers that used to block you from getting to the decision makers before. Facebook allows your business to open a dialogue between you and the decision makers you are trying to reach. This means your business has the potential to create a personal relationship with decision makers, giving you free access to that person’s attention in the future. That being said, do not abuse this privilege. Be smart with your marketing strategies when it comes to Facebook, do not over invite your business into others’ personal space. Remember that your business is working to nurture trust as well as sharing information with potential clients and build your social business strategy around that.
