There is an opinion that the B2B and B2C spheres are not so different, because, in both cases, decisions are made by ordinary people. But it is not so. In B2B, the consumer is more focused not on emotions, but on facts, figures and profits. The Ringostat platform team tells how to manage social networks with this in mind and how best to design a profile.

Basic principles for creating B2B content on social networks

To better understand the features of B2B content in social networks, let’s look at how this area is globally different from B2C:

Now let’s see how this all affects how the content should be.

  1. A business buys a product for itself or its client. Therefore, in your posts, you should focus on how the entrepreneur will benefit from your product or service. Or publish news that will primarily be of interest to business representatives.
  2. When buying in B2B, first of all, people pay attention to numbers and facts. Therefore, it is important to publish case studies, quotes from satisfied customers, and descriptions of the results they have achieved with your help. If you have any awards or titles, be sure to tell about them. For example, about a high place in the ranking, the title of an official partner of famous brands, etc.
  3. In B2B, there is usually a long buying cycle and, if the customer is satisfied, the relationship becomes long-term. Therefore, throughout this cycle, the user needs to be constantly “warmed up” with useful content so that the future transaction does not fall through.
  4. The decision to buy is made by several people at once. Therefore, you need to periodically create content that will be interesting to people with different positions. For example, the implementation of Ringostat can be discussed by the business owner, its marketer, PPC specialist, etc. Therefore, we create content that will show the benefits of our platform for each of them.
  5. The audience is narrower than in B2B sales. It is all the more important to clearly understand it. Otherwise, your content will not be of interest to a rather small audience.
  6. In B2B, the average check is often higher than in B2C. Therefore, your posts should convince subscribers to the maximum that your product is worth investing in it. For example, collect typical objections from customers and prepare a series of posts that will contain arguments “For” on all controversial points.
  7. Not all users can understand why they need your product. Therefore, posts should not only talk about your service but also “educate” subscribers. For example, to tell in simple words why your product is needed and what problems it solves.

What to post about

As we said, B2B places a lot of emphasis on facts, figures, and profits — but that doesn’t mean your social media content has to be dry and boring. Alternate different types of content, try to share really valuable information — and you will succeed! Here we will not mention that in social networks you need to describe your products, this is already clear. Let’s look at other types of content.

Company’s news

The main thing here is not to abuse the attention of subscribers and share with them exactly what will be useful to them. For example, many will be interested to know that your company is holding a promotion, received a new certificate, or entered the top services according to a well-known portal. After all, this once again proves that the client knowingly invested money in you. But information about a corporate party in honour of the birthday of the CEO or personnel changes is unlikely to be of interest to anyone.

An example of a post about updates from the Intercom communication platform

Publication of posts about fresh articles that were published on the blog or in the media

Don’t miss the opportunity to bring additional traffic to your blog. Therefore, as soon as the article is published, make an announcement in your social networks. To interest readers, immediately describe how they will benefit from reading the article. For example, they will learn how to improve the efficiency of the sales department, learn how to correctly allocate the advertising budget, etc.

If the article is published not on your blog, but in the media or on the blog of another service, it is also worth posting. After all, this is additional proof of your expertise.

Useful information and statistics

If you study what interests your customers, it will not be difficult for you to find information on such topics. For example, you can post:

  • a selection of free courses for beginners from the field to which your target audience belongs;
  • niche research results;
  • information about changes in a specific area — for example, the adoption of a new law, updates to web analytics systems and advertising cabinets, etc.;
  • links to document templates or dashboards.
An example of a post with interesting statistics

Life hacks

Your product or service is purchased to solve a problem. Show that the client can get even more value with you. Describe in detail how you can use your product to its maximum advantage. For example, one of the features of Ringostat telephony is the automatic recording of telephone conversations with customers. We know how important it is for a manager to listen to them. But many simply do not have enough time for this. Therefore, we describe how to listen to calls much faster and not miss anything:

  • what challenges to pay attention to in the first place;
  • how to listen to calls in fast forward;
  • how to listen to calls only from contextual advertising or generally only for a specific advertising campaign;
  • how to initially determine that something is wrong with a particular call and it should be listened to, etc.

Study the pains of your customers and offer them solutions in such posts. This way you will help existing customers and interest potential ones.This way you will help existing customers and interest potential ones.

Rubric “In simple words”

This is especially useful for companies that sell products or services that most of the audience is not familiar with. For example, this is exactly the case with Ringostat. ” We are a platform for call tracking, telephony, and end-to-end analytics. But some B2B users may not be familiar with these concepts, although our products just solve their problems.”

“Therefore, we periodically make posts for the “In Simple Words” section, where we tell what a particular product is. For example, how does a virtual PBX differ from a traditional one and why is it more suitable for business?” By educating your target audience in this way, you increase the chances that some of it will turn into customers over time.

Some companies place their phone number directly in their posts. In this case, we recommend using call tracking – this is a product that shows which ads customers are calling from. А separate phone number will be allocated for a Facebook or Instagram post. The same can be done for Facebook ads. When customers call this number, call tracking reports will show that the user called from this source. So you can evaluate whether your SMM or social media advertising is effective.

An example of a call tracking report in Ringostat showing call sources

Infographic based on articles published on the blog

People best perceive the information presented visually. Therefore, select materials that can be turned into infographics and published on social networks. Another advantage of this method is that you do not need to create content from scratch.

Even if you publish important news or a serious article — especially in this case — supplement the post with a picture. According to a study by Canva, publications with illustrations attract 2.3 times more attention than just text. Users share visual content 40 times more often than other types of content.

Fragment of infographic

Cases and reviews

Such content is the best proof of your expertise, so try to create as much of it as possible. You can make posts with the announcement of cases already published on the blog. Or make posts with a summary of the essence of the case and the main results. When writing a use case, ask the client to share feedback about you.

It can be posted on social networks as a separate quote or request to leave a review with the appropriate section on social networks. To motivate the client, also offer to leave a review about them on social networks in return. It is optimal if you are given a review in a video format — such a “live” opinion will cause maximum confidence.

Humour and memes

The more complex your product, the more important it is to present information periodically in a light and playful manner. Otherwise, subscribers will intuitively avoid your posts so as not to overload their brain. Follow the trends in humour, trendy memes — but use them only if you are convinced that they have not become “hackneyed” anymore. Also, remember that some topics are not to be joked about. Even if others allow it. For example about:

  • religion;
  • gender issues;
  • health;
  • financial security;
  • violent actions.

How do B2B companies set up a social media profile?

Let’s start with a checklist that will help you create a business page that is ready for effective SMM.

  1. Each element of the profile corresponds to the brand book — an official document that contains corporate style standards. It is better to prepare everything in advance so that you do not have to look for a designer if necessary. What should be in the set for designing a business page: a logo in colour and a monochrome version — all versions, if there are several of them, corporate colours, font, pattern. 
  2. Ready-made avatar for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and profile cover for Facebook, Twitter. The classic is the brand logo on the avatar, its simplified version, without letters and slogans, and the specifics are on the cover. It should inform the audience by visual means or with the help of a text supplement what kind of page it is.
  3. The unique header for different information occasions. So more users will know about them. For example, “we at Ringostat, with the outbreak of war in our native Ukraine, made a header with our mascot – a crocodile, dressed in military uniform. He is also a reminder that we support the economic front of the country, and also provide a free virtual PBX for volunteer organisations.”
  1. Image sizes meet the requirements of social networks. Each site requires an individual set of materials. Here’s a handy, simplified cheat sheet:
  1. Availability of materials for 7-14 days in advance. We are talking about templates and ready-made posts that include infographics, as well as images that require processing. This cannot be done quickly and thoughtlessly. Otherwise, photomontage errors cannot be avoided: for example, extra fingers “crawl out” in the photo, or legs “disappear”. Too many risks for brand reputation. It is better to publish the rest of the content on prepared branded substrates: using a corporate font, watermark, recommended colour scheme.

Now let’s move on to more detailed tips.

Change URL

Never leave an “unnamed” URL that is automatically generated when a new page is created. It looks like a set of characters and says nothing about the company that owns the page.

Create your own address right away:

  • short, easy to read and remember;
  • consisting of numbers 0–9, letters a–z, and dots;
  • unique;
  • consistent with the brand name.

It is good if the addresses of your pages in all social networks will match. This will not only give your company presentability, but more importantly, the page will become more searchable on Facebook and search networks.

Fill out the “About us” section

Your visitors will want to know all the details about your business, so fill in all the information fields:

  • a description of your business that will be displayed on the page and in the search results snippet;
  • category: public figure, local business, brand, organisation;
  • schedule;
  • phone number;
  • website;
  • location.

Facebook will prompt you to choose one of the templates, each of which provides ready-made settings for buttons and tabs:

  • standard — suitable for any business;
  • services;
  • company — provides for the possibility of publishing vacancies and special offers;
  • restaurants and cafes;
  • public figures;
  • non-profit organisations;
  • politicians;
  • shopping — you can enable the display of products and simplify the process of online sales.

You can also describe your business yourself in up to three different narrow categories. Just enter the relevant field of activity and Facebook will offer you more accurate descriptions.

Create sections

Each Facebook page can have several main tabs:

  • home;
  • services;
  • reviews;
  • shop;
  • suggestions;
  • photo;
  • events;
  • other.

You can turn any tabs on or off, and change the order in which they appear on the page.

Collect Key Phrases

Keywords are important not only for websites but also for pages on social networks. In order for buyers to find your page, make it relevant to user queries and Facebook search algorithms. Think about what words and phrases potential buyers use to search for your product or service on a social network.

Assemble the semantic core and include the most important key phrases in:

  • page name — if it does not contradict the brand positioning;
  • short description of the page;
  • content.

Add CTA Buttons

One of the most important features of a business page is the placement of a button with a call to action:

  • more;
  • subscribe;
  • order;
  • call;
  • send a message;
  • watch a video about the company, etc.

This will help you get conversions right on the social network. Each button can be associated with a specific page on the site or a form where the user will go after clicking and performing the target action.

In conclusion: how to make promo of the posts

So you’ve got your business profile set up, you’ve created some cool posts, but that’s not all. Now we need to make sure that as many relevant users as possible read them.

  1. Share your posts in thematic communities. Gather a list of groups that your target audience might be following. Join them and publish your post, making sure it doesn’t violate the community guidelines. Do not forget to briefly describe in the message what value your post brings and how the subscribers of the group will benefit from it.
  2. Run a cross-promotion with another company. Surely, there are many businesses that are not your competitors, but you have a common target audience. Look for such companies and invite them to exchange posts on social networks from time to time. Your partner can share a post you have already published or post a text that you write especially for them.
  3. Run ads per post. Think about what news you can expect the most profit or return from, and invest in its promotion. For example, it makes sense to promote posts about a new product, promotions, cases in this way. Everything that is directly aimed at increasing sales and is proof of the value of your company — preferably in money and facts.

If you use our tips when creating content and try to benefit your subscribers, your social networks will only grow. And with them, sales, even for complex products in B2B.