Monthly Archives: April 2018

The post 5 Ways to Make Your B2B Brand Fun on Social appeared first on HostGator Blog . 5 Excellent Examples of Social Media for B2B Social media is the ultimate online hangout for consumers. On any given day, you’ll see people sharing the latest trends and products with their friends. It’s also an effective way for companies, big and small, to highlight their brand personality. And while B2C brands shine the most on social, B2B brands sometimes hesitant to leverage the channel. Chelsea Baldwin , founder of Copy Power, writes: “The B2B world can feel quite stiff sometimes. And while we all technically know that it doesn’t have to be that way, we find ourselves defaulting to that stiffness within our marketing, over and over again. Because even if we do want to be fun, we still need to be professional.” B2B brands can have fun, too. Below are five B2B companies nailing social media marketing.   1. Showcase a Playful Brand Culture The B2B ecosystem represents powerful deals, endless paperwork, and a polished, professional atmosphere. You’ll even think it’s the place where creativity goes to die. However, if you rethink how you view B2B, you’ll understand that these companies aren’t selling to other businesses. Similar to their B2C counterparts, B2B brands make transactions with people. Every business is H2H, or Human to Human . We’re all connecting and selling to other humans who enjoy learning, having fun, and engaging with others. And that’s where the magic begins! You can use your brand personality to invite consumers into your culture. Give them an opportunity to see how uplifting and informative your brand can be. We’re not saying post inappropriate photos from the last happy hour party. But we do want your values and playful nature to bleed through. Below is an example from package delivery company UPS. On Instagram, the brand likes to post joyful images related to their company logo and culture. It’s unique and garners the eyeballs of their audience (even 3,068 likes!) . Bow WOW. Happy #DressUpYourPetDay A post shared by UPS (@ups) on Jan 14, 2018 at 7:51am PST Your B2B brand isn’t a heartless, corporate juggernaut. It’s full of many people who make up your brand culture. Display that image to your customers.   2. Launch a Virtual Product Tour When you’re a kid, the best school days involved field trips to new places around the city. It was a chance to experience something different. From the school’s perspective, it was an educational way to make the classroom theory a reality. Those tours to the local zoo, courtroom, and theater made abstract concepts more attainable. You can bring back those memories to your consumers with virtual product tours. Through social media, you can offer a behind-the-scenes look at an upcoming product launch or give a snapshot of your facilities. “Visual content tends to garner more engagement, especially on those networks where it is a fit like Facebook, Pinterest and Google+. Aside from great photography, use memes, infographics and visual representations [to exhibit] points made in blog posts,” says Douglas Burdett , founder of Artillery. GE is all about introducing its Facebook fans to their innovations. During Drone Week, they answered live questions to enhance the experience. What’s unique about your office? Can you give a live guided tour with one of your experts? Use these questions as starters to develop a fun social environment. Bring your customers into your daily routine. Product tours make it easy for people to relate to your brand.   3. Highlight Charitable Giving Humanity involves our actions and how we treat one another. People gravitate towards individuals who give back to those in need. Charitable giving manifests in many shapes and forms. There’s donating a few extra dollars to your favorite nonprofit or spending your Saturday mornings tutoring kids in the neighborhood. These selfless actions give hope. They show characteristics of compassion, friendship, and kindness. Take a front and center approach by spotlighting your charitable giving. Consumers desire the stories of your brand doing more than just collecting a profit. They want to know how you’re serving the community. Accenture walks the walk on social media. This global management consulting giant commits itself to giving back to communities. The soul of the brand centers around philanthropy, whether that’s donating funds or offering workers a chance to volunteer their time.   #GirlsWillCode to change the world! Girls ages 7 to 17 years old joined the #GirlsWillCode Workshop to learn how to #code through an #HourOfCode with #AccenturePH Technology Lead, @ambe_tierro , and MD, Gwen Yason . Watch how these young women define #GirlPower w/ technology here! pic.twitter.com/dBbLqTUg29 — AccenturePhilippines (@AccentureJobsPH) January 9, 2018 There’s a fine line between spotlighting your giving efforts and boasting about them. Work with your team to ensure your B2B brand isn’t coming off as arrogant. Customers respect genuine charitable giving. And they can spot an imposter quickly! So continue to evaluate your strategy. You’re doing wonderful things to impact the world. Use social media as an outlet to amplify your good deeds to the world.   4. Spotlight Your Employees When it comes to B2B brands, it’s easy to think there’s no one doing the work in the background: making phone calls, meeting with customers, or even mopping the floors. Well, businesses don’t operate efficiently unless there’s a dedicated and capable team calling the shots. Your employees are working around the clock to ensure the business runs smoothly. And where there’s people doing great work, an amazing story is usually around the corner. You can use social media to magnify these stories. “Post photos of team meetings, community events and everyday office fun! Show your audience there’s more to your brand than, well, a boring company. Show the human side of how things get done. Use your employees to breathe new life into our social campaigns,” suggests Owen Matson , director of content strategy at MarketScale. Below is a LinkedIn post from Citi. The company honors their employees by sharing stories of their achievements. Do something similar by profiling your own employees. You also can mention their achievements or highlight their work. You want consumers to see how you workers impact the business. It doesn’t take much to spice up your social feed. Start giving your employees the extra recognition they deserve.   5. Create Contests to Boost Attention The social in social media is what most B2B businesses overlook. They forget that engagement occurs when you interact with your audience. To spur engagement, you can try posting a question to spark discussion, or you can even challenge your followers to caption a funny meme. But you probably want to kick it up a notch, right? If so, host your very own contest on social media . You can ask consumers to post their entries on the social channel, or you can direct them to a page on your site. The great thing about contests is that they can be as simple or elaborate as you want. You can offer free swag or a trip for two to Paris. The only advice is to make it relevant to your audience. Square shows how to create contests geared toward your consumers. The mobile payment brand hosted a contest to give away free retail space. They also teamed up with Appear Here to make it all happen. Social media is all about connecting with people. Draw excitement for your B2B brand by creating a contest.   Shine on Social Social fun isn’t reserved only for B2C brands. Your B2B business can leverage its originality on social media, too. Try using your brand culture to get consumers’ attention. Open your virtual doors and invite folks to a product tour. And it never hurts to give your employees all the glory by highlighting their actions. Having fun on social starts now . Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →