In our latest #OnaChat Twitter Chat, we asked experts about B2B social media and Influencer Marketing in 2022. The conversation focused on what has changed throughout the pandemic, trends that are on the horizon, and tactics that are already in place. If you missed it, here’s the highlights…
What has surprised you most about B2B social media marketing through the pandemic to today?
Through the pandemic there was a sudden need for brands to move (very quickly) to digital-first. Most saw this as an opportunity and opted to dive into the world of video creation and virtual events. As this transition continues, it’s important to remember that your audience may now be online, but that doesn’t mean you can use social as a platform to shout your opinions, listen to your audience, and understand what they need from you.
#OnaChat A1: I really have been impressed by how much we’ve been able to connect with customers and influencers using things like tweet chats. Something that was sorely missed with in-person visits were a no go. https://t.co/EVXLwbpsUn
— Nick Brackney (@NickBrackney) January 26, 2022
A1: seems incredible that zoom for #B2B would be considered “rude” or maybe “unprofessional” before the pandemic 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ times change #Onachat
— Jan Barbosa 🐝 (@JBarbosaPR) January 26, 2022
What are your go-to B2B social media marketing platforms today and why? Can B2B social media break out beyond just Twitter and LinkedIn?
Be where your audience are. It’s always worth researching where your audience are most active, when they’re most active, and just be there, creating content that resonates with them. It seems that in the B2B world, Twitter and LinkedIn are still the go-to platforms, but there are brands that are branching out to TikTok and Instagram, what works for them might not work for you, don’t let this stop you from experimenting! You won’t get “cancelled” for trying.
A2. Twitter & LinkedIn are the most popular social media for B2B marketing. Nevertheless, platforms such as YouTube for videos and Instagram for visuals should not be underestimated. It depends on the audience you’d like to reach, and the engaging content to create. #OnaChat
— Linda Grasso (@LindaGrass0) January 26, 2022
The scale and reach of platforms like Facebook Instagram Reddit and more mean that even a small % B2B audience can have huge value. Ignore at your peril! #onachat #DigitalMarketingStrategy #socialmediamarketing #socialmedia https://t.co/rFO31loh0Z
— Evan Kirstel #TechFluencer (@EvanKirstel) January 26, 2022
Influencer marketing is anticipated to take off dramatically in 2022. What ways are you leveraging influencers in your marketing mix?
Influencers can fit into every corner of your marketing mix, you shouldn’t just put them in a box – and while we’re at it, why only use one influencer? You could have a team of influencers helping you. Get the experts involved in creative direction, form those long-term mutually beneficial partnerships. Influential Experts are moving from a nice-to-have to a necessity, this works internally as well as externally. Align your internal Subject Matter Experts with external influential experts.
If you want credibility, then it’s about strong long term relationships;
If you want thought-leadership, then it’s about deep expertise:
And if you want brand, then it’s about keynote and superstars in a well oiled campaign:
All 3 need to be deliver quality and value #OnaChat https://t.co/VBTUKbCDmb— Katy Howell (@katyhowell) January 26, 2022
A3. Influencers can help us reposition who we are and what we want to be known for, they can help us reach new audiences, they can help us drive awareness and consideration as well as create great thought leadership content. 👏 #OnaChat
— Nada Alkutbi (@Nada_Alkutbi) January 26, 2022
How have expectations of the influencer changed from a brand’s perspective?
B2B Influencer Marketing has shifted away from vanity metrics. Brands care less about engagements or video views, they want to drive action with their target audience. With this shift, collaborations have started feeling more like teamwork – what is it that benefits both parties, how do their values match yours? Pick someone who you want to work with for an extended period of time.
A4: Good one. I think brands are wising up to the long-term relationship impact of influencers. #onachat
— Jason Falls (@JasonFalls) January 26, 2022
A4 (cont): The one-off sponsored posts aren’t useful for much more than pointing people to a piece of brand content. #onachat
— Jason Falls (@JasonFalls) January 26, 2022
A4 (cont): The longer-term collaborations and deeper dives into positions and products make lasting impacts & work better for leads #onachat
— Jason Falls (@JasonFalls) January 26, 2022
📍 Brands have started to realize that trust and competence are more important than reach and network size.
As @treasadovander mentioned, brands align internal and influencer competence much more, and look less at follower count et al.#OnaChat #Influencer #InfluencerMarketing https://t.co/50UDDnbmsr pic.twitter.com/SDVU6IDimC
— Dr. ir Johannes Drooghaag (JD) #MWC22 #BYOC! (@DrJDrooghaag) January 26, 2022
Any favourite examples of best practices or campaigns in B2B social media marketing?
Best practice rules: Think of influencers as an extension of your own team, don’t treat them transactionally because you won’t get long-term results. Be genuine and give influencers creative freedom. They know what they’re doing, and they want to help you get the results that you want to see. Your audience will know when influencers they follow are being genuine, and when they’re being bought.
A4: Too many favourite campaigns to mention! But for best practices I’d say: Build an Ambassador team that grows with the brand, like an extension of your own team. Transactional relationships might work in the short term, but true partnerships deliver value over time#OnaChat pic.twitter.com/LDTzUtr8Pz
— Beverley Eve #TechForGood #MWC22 (@BevEve) January 26, 2022
A5. I’ve started live streaming with #B2B clients and absolutely love it. The serendipity and lack of scripted Q&A has been refreshing. And the social media platforms preference live traffic and reach #onachat #socialmediamarketing #influencers
— Evan Kirstel #TechFluencer (@EvanKirstel) January 26, 2022
What tactics or techniques are you using to drive social media engagement and awareness?
Create content that resonates with your audience, create content that they care about, that they want to share, and then, re-purpose it. This is so important and not done enough. One video can turn into a podcast, soundbites, mini videos, a blog series, social cards – so much! Content should not be created and then left to gather e-dust. Create less, higher quality content, and make the most of it.
A6. Re-purpose, re-purpose & then re-purpose again. One interview can create 10 visual, assets that can make your content evergreen. Take the best quotes, frameworks, models and examples and shine a spotlight. Long-form content is great but most don’t read it! #OnaChat
— Alicia Russell (@aliciaonalytica) January 26, 2022
I think this is all about the power of #employeeadvocacy and #customeradvocacy. Make your employees and customers the hero of your content and then social media engagement and awareness will come! #OnaChat
— Tim Williams (@WilliamsTim) January 26, 2022
What’s your perspective on the use of video and drop-in audio for social media marketing? Is long form written content making a comeback?
Video is not used enough in B2B, or if it is, it isn’t used well enough. Don’t create videos for the sake of it, a bad quality video is like a badly written article. You cannot have a visual medium where the content is boring, and the sound and visual quality is subpar. Make sure your content is compelling, whatever format it’s in – there is no such thing as content that is too long, but there is content that is too boring.
A7: Each content format has its place. Video & audio serve different purposes to written articles and achieve different results. When choosing best format, start with the end goal and work backwards👍 #OnaChat#B2BMarketing #InfluencerMarketing #TechMarketing pic.twitter.com/N9mI7l2GWG
— Beverley Eve #TechForGood #MWC22 (@BevEve) January 26, 2022
A7: Video, pods and audio chat are on the rise, but doing them well is not.
Many are just plain boring and competition for attention is stiff. Focus on why your content matters to your audience and design for thumb stopping content not repurpose broadcast! #onachat https://t.co/3mAdiqZ5ZX
— Katy Howell (@katyhowell) January 26, 2022
Huge fan of video, especially with the pandemic, but its not for everyone.
Pro-tip for parents: Use reading to your kids as practice for being on video. Bonus points for voices – it works!#OnaChat #InfluencerMarketing #SocialMedia
— Matthew Sekol (@MatthewSekol) January 26, 2022
How can influencers best be leveraged for online virtual events as well as in person events?
When people get influencers involved for events, whether they’re online or offline, they tend to forget about the period before and after the event. Influencers have the ability to market your event to their audience, and to talk about it afterwards. Don’t just involve them for a keynote and have them speak and leave, leverage them for the entire event journey.
This is one of my favorite questions.
Events, wether virtual or in-person, are an ideal opportunity to exponentially increase brand exposure before, during and after through influencer produced content and live coverage.#OnaChat #InfluencerMarketing #SocialMedia https://t.co/1vHEweWq2G
— Chelsea L. Andrews✨#MWC22 (@Chels_LA) January 26, 2022
A8.
For both plan a pre-during-post activation strategy.
In person: walk through area, booth capture, interviews with execs/ SMEs.
We once did a live competition for @PSG_English football shirts – live draw drew the crowds + we went live on periscope with the winners.#OnaChat pic.twitter.com/XvvvPYuAkK
— Treasa Dovander (@treasadovander) January 26, 2022
In our next #OnaChat session, we’ll be talking about the Future of Work, if you’d like to tune in, be sure to add it to your calendar!