Social Media Marketing in B2B: Create Posts That Drive Leads

Social media’s purpose has transformed over the years, coming a long way since MySpace. What was once primarily a place to share photos and connect with friends (or Tom) has become a powerful business tool.

Yes, even for B2B companies.

Social media marketing in B2B campaigns can be a powerful way for businesses to communicate directly with decision makers, establish thought leadership, build relationships with colleagues, and generate high-quality leads.

The key is having the right types of content and focusing your efforts on the platforms where your audience is most active.

Your B2B prospects are already active on platforms like LinkedIn, sharing information with their colleagues. It’s time to make that information yours.

Learn how to maximize your lead generation results with these key social media considerations

5 Tips to Improve Social Media Engagement Posts

Anyone can post on social media (hence why Twitter/X is a cesspool), but not every post will drive results. To make your content more effective, it’s important to follow best practices that help your posts stand out, engage your audience, and support your big-picture marketing goals.

1. Identify which channels your buyer personas are using.
2. Treat each social platform differently.
3. Be consistent.
4. Use action words and be human.
5. Build engagement.

1. Identify Which Channels Your Buyer Personas Are Using

It’s not important to have a presence on every social media channel. But, it is important to use the same social media channels that your personas do (especially if your competitors aren’t fully capitalizing on them).

Success starts with a clear understanding of your buyer personas, such as their age, job title, needs, challenges, and buying habits. From there, research which social media platform is most popular among your buyer personas to focus your efforts where they’ll have the greatest impact.  

 What's the point of sweating how to generate B2B leads on TikTok if your prospects don't use it? 

2. Treat Each Social Platform Differently

The copy-and-paste approach doesn't cut it anymore.

Even some people follow you on multiple social channels, their mindset and expectations differ on each one. A LinkedIn user is looking for professional content like networking opportunities and business trends, while that same person may hop on Facebook a few hours later for more personal content that relates to their interests.

Those audience expectations have a big impact on your content's performance. If your followers aren’t looking for what you're serving up, they'll scroll past quickly.

3. Be Consistent

Consistency is key to social media posting in terms of voice, content type, and frequency.

Voice is uniformity in the selection of words, attitude, and values. It's how a brand conveys its personality to its audience, and should not vary from one social media platform to another.

Note that voice is different from tone -- voice is your company brand, while tone is how you address each situation (being laid-back on X vs. being formal on LinkedIn vs. being artsy on Instagram).

We recommend the 10-4-1 rule for social media posting. For every 15 posts that are created, 10 posts are from third-party resources, four are from your own blog or content, and one is a call-to-action or an offer that leads your persona to a landing page.

The 10-4-1 rule creates a balance between your own content and other industry specific content that your personas find relevant. As with any inbound strategy, you should use 10-4-1 as a guideline, not a federal law -- tailor it as needed to your industry and your buyer personas.

4. Use Action Words in Your Messaging

The language you use in your social media posts can make your break what you’re trying to accomplish.

Your prospects need to click on your social posts before they convert.

Action words and curiosity will entice your personas to click on your posts.

For example, would you rather click on:

• “Do you have a sales problem? B2B content marketing might be the solution. Click here for more information.”
• “How CEOs can use B2B content marketing to fix sales problems”

Let me take a guess here, but I think you decided to click on the first one.

In the first post, the prospect is specifically being asked if they have a sales problem and are enticed to click to find out the solution. In the second post, the prospect isn’t enticed to do anything (except maybe scroll past the post in their news feed).

5. Build Engagement With Your Content

In most cases, B2B social media posts cannot generate leads on their own. They need content. Your content is the backbone of your social sharing.

When your content provides value and helps solve your audience’s pain points, it becomes much more effective at generating leads. Engagement isn’t limited to link clicks. Encouraging your audience to comment, share their opinions, or answer a question can help build relationships that eventually lead to conversions.

Bonus Tips for Lead Generation

With consistent posting and interactive content, social media can be a valuable channel for generating interest and attracting potential leads.

That said, social media should complement, not replace, your broader marketing efforts.

Some additional common and effective lead generation strategies include:

• Educational blog posts
• SEO and AEO
• Videos & podcasts

Blogging

Avoid generic, surface-level tips and focus on blogging content with an engineer’s or procurement specialist’s mindset. Comparative blog posts and comprehensive guides solve specific pain points your audience may be facing.

The conclusion section of a blog post is ideal for sharing lead magnets, such as interactive tools, lead generation checklists, and visual resources that make next steps more accessible and actionable.

SEO and AEO

SEO (search engine optimization) and AEO (answer engine optimization) work hand-in-hand with prospect engagement. SEO helps your website show up when people search for information on search engines like Google. AEO helps your content be pulled as direct answers when questions are asked on AI tools.

By creating valuable content and naturally sprinkling in relevant keywords and expertise, you improve the likelihood that search engines and AI platforms will source your information. Ultimately, that’ll drive more visitors to your website.

Videos and Podcasts

In recent years, video content and podcasts have emerged as some of the most effective B2B lead generation tools. Both formats offer unique opportunities to engage your audience, showcase your expertise, and build trust with potential customers. Many B2B products and services are easier to explain with visuals rather than words, so videos can be especially effective for showing your machinery, process, and more.

By sharing thought leadership through videos and podcasts, businesses can position themselves as industry authorities.

Of course, these aren't the only great lead generation ideas for B2B out there.

If you need more tips straight from a B2B lead generation company, download our Greatest Lead Generation Tips by clicking below:

(Editor's note: This article was originally published in March 2017 and was recently updated.)