We all know the drill: you're being encouraged to talk about yourself, your company and your achievements, all while fitting into some viral hashtag or challenge that feels completely out of your comfort zone. While that content has its place in the B2C world, your business deserves a social media strategy that's unique to your organisation, your expertise and your clients. 

It should work for you, not the other way around. And I'm going to show you how to get started. 

Have You Aligned Your Social Media Goals With Your Business Goals?

Every decision you make about social media must align with your overall business objectives. This isn't about posting for the sake of posting — your social media needs to fuel your business growth. Whether you're looking to generate leads, raise brand awareness, or position yourself as an industry authority, your goals should be clear, measurable and laser-focused.

If your company is a manufacturing business focused on growing its distribution network, your goal might be to increase engagement with supply chain decision-makers or procurement managers through case studies or product demos.

Your goals will drive the type of content you produce, the platforms you choose and the budget you allocate. 

Get this right from the start.

How to Choose the Right Social Media Platform

Don't waste your time (or resources) trying to be everywhere. Focus on quality over quantity. For most B2B manufacturing, engineering and service companies, LinkedIn should be your primary platform. 

Why? It's where your target audience — C-suite executives, managers, engineers and procurement officers — are active. You may also consider YouTube for product demos and X (formerly Twitter) for quick industry updates or thought leadership.

Don't spread yourself thin. Pick two or three platforms, research where your audience is most active and double down on those. 

Having multiple platforms is great, but only if you can manage them properly. Otherwise, you'll end up diluting your brand message and wasting time. 

Do You Know Your Audience?

Guessing your audience's needs will leave you spinning your wheels. Use data-driven insights to understand your audience's behaviour. Social media platforms offer robust analytics, so use them to get detailed insights into your target audience's demographics, interests and activity patterns.

Pro Tip: If you're targeting decision-makers in manufacturing, look for LinkedIn insights on job titles (e.g. Supply Chain Manager, Director of Engineering) and tailor your content to their pain points.

Once you know who they are, ask yourself: Are they just learning about your product, or are they ready to pull the trigger? Knowing where they sit in the customer journey funnel is critical. Also, make sure you're measuring these insights regularly. Adjust your approach if you see content that's not resonating.

What Metrics Matter to You?

Numbers don't lie, but only if you're tracking the right ones. Focus on metrics that help you achieve your business objectives. Here's a guide:

If your goal is customer acquisition …

For many B2B businesses, social media is a crucial part of the lead-to-customer journey. Customer acquisition cost (CAC) tells you how much you are spending on social media to acquire a new customer. This is key for understanding ROI.

It's also worth tracking the number of closed deals or contracts that originated from social media channels.

If your goal is lead generation …

The click-through rate is the percentage of people who click on your social media post to visit your website, landing page, or other desired locations. A high CTR indicates that your content and CTAs (calls to action) are compelling.

The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who take a desired action after clicking through, such as signing up for a newsletter, requesting a demo, or downloading a whitepaper. This helps assess how well social media traffic is being converted into leads.

If your goal is brand awareness ...

Follower growth rate measures how fast your social media following is growing. A steady increase indicates that your brand is gaining recognition.

Mentions and brand sentiment help you gauge public perception and awareness. Then there's share of voice, which refers to how often your brand is mentioned compared to competitors on social media. It gives you an idea of your market position and how you're stacking up in your industry.

If your goal is engagement …

Likes, shares and comments help measure how well your audience is interacting with your content. The engagement rate is the number of interactions (likes, comments, shares) divided by the total number of followers. 

Meanwhile, reach measures how many people saw your post, while impressions track how many times your post was displayed. High impressions indicate visibility, while high reach means you are reaching new audiences.

How to Create and Share Content That Supports Your Strategy

Now, let's get down to actually creating content. But not just any content. It must be strategic. The right content will drive your B2B goals, and you can start by defining your content pillars; these are the core themes your audience cares about. 

Step 1: Define Your Brand's Content Pillars

Content pillars are the foundation of your content strategy. They should align with your audience's needs and the goals of your business. For example, if your company provides industrial automation solutions, your pillars might be:

Educational and Thought Leadership Content

Position your company as a leader in the industrial automation space by sharing valuable insights and industry knowledge. This type of content builds credibility and helps your audience understand the value of automation in their operations.

Case Studies and Success Stories

Highlight real-world examples where your automation solutions have transformed businesses. Show measurable results such as cost savings, productivity increases and efficiency improvements.

Product Demonstrations

Share videos or interactive posts that show how your products work in action. This could include system integration, real-time data collection, or automation of specific tasks.

Company Culture and Behind-the-Scenes

While B2B marketing is largely focused on products and services, showing the human side of your business can help build rapport and trust with your audience.

Networking and Collaborations

 Announce any partnerships, collaborations, or joint ventures that reflect your company's influence in the industry.

Step 2: Create Your Content Plan

Now that you have your pillars, it's time to plan out your content. This doesn't have to be complex — simplicity works. Use a content calendar to map out your posts, including the format (video, article, infographic), topic and the platform where each will be posted.

If you want to make your content creation process even more streamlined, use a content calendar to track what's been posted, what's in the pipeline and what needs more attention.

Step 3: Feed Your Content Calendar

The key to maintaining consistency is organisation. Having a content calendar will help you plan ahead, schedule posts and track performance. This structure ensures that you're consistently sharing relevant content without scrambling for ideas every week.

Not convinced you need a content calendar? Read on.

  • A content calendar helps you plan ahead, ensuring you're always posting relevant content without last-minute stress. It's the best way to align your content with business goals, industry events, and promotions.
  • Avoid posting the same types of content too often. With a calendar, you can balance themes like product demos, customer stories and industry insights, keeping your content fresh and varied.
  • Align with campaigns. Sync your calendar with your sales cycles, product launches, or key industry events. If you're preparing for a product release or a trade show, your posts should build awareness leading up to it.

Step 4: Repurpose and Recycle Content

Creating content from scratch can be time-consuming, so get smart about it. Repurpose your top-performing blog posts, case studies, or videos into new formats. A well-performing blog can be transformed into:

  • an infographic highlighting key points
  • a series of shorter social media posts, and
  • a video summarising the blog's main takeaways.

You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Just leverage what's already working.

Time to Take Up Space on Social Media

You're now equipped with a no-nonsense B2B social media strategy. The next step is execution. Keep your strategy flexible — after three months, assess how well it's working, tweak it and add more fuel to your efforts. Consider paid advertising when you're ready to amplify your reach.

Now go on and get started! The digital world is moving fast, and every second you spend debating strategy is a second you're not building your brand.

For more information, visit www.shiftone.co.za. You can also follow Shift ONE Digital on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of Facebook