What to consider when developing a B2B paid social strategy

After attending Diana Mereoiu’s talk at the brightonSEO Conference 2022, AUK’s Em Deaville breaks down the best way of getting to the point when planning the social strategy of B2B products. 

The buying process for a B2B product usually takes longer than that of a B2C product, as there can be up-to 7 different stages within a team’s buying process before they will commit to your product:  ‘59% of buying teams will have a minimum of 4 team members involved.’ These stages include (1) initial contact, (2) qualification, (3) assessment, (4) sales pitch or product demo, (5) proposal and handling objections, (6) closing the deal and (7) following up.

When it comes to the paid social strategy of B2B products, considering that 7-stage buying journey is something which we must consider. It’s our job to drive those leads so that our clients see a return on their investment. Learning what works with your audience can be crucial for the initial attraction of your product, but how do we learn what does and doesn’t work? 

Testing

When it comes to testing, we need to consider that the testing time is longer for B2B products. Testing helps us to learn more about what works and what doesn’t with the audience, allowing us insights into their preferences. There are plenty of things we can test when running a campaign, including audiences, messaging and content!

Messaging

Typically rational and direct messaging is better for driving those short-term results, whereas emotive messaging can have more of an impact long-term as it will help to build on the branding goals. Testing the messaging helps you see the short-term and longer interests which drive people further down the funnel.

Content

Mixing content styles can help to appeal to different people within the audience. Including a mix of abstract and concrete content helps circulate different elements of your brand, grasping your audience’s attention. They want the results that make your product worthwhile, but they also want to hear from other customers about the product that helped them. This is something which can be tested on different stages of the funnel.

It’s also important to consider re-circulating different content. An ad may have worked well 4 months ago, so share it again. Remind people of your product. It helps to have more of an always-on approach so you’re constantly connecting with your current and potential customers. 

So, what are our 3 takeaways from Diana Mereoiu’s talk:

• There is at least a 7-stage buying process for B2B products
• Consider longer testing periods and different ways of testing 
• Re-use existing content. The messaging behind is still valid so why not reshare?

Need support reaching your B2B paid social objectives? AUK can help. Get in touch with us today at hello@agencyuk.com.