Description: The article discusses the content development and promotional strategy which can help boring B2B businesses get more social shares especially when they don’t have a mass following on the social media.
According to a study, only 10% of the articles published on the internet get more than 100 shares, and only 1% of them get more than 10000 shares. Established brands tend to get more social shares as compared to small or new businesses. Reputed brands enjoy the trust of a vast number of followers on the social media. They also have a decent marketing budget which plays a crucial role in amplifying the reach on social media. Also, B2C businesses create interesting commercials and content that appeals to a young audience. Thus, they create a buzz through interesting mass campaigns.
However, it doesn’t mean that B2B businesses which are into boring businesses will not get shares. You simply need be creative and persistent, the results will follow. Some tweaks in your content and promotional strategy can help you achieve a decent number of social shares.
Here are some strategic changes in the approach that lead to more social shares:
Changes in the Content
Content is the most crucial element of any social media marketing strategy. Thus, you must master the art of writing content which encourages or inspires more users to share it with their acquaintances.
I recommend the following changes in the content to make it viral:
Primary Research – Doing a primary research and getting insights may be difficult but a necessary exercise to gain attention on the social media. Writing how-to and industry tips may not be very useful for boring and niche B2B businesses due to excessive coverage of the same on the internet. Thus, it is important to find interesting insights about the end use of your products or services and publish first-hand information. Since it requires a lot of work, conducting the research once in 1 or 3 months is enough to get noticed. Remember that for niche B2B businesses, the quality and authenticity of content is more important than the quantity or design.
Article length – Article length does matter. Longer articles tend to have more useful information at once place, and therefore, elicit more response from the users. Although there is no universal agreement on the standard number of words that can make content viral, articles with 1500+ words tend to perform better than smaller articles.
Make the content easy to read and understand – It goes without saying. The content should be simple enough so that it can be understood by anyone. Use simple language and write short paragraphs (3-5 lines) so that the readers can easily skim through the content and get the gist of it quickly. Structure your content in a logical way so that users can read the entire article without breaking their flow.
Make your content distinct – Put your personality into the content and take stand for what you believe in, even if it makes the content controversial or funny. Give it a human face (write in the first person) and put statistics to make your argument persuasive. Revealing more personal information about yourself or your business will make your blog more authentic and lead to more social shares. Relating your content to current affairs can also help in gaining traction.
Publish Interviews
Interviews work well on social media. You can interview your clients, dignitaries, influencers, acquaintances, regulators, and other prominent figures who could be related to your business. Publish it on social media, tag the interviewer and ask them to share the interview on their social media pages too. Over time, you will see a dramatic jump in overall social shares.
Making changes in the content may lead to more shares if you already have some readers. If you have no audience at the moment, make the following changes in the promotion strategy.
Changes in Promotion Strategy
Title and Description on Social Media – You may choose a title and a description of the content to gain maximum SEO benefits. However, the same may not appeal to social users. Thus, when you promote the article on social media, you need to modify the title, and the description to attract the attention of users when they are scrolling down their social media timeline to find updates from their friends. Read this great formula by Neil Patel on writing great headlines.
Also, while publishing interviews on social media, take quotable quotes or some instance from their personal life (with the interviewers’ permission), behind the scenes, etc. to publicize the interview. Title and descriptions will play a very crucial role in the success of interview promotion on the social media.
Promote in Groups – Many marketers share their content only on the official social pages or the personal profiles. You need to join the relevant groups, especially on Facebook and LinkedIn, and share your content on these groups. Of course, don’t spam the groups, else you will be blocked permanently. Make some tweaks in the title and description while sharing the content in the groups.
Sponsor Posts – Don’t invest in building page followers or likes. Rather, spend in sponsored post, and you will get relevant traffic as well as some page likes. Since organic reach is declining consistently on social media, sponsoring posts is quite helpful in reaching more audience. Moreover, it doesn’t require a huge budget. For instance, if you publish eight blogs per month, then spending $40 per month ($5 per blog) on sponsoring posts will go a long way in amplifying your reach and social shares.
Bottom Line
Many B2B marketers avoid taking a risk when it comes to marketing. They follow the industry trend. If you want to make a mark, then go beyond the mentality of following the norms and carve a niche for yourself. Dare to be funny, creative and different. And you will see a significant surge in social shares as well as buzz around your business.
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