Can Organic Social Media Help With B2B Lead Generation
Let’s be real: generating B2B leads through organic social media is a long arduous process. Above all, in the grand scheme of content marketing, one single post looks relatively minor and hardly makes a dent. But there’s a reason why most of us want to be on social media: to inform, to connect, and to influence.
So if we agree that it’s important to connect organically, then why do so many of the b2b lead generation strategy talks revolve around promotional methods?
Before we even consider how an organic growth plan fits into the whole B2B lead generation strategy, let’s just clear one thing: It is totally unreasonable to expect every organic social media post to generate leads. Here’s why:
Firstly, the average user is bombarded with numerous posts daily, making it difficult for any single post to stand out and drive immediate action. It’s as good as trying to build a presence in a saturated market. It usually requires a consistent and strategic approach, combining multiple marketing efforts.
Secondly, at any given instance, about 95% of B2B company’s customers are not actively seeking goods or services. Hence, not every post will resonate with all segments of your audience. Social media users have varied needs and the timing of your post may not align with when they’re most receptive or in need of your product or service. For example, a post about a new product feature might only attract leads from a segment actively looking for that feature, not the broader audience.
Thirdly, social media algorithms prioritize content based on various factors like user engagement and relevance. Your post may not reach a large audience, which can limit its potential to generate leads. Even if the content strategy for B2B is excellent, its visibility is not guaranteed.
But despite these shortcomings here’s why organic social media is effective in generating leads over time.
Focus on Building a Loyal Community
Social media algorithms focus on building a feed that showcases the most relevant content or people to engage with. This means that if you are publishing professionally relevant content you will benefit from organic distribution through your network. It allows you to connect to a large group of professionals who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.
This community can become advocates for your brand, spreading the word and indirectly generating leads through word-of-mouth referrals.
Multiple content formats
Rather than just long-text posts, organic social media allows you to play around with different content formats to convey necessary information and engage your audience at the same time. You can embed rich media posts like videos, and also deliver information through carousels, and upload PPTs, PDFs, and docs.
So you can mix up your feed while keeping the focus on your audience’s needs to grab their attention and broaden engagement and reach.
Amplifying content reach
When you have an engaged social media audience, your content can reach far beyond your immediate followers. All engagements including likes, shares, and comments help in increasing the visibility of your content. How does this work? Think of all the times you have seen a post from a company you do not follow just because someone you follow has liked it.
Social media uses the principle of social proof to promote content to a broader audience, including people who don’t follow the original account, creating a ripple effect.
Support for other marketing efforts
Think of all the formats you have at your behest. Live stream, lead gen forms, video posts, text posts. Can you connect it seamlessly with your other marketing initiatives? Yes.
Organic social media can be an excellent way to promote your webinars, conferences, and product launches. Your engaged followers are more likely to share event details, leading to greater attendance and participation. Live updates and interactions during events can further increase engagement and visibility.
By sharing snippets of valuable content or offering exclusive promotions to your followers, you can encourage them to sign up for your emails, which can drive more traffic and conversions through targeted email campaigns.
Cornerstone of future development
A dedicated organic social media following is a powerful asset. It is the interested and invested audience so much that it is the market itself. This opens up a world of new possibilities as these followers are more likely to engage with content and share it within their networks.
By engaging with followers and asking for their opinions, through polls and comments, you can gather data that informs product development, marketing strategies, and customer service improvements. This two-way communication fosters a sense of community and loyalty, making followers feel valued and heard.
This feedback loop can enhance your overall marketing efforts.
Organic posts contribute to the long-term goal of building trust and authority within your industry. They may not produce immediate leads but are essential for establishing your brand’s credibility and nurturing relationships over time. Whether or not this will lead to lead generation is a factor of time and quality content. Which is why we believe in the power of thought leadership content pieces.
Thought-leadership content cuts through the noise to resonate with the audience it is meant for. It educates and engages them which is critical in the high-value B2B industry. Businesses can impart thought leadership in the form of image posts, text posts, videos, webinars, and live streams. The key is to deep-dive into research and give a novel viewpoint. But how do you give that value if you have zero experience in the industry? Here’s our guide to creating high-quality thought leadership content at any level for any industry.
The key to successfully leveraging organic social media for B2B lead generation is to look at it like a relationship management mechanism. It does not work on the ‘set it and forget it strategy.’ Effective outcomes require dynamic conversations that define the business relationship and ultimately organizational success.
In the end, if your content strikes the right cord, organic social media might turn out to be more than just the right thing to do for you.
