In this article, you will learn how social media can unfold its full potential in B2B marketing. Based on the differences between B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer), we explain what is important in B2B social media marketing.

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Analogies to the music industry

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The music industry is a prominent example of how an entire sector has had to bow to the pressure of digitalization. The internet and the switch from physical to digital sound carriers opened up a new channel to the target group. This was more direct, did without traditional retail and, above all, without the labels as gatekeepers. This resulted in a shift in power. The internet and social media in particular enable artists to sell their music themselves. Platforms such as Soundcloud, Spotify and Bandcamp have turned this into a business model. This has created a new market that rewards artists who are able to market themselves and their music product. A current example of this type of music marketing comes from Fynn Kliemann, who produced, marketed and distributed his album on his own with a wide reach. Social media played a decisive role in this.

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While musicians such as Fynn Kliemann or Kanye West have perfected this, some B2B companies are still struggling to develop their social media skills. However, with the right strategy, B2B brands, products or services can be advertised much more effectively than many B2B marketers realize. Which brings us to the second unusual example: Jean Claude van Damme.

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The most successful B2B campaign of all time?

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The video "The Epic Split feat. Van Damme" from 2013 was part of a campaign by "Volvo Trucks". It shows the action star performing his signature move on a new level: a split between two moving trucks. The company, which used the commercial to promote its "Dynamic Steering System", which enables perfect straight-line stability at high speeds, scored a coup: The video achieved over 22 million views on YouTube in just four days. Today it has over 90 million. The highlight: the video was one of the first B2B commercials to be produced in the style of a B2C TV spot and premiered on YouTube.

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Today, "The Epic Split" is considered the most successful campaign in the B2B sector - and it was the expression of a double revolution: the emotionalization and digitalization of B2B marketing. A segment that until then was often quite dry and often neglected. 2013 can generally be seen as a year of increasing acceptance of digital content. The word "selfie" made it into the dictionary, the Pope opened an account on Twitter and the Harlem Shake Dance became one of the first internet memes to go viral worldwide.

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Digitalization paves the way for B2B (social media) marketing

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Due to the opportunities associated with the digitalization of global trade, the relevance of intermediaries is dwindling, as in the example of the music industry. The traditional, i.e. multi-level, distribution channel in B2B is under threat and is increasingly being questioned or circumvented by many manufacturers. If, for example, a tool manufacturer sells its products to dealers, who in turn sell them to tradespeople, the manufacturer can potentially do without middlemen thanks to its own online store - and achieve a higher profit margin. According to the "E-Commerce and Mail Order" study by IfH Cologne, the average EBIT margin of the most important European B2B IT distributors is one percent, while their suppliers earn around ten times as much.

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At a time when, according to the same study, nine out of ten B2B buyers are online and 50% of all B2B purchases are made online, all players need to think about how they can take advantage of the changes in marketing due to digitalization.

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Social media as a marketing discipline benefits from this, as B2B companies can use social media to establish very low-threshold initial direct contact with potential customers.

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Statistics from the "1st AK Social Media in B2B Communication" provide impressive evidence of the trend towards B2B social media marketing: while only around half of all B2B companies surveyed stated that they used social media in 2011, this figure had risen to over 95% by 2018. The digital marketing discipline has developed from a niche topic to an absolute "must-have" in just seven years.

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Differences between B2C and B2B: toothbrush vs. truck

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Let's visualize the differences between B2B and B2C using a comparison. A toothbrush has a potential customer base of almost every German citizen, let's say 60 million people. However, if you sell trucks, for example, your target group shrinks to a five-digit number. As a manufacturer of specialized special vehicles, the number of potential customers can be just a few hundred - and you should target them specifically.

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While the purchase of a toothbrush does not require much thought and is often spontaneous, decision-making in the business-to-business sector is much more complex. Several people are often involved: The so-called "buying center" includes decision preparers, middle managers, managing directors and even the purchasing department, which ultimately carries out the purchase. Each of these people has a different need for information. The purchasing process also takes significantly longer than buying a toothbrush in a drugstore. In addition, B2B products are often more expensive and more complex. A truck contains special technology that needs to be communicated to customers. Emotional content is also suitable here. Or do you think that the special features of Volvo's "Dynamic Steering System" can only be communicated via technical specifications in a brochure?

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On the Social DNA B2B Matrix you will find a comparison of the requirements for B2B marketers with the resulting consequences and the opportunities that social media marketing offers to meet them.

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Targeting opportunities as a decisive argument for B2B social media marketing

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Probably the strongest argument in favor of social media in the B2B sector is the granular targeting options. As described above, social media target groups are generally smaller and more specific than in the B2C sector. As it is possible to define and address target groups in the lower three-digit range on LinkedIn, Twitter, Xing, Facebook & Instagram, you can reach a highly qualified target group with a very low media budget. In years of working with B2B target groups, some targeting options have proven to be particularly effective. For example, you can create target groups with the "And must also" combination of fields of study, job titles and areas of interest. The use of specific companies, such as competitors or customers, is also valuable. This gives you the opportunity to include followers or employees of these companies in your targeting. You can always combine further and, for example, only target sales employees of a certain company in a specific region.

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Another very efficient B2B social media targeting method is to address trade fair visitors at the specific time of their trade fair appearance. In our blog post "Surprising ways to address your B2B target group on social media" you will find further inspiration.

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B2B Social Media Case Studies

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• Are you interested in social media marketing in the B2B sector but still have doubts? Read our case study to find out how reducing skepticism about the mechanisms of social advertising led to steep learning curves: Case study: Creating transparency and added value on the financial market: social advertising for international organization GLEIF
• Are you convinced by social media and want to ignite the spark in your organization? Read here how we at Tupperware got over 50 district retailers excited about social media: Case Study: Unleashing Social Media Potential: The Tupperware Social DNA
• This blog post is based on one of our presentations on B2B social media. The slides are included in our article: Slides and FAQs for the webinar "B2B Social Media Best Practices"