When speaking to B2B businesses in Dubai about social media, we're often presented with this statement: "For our company, we need to just focus on LinkedIn as we only want to focus on corporates." The logic used here is simple as LinkedIn is known as the serious social media, the platform where you wouldn't naturally post videos of your cat, or your kids, or you - other than your fun-free profile picture.
But is this holding companies back and are they missing a trick here? After all, aren’t we all human? But are companies missing a trick here? After all, aren't we all human? According to recent most recent statistics, almost 79% of the UAE’s population has profiled on Facebook. In real numbers, this represents approximately 7.77 million people. It can also be safely assumed that most mature internet users that can be found on LinkedIn can also be found on Facebook.
In a country where most of us are expatriates and with the high cost of telephone calls to many of our home countries, platforms such as Facebook play an active role in connecting us with our friends and family across the world.
Therefore, there's a great chance that your target customers, despite being serious business people, can be found on Facebook and other, less-corporate(y) platforms. If you use this to your advantage, your social media activity not only turns into a brand visibility channel but also a highly effective lead generation tool for your business. For B2B companies, a single sale could be worth millions both in terms of initial sales values but especially when you consider the perpetual value of that customer over a period of time. Therefore, understanding where those decision makers both spend time and absorb/digest content can potentially change how you market your business in the future.
Accounts Based Marketing and Social Media for B2B in 2023
Accounts Based Marketing (ABM) is one of the most effective marketing strategies for B2Bs this year, following on from its rise during 2020. ABM is a highly targeted approach to marketing and it focuses on marketing your business to decision makers within your target market, and it is done by using content that is specifically designed for these individuals and businesses.
Social Media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and even Instagram can help you target the companies and individuals that are a part of your ABM strategy, and ABM using social media will reach them at each stage of the buyer’s journey, making it the perfect advertising tool for your ABM initiative.
Paid social media advertisements will help you reach these industry decision makers and assist in your ABM efforts. Facebook and LinkedIn are particularly powerful social media platforms for ABM marketing, helping you target your ads directly to the relevant decision makers. Databases such as HubSpot’s software are an excellent place to begin creating your audiences. Through this platform, you are able to build a contact list in the CRM and use the database for your social media ads. With this list, you are able to build custom audiences, which is incredibly effective on Facebook. If you do not have HubSpot, you are also able to build your list and upload it to Facebook as a CSV file.
By using your database you are also able to target a look-a-like audience, that is, individuals who are similar to the individuals within your current database. Facebook offers look-a-like audiences and lead ads that can be used as part of your ABM strategy, helping you target contacts at certain businesses that you would like to be in contact with. AB and social media ads work well together, helping you reach your target market directly.
Learn more about Accounts Based Marketing, here.
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