Whether you are already social media savvy or just starting to use it, you undoubtedly understand that it is a growing and important part of your business. How do B2B businesses capitalize on these tools and use them attract potential customers?

There are several simple ways to optimize your various social media channels. We have picked the most popular social media sites for business (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) and compiled a list of best practices that will help take your social to the next level.

Regardless of which social media accounts you are using, the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” rings true. Images and videos engage consumers significantly more than written content. This doesn’t mean that you should only post images, but include them when appropriate.

When it comes to social media, informative, accurate and pertinent content is the primary way to engage your followers and grow your following. Understanding that relevant content both written and visual is the most important aspect of social media; let’s examine commonly overlooked areas that you should be paying attention to.

Overall Keywords

If you are using multiple social media channels – have you considered your keywords? You should ensure that there is uniformity in your profile descriptions and that the same keywords span across all of them. Make it easy for search engines to find your social media accounts. As a general rule, use branded cover photos and background images with links back to your website and to your other social media sites. Make it impossible for the consumers to say they couldn’t find you online.

Facebook Best Practices

  • Allow users to send you personal messages, this will allow you to have private conversations to address your potential and current customers’ questions.
  • As we mentioned above, publish visual content. Facebook’s timeline lends itself very well to visual content. Don’t limit yourself to photos, also include charts, tables, infographics, illustrations, cartoons, and videos.
  • Publish content more than once a day if you can. After approximately three hours, your latest post has become old news and fresh stories are filling up your followers’ feeds.
  • Use the Facebook Toolbar to display your different Calls to Actions. This is the bar below your cover image, which typically includes Photos and Like icons. You can take the functionality of this toolbar a step further. For example, the Twix Facebook page includes a link to their YouTube page in this toolbar and the Starbucks Canada Facebook page includes links to a map of their locations, open job postings and upcoming events.

LinkedIn Best Practices

  • Ensure that your company can be easily found in the LinkedIn business directory.
  • Develop your brand as a thought leader. This means posting regular status updates that include links back to your website, blog, and social media sites. The Mashable LinkedIn page does an excellent job of establishing themselves as a thought leader in online media through their frequent updates linking back to their website.
  • When appropriate, don’t just link back to your homepage but send users to specific landing pages within your website.

Twitter Best Practices

  • starbucks-facebookIn your description, include a call to action, hashtags (if appropriate) and links back to your website or to your other social media accounts. For example, Nordstrom includes their customer service phone number and the hashtag #nordstrom.
  • Ensure your branded background image is not covered by the twitter feed and can be easily and clearly viewable on any screen size. Have a look at the following Twitter accounts that take advantage of a full-width image, while leaving the background image-free: @CocaCola @porsche, @TiffanyAndCo
  • Include links to your website and other social media sites in your tweets.
  • You have heard this tip before – schedule your tweets ahead of time. Free up some of your time by using a scheduling tool to send out predetermined tweets. You can use a tool like HootSuite or Sprout Social for this, or the included tools in your HubSpot dashboard (if you are a HubSpot customer)

Remember, social media growth and success do not happen overnight. It will take time and patience. Don’t forget to track your growth rate to see how your efforts are working. And don’t do it all alone! Add administrators and encourage your employees to participate.

Did you want to learn more about optimizing your twitter presence specifically? Click below to get our free eBook today!

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Check out some of the following companies Social Media sites for inspiration, they are among some of our favourite: