What’s the Difference Between B2C and B2B Social Media Marketing?

What’s the Difference Between B2C and B2B Social Media Marketing? – According to a recent report, almost a full 100% of Fortune 500 companies rely on social media to some degree these days when it comes to marketing. Many of them have established social media teams that handle everything from their Facebook and Instagram posts to their Twitter and TikTok accounts.

If your company doesn’t have a social media team set up yet, you should change that ASAP. You should also learn about the differences between B2C and B2B social media marketing.

The answer to the question, “Is social media worth it for B2B and B2C companies?”, is always a resounding “yes!” But you will have to be familiar with B2C and B2B social media strategies to make the most of your social media team.

This article will discuss B2B vs. B2C marketing and should help shed some light on the approach you’ll need to take on social media marketing. Discover all about the differences below.

What Is B2C Social Media Marketing?

Before we begin talking about the differences that exist between B2C and B2B social media marketing, it’s important for you to know what each of them are. So we’re going to begin by breaking down what B2C social media marketing is.

A B2C company is a business that specializes in catering to the needs of consumers. B2C companies tend to cast a very wide net by trying to convince as many consumers as they can to invest in their products and/or services.

Because of this, B2C companies often engage in social media marketing that sees them trying to form connections with the consumers that they want to reach. They’ll typically utilize social media to post about their latest products and/or services in an attempt to draw some attention to them.

What Is B2B Social Media Marketing?

While B2C companies spend their time forming connections with consumers, B2B companies take a different approach to doing business. Their main goal is to reach out to and connect with other businesses out there that might be interested in purchasing their products and/or services.

Oftentimes, B2B companies won’t even bother selling their products and/or services to average consumers. So they also won’t take the time to try to market these products and/or services to them through the usage of social media.

There are some B2B companies that might overlap with B2C companies just a little and use some of the B2C best social media practices. But generally speaking, these companies are going to use B2B social media strategies almost exclusively.

Which Things Make B2C and B2B Social Media Marketing Different?

Now that you know about some of the basic differences between B2C and B2B companies, it’s time to get down to business. We’re going to run through some of the biggest differences between B2C and B2B social media marketing.

We’ve highlighted five of the most obvious differences between how B2C companies approach social media marketing versus how B2B companies do it. Read about them below.

Audience

Even after hearing about what sets B2C and B2B companies apart, you might still be under the impression that all of these companies are trying to hunt down the same audience. But this couldn’t be further from the truth!

B2C companies have a much larger audience than they can go after. Their audience is essentially going to be anyone and everyone who might be interested in their products and/or services.

Because of this, B2C companies have to sign up for most social media platforms and do what they can to get as many likes, comments, and shares as they can on them. This guide provides some insight into how they can do it on a platform like Instagram.

B2B companies, meanwhile, don’t necessarily need to have accounts on every single social media platform that’s out there. Instead, they need to find out where the businesses that they’re trying to target are and seek them out on social media.

Tone

Outside of the fact that B2C and B2B companies try to target different audiences on social media, they also use two very different tones while doing it. If your B2C or B2B company uses the wrong tone, it could backfire on you in a big way.

B2C companies usually have a lot more freedom when it comes to what they can post on social media. They’re allowed to be silly, funny, and more lighthearted when they’re putting up social media posts. Their goal is to get a rise out of their audience in one way or another.

B2B companies, on the other hand, don’t have as much freedom. They’re forced to take on a more serious tone when they’re posting on social media. They want to try to educate the businesses that might be able to benefit from their products and/or services.

If a B2C company is too serious on social media, they won’t always get the kinds of responses that they’re looking for. The same goes for a B2B company that isn’t serious enough. Both B2C and B2B companies should stay in their respective lanes when posting on social media.

Frequency

B2C and B2B companies should both avoid putting up too many posts on social media throughout the course of a normal business day. This could scare people off and prevent them from wanting to follow different businesses.

But at the same time, B2C and B2B companies should also take different approaches to how often they post. B2C companies can get away with posting a little bit more than B2B ones do.

Since B2C social media posts are often on the more lighthearted side, it won’t take consumers too long to consume them. As a result, B2C companies can keep these kinds of posts coming without it being overkill.

But B2B companies have to be careful about doing this. Their posts are typically filled with information, and if they go too overboard, they’ll run the risk of overwhelming their audience.

Interaction

B2C and B2B companies should both try to get into the habit of interacting with people on social media. But they aren’t going to be able to do it in the same way.

B2C companies should strive to find some of the best comments from consumers and respond to them. There is a greater chance of their posts going viral when they’re communicating with interesting people.

B2B companies need to make it a point to interact with almost all of the businesses that comment on their posts. They can’t afford to miss out on a business opportunity because they didn’t take the time to communicate with another company online.

The good news is that B2B companies tend to have a lot fewer comments and other forms of communication coming in. It should make dealing with them more manageable for their social media teams.

Goals

At the end of the day, B2C and B2B companies both have similar goals as far as social media marketing goes. They want to get a social media ROI in the form of sales. But they’re going to take two very different approaches to get to this common goal.

B2C companies won’t constantly try to beat consumers over the head with their products and/or services. They’ll mention them every so often. But they’ll also try to form genuine connections with consumers to build up brand awareness and create cultural currency.

Conversely, B2B companies will make it their mission to devote almost all of their social media posts to their products and/or services. Their goal will be to educate other businesses about them in the hopes of scoring sales in the future.

Again, both types of companies are trying to make money in the end by using B2C and B2B social media marketing to their advantage. But they aren’t always using social media marketing with the same strategies in mind.

Be Sure Your Company Takes the Right Approach to Social Media Marketing

At this point, you know all the differences between B2C and B2B social media marketing. The only thing left to do is to sit down and decide how you’ll approach social media marketing from now on.

Begin by figuring out what kind of company that you’re running. Then, use the correct B2C or B2B social media strategies to ensure that you aren’t missing the mark when you’re marketing your company to a specific audience.

Would you like to get your hands on more B2C and B2B social media marketing tips? Find them by checking out the rest of our blog.