Business to government–or B2G–marketing strategy can differ significantly from B2C–or business to consumer–or B2B–business to business marketing strategies. There are many considerations that B2G marketing teams may need to take that may not be applicable to marketing teams targeting consumers and other businesses. For one, the procurement process can look quite different to that of a business. It can be quite complex. What’s more, budgetary constraints can be non-negotiable, or a primary consideration. Finally, the hierarchical organisation of government entities can be such that those who are able to sign off on important decisions and purchases may be difficult to easily identify and message to.
Despite these considerations, B2G strategy can have a lot in common with any marketing strategy . While the differences between these marketing strategies can be important to consider, it’s also important to remember that procurement professionals in government organisations are people too; they can be swayed by marketing messages, and have human needs and wants as everyone else. As such, just as is the case with B2C and B2B marketing, social media can be an important digital marketing channel that should not be overlooked–even social media platforms that may be commonly thought of as for personal rather than business use can be highly important channels for your marketing efforts.
So what are the best social media platforms for B2G marketing? If you’re wondering, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll explore some of the best social media platforms for B2G marketing, as well as some additional considerations you may take as you embark on your social media marketing journey. Let’s dive in.
Linkedin is a wonderful platform with millions of users around the globe–in fact, as of January 2023, over nine hundred million users. That’s a lot of people–and to B2G organisations, represents a notable opportunity for making connections and creating important working relationships with those among them who work as procurement professionals or decision makers in government entities. There’s a lot to love about Linkedin–it’s a great place to start conversations, and you may find that there’s a courteous and professional culture among many Linkedin users. To make the best use of Linkedin, there are some important things to remember:
- Linkedin allows the creation and publication of articles. This makes it a somewhat novel platform and B2G organisations can use this feature to position themselves as thought leaders.
- Linkedin has excellent and robust advertising tools, which government servicing organisations can make use of to reach even more users.
- Linkedin has premium features, which can be particularly helpful to marketers. These include Inmail that enables you to message users whom you’ve yet to connect with, Sales Navigator which helps marketers find leads, and more.
Twitter is yet another excellent platform for B2G organisations looking to create meaningful professional relationships with relevant users who operate in procurement capacities within government entities. Twitter is a bustling social media platform that’s commonly used by government officials, famous personas, businesses, and organisations. Many users stay on Twitter in order to keep up with current events and feel that it helps them know what’s going on in the world. With hundreds of millions of users, this too represents a significant opportunity for B2G organisations looking to forge important partnerships and relationships. In order to make the best use of Twitter, there are a few important things to keep in mind:
- One of Twitter’s strong points for marketers is that Twitter keeps track of trending topics. For B2G organisations, this can be important to keep in mind. B2G organisations can use trending topic tools to keep track of important trends that affect government organisations. This can help organisations with early engagement, meaning they’re able to stay on top of trending topics and take action.
- Twitter also has excellent advertising tools. Just as is the case with any other social media platform, these can be an effective way to reach a wider audience, even in B2G marketing.
With nearly 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is by far, the most popular social media platform in the world. Naturally, this should not be overlooked by marketing teams whether they be B2G, B2C, or B2B. As a platform with so many users, facebook represents a huge opportunity to reach vast audiences. In order to best leverage this vast user base, there are some important things to remember:
- Facebook allows you to create business pages. This can be a great way to show what your organisation has to offer. Your business page can act like a facebook-native landing page for your business.
- Facebook Insights are quite useful. Facebook has robust insight tools that you can use to optimise and track your marketing efforts.
- Facebook live is an excellent tool for creating engaging content. This can help B2G marketers connect with their audience.
Youtube
Though Youtube is often thought of as simply for entertainment, it’s also useful for building meaningful connections with your audience, providing useful information, and sharing important information with people. With hundreds of millions of users, Youtube represents yet another important opportunity to B2G marketing teams. In order to make the best use of this social video-sharing platform, there are some important things to keep in mind:
- It can be particularly important to create high quality videos and audio.
- Remember to promote Youtube content among other social media channels. Youtube is a wonderful platform for sharing videos, but aside from your subscriber list, it isn’t guaranteed that your audience will be notified that you’ve posted a video. As such, it can be important to promote them across different channels
- Creating informative and entertaining videos can help draw users. While you may primarily focus on creating informative videos, entertaining videos can also help you reach important decision makers.
The Bottom Line
Though B2G marketing can differ greatly from B2C or B2B marketing–it’s important to remember that your audience is human. Even procurement professionals within government organisations like to be entertained and can be affected by effective marketing. As such, social media can be an important part of a B2G sales strategy. No matter which social media platforms you use, it’s important to remember some solid rules for engagement:
- Ask your audience questions and encourage them to engage.
- Be patient, and create consistent content.
- Utilise success metrics and analytics to track your efforts.
By making the best use of social media platforms, you may find that you’re able to reach wider audiences, engage with important audiences, and create meaningful professional relationships. And if you’re looking to change the way you approach your digital marketing campaign–you don’t have to do it alone. Be sure to reach out and schedule a meeting. At Cadence marketing, we can help you create effective digital campaigns with compelling content.
