According to a post on the Marketing Insider Group, about 70% of internet users are now social network users— a figure expected to grow. As the roles of social networks and mobile devices grow side-by-side, they increasingly come into the purview of B2B marketers, particularly as new features and functions roll out at astonishing speed. The fact is that a B2B marketing strategy that doesn’t take social media into consideration is lacking an essential component.

A post on Webbiquity points to three practical tips for using social media in B2B marketing; they’re worth reviewing here:

1. Employ someone who knows social media, not just your business.
   When making hiring decisions, it often makes the most sense to employ someone who is either already familiar with your business itself or at least knows your industry. While this is helpful for many of the other positions you need to fill, this is not always the best approach to achieving social media success. Because social media is such a unique area, it often makes sense to step outside traditional comfort zones and hire someone who’s a social media expert, even if they come from outside your industry. It will be much easier for someone to quickly learn the ins and outs of your business or market than to understand how to find success using social media.
2. Use social media as a content springboard.
   Social media is good for far more than just sharing cat videos and witty comments about trendy topics. To set yourself up for B2B social media success, consider that social media is really the perfect platform to help you launch content in a whole new arena, According to Olsy Sorokina, a contributor to hootsuite.com, using social media as a form of content promotion can get your topic in front of people who wouldn’t otherwise find your website. And keep in mind that this doesn’t only pertain to blogs, although creating a blog for your business and using social media to showcase that blog within the right communities is a great strategy. You can also create any number of content assets, like videos or infographics, that may work better for your industry and the professionals within it.
3. Understand that using social media is for more than just personal connections.
   Some B2B businesses are hesitant to fully utilize social media for marketing because they view social media as mainly used for making personal connections. While this is definitely one of the benefits of social media, Allen Narcisse, a contributor to the Content Marketing Institute, shares that professionals also use social media to get their news, keep pace with the market, and learn about new developments in their specific fields. The right social media channels could be the ideal place for your business to market and advertise, even if you’re not looking to reach millennial consumers.