Have you ever watched YES? (We see you nodding, 368,000 Yankees fans.)

How about the Magnolia Network? (We see you too, 170,000 Chip and Joanna Gaines fans.)

Anyone binging on NFL Network? (Wow, you’re over 50 million strong, football fans.)

Those networks are, at their essence, brand channels. Each one offers content targeted to a specific audience that’s all in on the brand or lifestyle they reflect.

How many people are tuned into your B2B brand channel right now?

Believe it or not, you have one. More importantly, you have a large audience of potential fans. You simply need to give the people what they want when it comes to content.

For a little more clarity, we’ll turn the floor over to the Chief Executive Officer of Boomm, Gary Mattes. Over the last few years, Gary has helped our clients understand the potential of their own brand channels.

“In the world of B2B, every successful company needs to have a dedicated customer base. These are your fans. They came along on the customer journey with you. As they progressed down the sales funnel, they came to believe in your products or services. These fans likely have established trusted relationships with some of your employees. Now, how can you keep their interest and encourage engagement with your company? Connect them to your brand channel. That channel is your social media presence, and it can become one of the most influential forces in your marketing mix.”

 Why is Gary (and the rest of Boomm) so enthusiastic about transforming social media into a brand channel? Because we have seen how social can outperform every other marketing channel for our clients.

But we’re not alone in recognizing that potential.

According to 2023 Deloitte Digital research on social business transformation, social-first brands are:

3.4x as likely to say that social media’s value is recognized by the entire C-suite

4.7x as likely to use social platforms extensively as channels for customer care

2.5x as likely to say they plan to moderately or substantially increase the number of social platforms where they engage customers

So, social works hard to build brands and grow relationships for these forward-thinking firms. How can you get it working for your B2B company?

 The basics of your B2B brand channel

Here are some thought starters for transforming social into your firm’s brand channel.

One brand, many stories

Having a dedicated person or a small team spearheading your social program is smart and efficient. However, everyone can and should participate in some way. To truly reflect your company and make social a genuine brand channel, multiple contributors are needed. This does not mean that everyone needs to create actual post content, but they should be encouraged to share the stories and experiences that make your brand unique and valued. This makes your social program stronger and more real for your community, but it also helps employees recognize one another and take pride in the work that they do every day. In short, it channels your culture.

 Recognize “postworthy” content

The good news: Every B2B firm has numerous stories to share. The bad news: Most firms don’t see this reality.

“Postworthy” content is everywhere if you know what to look for. Some recent topics Boomm has posted on for our clients include:

• • Company milestones
  • Internship programs
  • Core values
  • Sustainability initiatives
  • Trade show experiences
  • Community involvement
  • Noteworthy projects
  • Product innovations
  • Industry accolades
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • Special interest groups
  • Company leadership interviews
  • Customer success stories
  • Company capabilities
  • Company history
  • Employee features

A good way to promote postworthy content is to make a list of all potential topic ideas and share it with your team. When you do, it will help everyone to recognize promising post content. In addition, you’ll find that the list of topics will grow as employees find new areas to highlight.

 Fill your calendar

Social media is always hungry for fresh content. That doesn’t mean you need to post every day. Many of our clients favor a “quality over quantity” approach. So do their communities. In fact, we have recently seen engagement levels increase as the number of posts decreased. The key to success was more relevant post content.

A proven way to ensure that you have enough fresh and relevant material is to create a content calendar. By planning ahead, you can create monthly post series, space out topics and make certain that different stakeholders have their designated moments in the sun. If your company has multiple products and brands to post about, a content calendar is a necessity.

At Boomm, our content calendar structure establishes the complete framework for social:

• • Post topic (what it’s about)
  • Networks (which social platforms it will appear on)
  • Theme (if it’s part of a post series)
  • Featured brand (if there is one)
  • Assets needed (images, video, content resources)
  • Link (where the post will drive readers)
  • Post date

We hope this article has sparked a few thoughts and some initial direction for establishing your own B2B brand channel.

To be candid, social media transformation is a big topic and it’s one we could discuss for an hour (or more). If you want to bounce some ideas around, Boomm is always up for it. Simply contact us and we’ll take it from there.