B2B Social Media: Does PR Matter?

Companies in the B2B industry often wonder, does PR matter in the B2B social media world? The short answer: yes! At Walker Sands, we’ve seen how PR and B2B social media can work together to promote our clients’ business and support their public relations campaigns.

The rise of social media PR has changed the face of public relations completely. No longer do PR professionals have to depend on a magazine’s publishing schedule to get out a placement - they can write a blog post and immediately have it read by target audiences.

Does PR Matter in the B2B Social Media World?

B2B PR campaigns differ from those aimed at consumers, but should still contain a strong social media aspect. Engaging in social media PR is essential for brands to take their business to the next level:

1. Provides social sharing material. Executives should include PR tactics in their social media campaigns to accumulate topics and articles to share with their social media followers. These topics, when shared on social media, can attract people to your brand that weren’t already following you, and can inspire conversations among leaders in your industry. PR placements provide promotional material to share among your social network – an important response to the question, does PR matter?
2. Builds credibility. A huge consideration for brands that wonder, does PR matter to B2B social media, is the trust that it builds among social followers. Whenever your brand receives press coverage, you can then share those placements in social networks. Social promotion that references mentions of your brand in the media can build credibility among your social followers, and is much more effective than overly self-promoting posts.
3. Encourages viral sharing. When businesses share recent media placements on their social media networks, they receive more promotion than from non-journalistic social media announcements. Industry-related articles are more important to B2B clients than other topics, and PR tactics can help businesses attain those key placements that generate social buzz about a B2B company. Consequently, those media placements will attract prospective clients, which is a great answer to the inquiry, does PR matter.
4. Develops reporter relationships. Not only does PR aid social media, but social media helps PR. B2B companies that have an active social presence have a greater likelihood of getting journalists to notice them, which leads to more coverage by target media publications. Firms that keep a low social profile are less likely to get media coverage because reporters aren’t as aware of their company. By developing these reporter relationships, B2B companies are able to generate more buzz without additional marketing spend, another great reason for engaging in PR.

The best way to approach your marketing strategy is to engage in both PR and B2B social media tactics to promote your business in different mediums. For companies wondering, does PR matter, these marketing maneuvers raise brand awareness and create a positive image of the business.