When was the last time you saw a B2B marketing campaign and thought, “Gee, that’s really fun, clever, and it really makes me want to work with that company.” It’s probably been a while, right?
You can’t throw a rock without hitting a witty B2C marketing campaign, but let’s be honest: B2B marketing tends to be dry. Our B2C cousins seem to have all the fun with their TikToks, emojis, and GIFs. But what if we told you that it didn’t have to be that way and, in fact, it shouldn’t be that way?
Fun B2B marketers, your time has come at last.
Let’s take a journey into the red-pill world of GIFs and emojis in B2B social media messaging.
(Don’t worry. You don’t need to take an actual pill.)
Why You Should Use GIFs and Emojis in B2B Social Media Marketing
Social media isn’t like other marketing channels. There’s a reason it’s called social media—it’s a conversation. When you post to your business’s social media channels, you are giving your audience a glimpse into your company’s culture and inviting them to be a part of the narrative that drives your brand.
In real-life situations, nobody likes being talked at or explicitly sold to—and it’s no different when they’re interacting with your brand from behind a computer screen. Nothing makes a potential lead scroll faster than mind-numbing technical jargon that makes your brand sound exactly like your competitors.
B2B companies get wrapped up in being “thought leaders,” “experts,” and “professionals.” And while all of that is important, you can be all of those things while also showing your audience that there are real-life human beings behind your company.
No one wants to do business with a robot.
This is one reason we advocate that B2B marketers take a page from the B2C playbook and use both GIFs and emojis in their social media marketing efforts. GIFs and emojis are a fantastic way to inject personality into your brand and surprise your audience in a way that makes you memorable.
Now if the thought of littering your feed with moving pop culture memes gives you the vapors, take a deep breath. You don’t have to toss a bunch of nonsensical GIFs and emojis without context—and you definitely don’t have to use them for every single post.
How to Use GIFs in B2B Marketing
There are a few ways you can approach GIFs in B2B social media marketing, ranging from fun and witty to a simple visual tool.
Emphasizing a Point
The pairing of the phrase “way back” and a rewind GIF gives this post a nostalgic feel.
The use of this GIF really drives home the point that lead leakage is a BAD THING. Even if you don’t know what that term means, this GIF helps the reader understand that this is a Thing That No One Wants™.
A B2B Tweet, But Make It Pop Culture
This company posted a timely “Stranger Things” reference just a day before the release of the season 4 finale episodes. *chef’s kiss*
Is it still pop culture if the reference is 30+ years old? (That’s a rhetorical question—”The Princess Bride” is always relevant.)
As a Visual Branding Element
How to Use Emojis in B2B Marketing
Don’t listen to those Gen Z and Gen Alpha naysayers—emojis are not “cheugy” and are a completely valid tool to use in B2B social media marketing when used wisely.
Now, we’re not saying to go crazy and populate your social media posts with nothing BUT emojis. Not only is it annoying, it can also cause legitimate problems for people who rely on screen readers to read social media text. But emojis can be a great way to draw attention to your post and accentuate your message.
This post uses emojis to help break up text and present “bullet points” in a more visually appealing way.
This Tweet plays on the concept of “data science” using clever phrasing + emojis to drive the message home.
This Tweet uses a diverse range of skin tone emojis to accentuate the copy and as a subtle way to show a company culture of diversity and inclusion.
Incorporating GIFs and emojis into your B2B social media content strategy is a great way to draw interest, invite conversation, and boost engagement with your audience!
Want to have a conversation about social media? We can help make your B2B social media marketing efforts something your audience will remember. Let’s talk!