Social media marketing has become an effective tool for improving B2B brand awareness, and companies are relying on more platforms to spread their messages and content.

A report from iTracks relayed by eMarketer found that B2B companies in the United States are using social media marketing campaigns to improve their businesses’ visibility on the web and to foster awareness of their brands among prospects.

As companies have improved their campaigns, they are branching out to multiple social platforms in hopes of targeting different types of businesses. According to the report, Facebook and Twitter, the de facto standards in social media, are still garnering substantial attention. Nonetheless, other platforms are becoming more important, including professional networking site LinkedIn.

The iTracks study found that 89 percent of B2B companies included in a poll are using social media marketing in some manner.

YouTube was also a popular tool for businesses, the study suggests. Content marketing campaigns are becoming increasingly diverse, as are the tools used to share and host the material. Video content is growing in popularity, and pairing it with on-site news content marketing articles and shared headlines can provide a strong multi-channel presence for businesses to appeal to new prospects.

“Leveraging social media for branding and awareness-building can help humanize B2B companies, establish them as thought leaders and offer new touchpoints for connecting with customers and prospects,” Kimberly Maul, eMarketer writer and analyst, said in the report.

Notably, Google+ was not listed as one of popular B2B social media marketing platforms. The search giant’s social network was launched in June but has not attracted a particularly large audience just yet. Brafton reported this week that the company has made some adjustments to its service aimed at making it a more effective social media marketing tool. For instance, Google+ Pages are now open to multiple administrators, which will allow as many as 50 people within an organization to manage accounts.  

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.