B2B and Social Media

I get a lot of questions about the “appropriateness” of using Social Media techniques for Business to Business (B2B).

Arguments against tapping Social Media in B2B circles range from “we already know all of our customers” to “we have a very technical, specialized product” to “our customers are very conventional,” etc.

But let’s simplify this: are your customers online?

If your customers are online, you should be considering Social Media strategies.

And trust me: your customers are online. They are not faceless corporate drones — they are individuals; they have Internet access; they surf the web; they use Google; they do research on the best practices and products in their industry. Will they find you online — in places beyond your website?

You already know all your customers? Then you must know where they tend to hang out online: you should make sure that they find your content there…

You have a very technical product? Well, there are a ton of techie types who use del.icio.us for social bookmarking. Do a search on the del.icio.us site for the tags and terms related to your industry. If, say, 500 people have saved relevant content, you can reach out directly to them to show off your own content, relying on the context of their proven interest to ward off spamminess…

My point is simple. The world of business is increasingly moving online. And businesses are comprised of people. Find the people important to your business and make sure that your company’s best assets are found in all the relevant places.

… Or am I missing something?

Continue reading here: The Awareness Scale: How Social Media, Pr & Advertising Now Work Together

Was this article helpful?