It’s Not All About You – B2B Social Media Marketing

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times from B2B marketers.  “You know, I talk to a lot of my business customers and they don’t have time for this social media stuff.  They want to get their information in a more traditional manner-their trade publications.”

In many respects, I too like the traditional manner of getting my information.  I still read my newspapers, business magazines-Forbes, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Entrepreneur, etc.-and my client’s industry publications.  Oh, don’t let me forget my golf magazines.  But if you haven’t noticed, these publications are getting thinner and thinner and many are going out of business or are only publishing online.  So, until we find a fix for this traditional print model, what is a B2B marketer to do?

In the Web 2.0 world, everything starts with “search” and those search results are becoming more and more real-time. Marketers can take advantage of this by instantly participating in the conversations related to their particular marketplace, rather than attempting to continue using the traditional, and slower, approaches to branding.

B2B social media marketing is all about developing a two-way conversation between the company and its markets.  And many B2B marketers, especially those closely aligned with their sales forces, fully understand the vital importance of listening to the customer.  B2B social media marketers have imbedded in their DNA the need to not only sell but to listen, understand and react.

As a B2B marketer, you know that business buyers, with the use of search, have just as many choices regarding the kind of products or services they buy as do consumers.  Business buyers just buy more.  A whole lot more.  And so business buyers will search out more information before making a purchase decision than will a typical consumer.  Consequently, B2B marketers are quite familiar with the growing expectations on the part of customers and prospects to be treated as a partner, as opposed to a lead.

In a series of surveys, Forrester Research asked more than 7,000 North American and European enterprise IT decision makers about the sources they turn to for information about products and services.  More than eight out of 10 respondents said word-of-mouth recommendations or testimonials are the most important sources when making buying decisions.  Obtaining these recommendations and testimonials becomes easier when B2B social media practices are put into place-turning your customers into brand advocates.

We should be celebrating the opportunities B2B social media marketing has brought to companies.  Social media is a way to participate in those peer conversations by monitoring them, engaging in them, and managing them through peer-based communities.

B2B social media marketing programs have created the opportunity to reach out and touch individual customers and prospects in unique ways.  As budgets tighten and pressures rise to show value, customer relationship programs with solid B2B social media marketing capabilities can enable companies to achieve more customer engagement with less effort.  By combining B2B social media marketing to support a comprehensive marketing program, and capturing data to expand your knowledge of what makes your customers and prospects tick, you will generate a substantial return on investment from your marketing dollars.

As the B2B buying landscape continues to evolve, the relationship between the buyer and seller has to be mutually beneficial.  By taking steps to ensure you connect with prospects in the fashion they prefer-providing the information they want, when they want it-you’ll build company credibility and brand loyalty. 

The traditional media cannot publish every press release you write.  You need to become your own publisher to provide your customers with relevant information about your products and their applications. Let me know if you need more information on how to start your B2B social media marketing efforts.

Tags: b2b, B2B social media, Bob Maples, maples communications, marketing, marketing communications, orange county, PR, public relations, social media