THE VALUE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN B2B MARKETING

Today, it’s hard to argue that social media marketing is critical for effective B2C communications. But in B2B marketing, the value of social media is often overlooked. Today, via Jeff Bullas’ blog (@jeffbullas), I came across a study that looks at the impact of social media on the decision-making process among CEOs, Directors and Managers.

According to this study, the convergence of the Internet, Web 2.0 and emerging mobile technologies, has brought us to the era of B2P (Business-to-Person) communications. In this era, control over your company’s reputation belongs to your audience. That’s why all companies, big and small, must reach out to their audiences via social media.

What’s often overlooked in B2B marketing is the fact that it’s a person, a decision-maker, on the other side of the communication channel. As more and more people use social media for professional purposes, the role of social media in the decision-making process is rapidly increasing. In fact, today 82 percent of decision-makers say they conduct research online. “Through the use of professional networks and online communities, decision-makers are connecting and collaborating with peers, experts, and colleagues far and wide in an on- demand environment, about the issues that keep them up at night.”

Questions like:

• Is this company experienced?
• Is this company knowledgeable?
• Is this company trustworthy?

play an important role during the decision-making process. And, guess what? To answer these questions, the decision-makers and their supporters read your blog, google your company’s name and ask their social networking peers for opinion. How many people are talking about you and what they say, shows how credible and experienced you are. What YOU say indicates your knowledge and builds trust.

Today, social media marketing is necessary for successful B2B communications. As the research paper concludes, “[l]aggards who do not understand the value of social networking and its appeal to the emotional side of customer relationship management will lose competitiveness and, ultimately, market share.”

IS your company leveraging the power of social media marketing? And what are some of the ways you use social media for B2B communications? Please, share your comments and ideas in the Comments section!

Image credit: Noah Sussman me on delicious network explorer