The Tendo View

B2B social media seems to be on everyone’s minds these days. EMarketer.com reports that B2B marketing activity on social networks is estimated to increase 43.3 percent in 2010, while spending is estimated to increase by $54 million in 2014 (up from $11 million in 2009)[1].

Despite these robust estimates, B2B marketers have lagged behind B2C marketers in adopting social media. And it’s no wonder. Because B2B social media is still relatively new, few concrete examples of success exist, making ROI difficult to prove. Standards and best practices are still being developed, mostly through trial and error.

So why should B2B companies bother? In my recent social media-focused client work, I’ve been facing this very question. “We need to focus on short-term revenue,” they tell me. “How do we know this social media stuff is worthwhile?”

With no metrics to point out, this question is difficult to answer. How do you justify building a Facebook fan page, for example, when traditional marketing practices can be backed up with numbers and a history of proven efficacy?

Well, for starters, social media—even for B2B companies—isn’t marketing. Or at least it shouldn’t be. Applying traditional marketing practices in a social media context just doesn’t work. Imagine a friend posting a link to a press release announcing a new diet pill on your wall. There’s a reason the Can-Spam Act was passed. People don’t like marketing infiltrating their personal space.

The human element of social media is exactly what makes it difficult to translate into a B2B context. Until recently, social media has largely been a consumer realm, where people interact based on personal interests, personal entertainment, or to accomplish tasks. No wonder a lot of B2B marketers don’t take social media very seriously.

But this is a limited way to look at the potential of social media. Whatever people are doing on social networks, the underlying principles are the same: communication, interaction, and building relationships. Every company, no matter what it’s selling, depends on this same set of principles. It’s all about reaching your customers effectively and building relationships with them.

So when considering social media in the B2B context, keep this in mind: Behind every impersonal business decision is a living, breathing human being. And most business decisions, no matter how big and how important, originate from a network of personal relationships.

If you look at it this way, B2B companies have some characteristics that make them great candidates for using social media:

• B2B companies typically have a more complicated value proposition than, say, the satisfaction of an ice cream cone on a hot summer day. Communicating intangible business value and thought leadership requires a wider platform than traditional marketing can provide. Social media opens the door to more types of communication. Furthermore, you can communicate at a deeper level using social media platforms than you can with traditional marketing.
• B2B companies often have a long sales cycle. High stakes purchases require a lot of support and information. This support and information is traditionally provided by sales people working one-on-one with customers during the pre-sales/consideration phase. Why not use social media as one strategy for providing that?

Some B2B companies are taking the leap into social media. Cisco has a Facebook page with more than 60,500 friends linked to it. Marketing traditionalists might question the value of this page, but one glance at Cisco’s Facebook wall clearly shows that the audience is actively engaged in the form of comments and “likes.” Oracle, Dell, and Deloitte all have Facebook pages that show similar levels of interaction.

Even if we can’t clearly articulate the monetary value of B2B social media, it’s clear to me that it is a useful promotion tool, especially when combined with traditional marketing practices. Reaching your audience is reaching your audience, regardless of how you do it.

For some interesting insight on this topic, check out this useful blog I found, Social Media B2B.

But before you go, tell me what you think of B2B social media. Is it just marketing in disguise or is it an authentic way to reach your audience? What successful B2B social media strategies have you seen?

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[1] The EMarketer report includes data from external sources. Outsell provided the 43.3 percent figure while Forrester provided the spending estimates.