Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Social Media in a B2B World

Keith Vera
Account Manager

Social media has become increasingly important in the B2B space, and lately is beginning to be recognized as a significant lead source. All social media is centered on mutual affiliations or interests, providing large pockets of online communities that B2B companies should be leveraging for lead generation and branding efforts. Of course to capture interest in these communities, a company need to become an active participant that provides a lasting value through the different social channels. Below, we’ll take a quick look at how providing fresh content and ideas allows B2B companies to become more visible and valued to target audiences in the top social media channels.

  • Blogging: Blogging should be centered on industry specific topics, and need to be published regularly to help build and grow an audience base. Blogging can lead to solid lead generation as a loyal readership and “community” builds. Blogs should be used as a platform for company and industry updates, and stimulating thought leadership in any industry.
  • Facebook: Facebook has become an increasingly resourceful messaging platform for B2B companies. Creating company and product fan pages allows for tremendous visibility and also allows a company to communicate directly with its fans and evangelists. New information shared on these fan pages is also automatically streamed to fan’s Facebook news updates, helping to create a constant connection between a company and its community.
  • Linked In: LinkedIn should be utilized to close the social loop in a B2B professionals community, particularly as it is a business-focused network. Take advantage of LinkedIn group announcements and company status updates to automatically promote company messaging across linked industry groups and professional connections.
  • Twitter: Twitter is a great platform for pushing company messaging, news and events out to a collective audience. There is a lot of visibility to be gained by simply getting the word out about your company or products and services. Tweets can be at will or scheduled, and ReTweets with different calls to action are particularly effective as audience growth mandates more tweet volume to generate message visibility.

Take a look at EyeTraffic’s social media specialist Blake Bowyer’s blog for tips on social media messaging 10 Pithy Social Media Tips in 140 Characters or Less. Don’t forget to Comment, and tell us how you’ve been leveraging social media in the B2B space.