Social Media for B2B: Does it Work?

Social media is a new frontier for brands and marketers. For B2C companies (“business to consumer” providers for those of you not up on the industry lingo), it’s a no brainer. Social media is a great way to interact with customers, promote your interesting products with mass appeal, and spread goodwill about your company to a large audience.

That’s great, but what if your customers are other businesses? Mass appeal really isn’t an option because your target audience is limited and your product is niche. Very, very niche. For example, obtaining thousands of Facebook likes for a page on invoice factoring is not very likely. So the question is, is social media worth the effort for B2B enterprises?

Yes, But…

The answer to that question is, like most answers, qualified. The old “yes, but…” Social media for B2B companies can be worth the effort … but only if done correctly.

Take the Lead

Twitter is great for conversations and possible lead generation with businesses you are targeting. However, a social strategy is probably not going to be a constant stream of leads like some “social media gurus” claim. Social lead generation takes time and effort- just like real world business relationships. It’s not the kind of thing that just works on its own. Instead, companies should implement a social strategy that involves dedicating a staffer to keeping on top of trends and keeping up with conversations.

Breaking the “Boring” Stigma

At our company, Factor Finders, we do brokering between business clients and factoring companies. Snoozing yet? Probably. To the general population, invoice factoring is not the most scintillating of topics. Why would it be? It’s a relatively small, specialized field meant for a specific segment of the business world. But to us and our clients, it’s not boring at all. Our unique industry offers solutions to problems that plague business owners, and to the right audience our product and industry is worth talking about in social media.

P2P

There’s an old adage in B2B circles that insists that B2B is actually P2P - person to person. After all, B2B companies aren’t buildings selling their wares to other bricks and mortar facilities. Instead, the people inside the buildings are doing the interacting—people with likes, dislikes, wants, and needs that must be filled. Social media is a way to detect and meet these needs; whether with interesting posts on topics other business people want to know about, or with human stories that relate back to your field. Sales-y talk on social just isn’t going to cut it.

The Bottom Line

If a B2B company has the resources to put into social media, then they should do it. The potential benefits are many, and it is the cheapest marketing you will found outside of old fashioned word of mouth. However, they should keep in mind that it can be a slow process to see any fiscal returns. At the end of the day though, the goodwill generated from social is hard to quantify but important to business all the same.