Strike the Right B2B Social Media Balance

Using social media as a key marketing channel is not just for cool consumer brands. Today, even conservative B2B brands are starting to incorporate social media as an essential element of their marketing mix because their customers expect it. B2B marketers are attempting to strike the right balance between too much and too little control as they engage with customers and prospects using social media as a communications channel.

 

Part of the allure of social media for B2B marketers – or any marketer for that matter – is the opportunity to engage on a more personal level with customers, prospects, employees and other key constituencies of the brand. However, unlike traditional marketing approaches that were more likely to be one-way communications channels, social media now offers the ability to have an on-going conversation between a company and its community that has both big upsides and potential risks.

 

The key balancing act marketers must consider is how much control to exert over what content goes out and how a company engages in the social media conversations happening online about their company and products. Attempting to focus on discipline and not control is a tricky balancing act but one that will help ensure the conversations and customer relationships being nurtured via social media interactions are “real” and in tune with your company and brand culture.

 

A positive result of using social media as an important element of a B2B marketing mix is that marketers can achieve results with a fraction of the budget required for more traditional approaches. Additionally, social media allows a company to interact with a pre-built community of customers, prospects and partners in a much more personal and real-time way than other marketing methods. The risk, of course, is ensuring the company maintains the appropriate level of engagement in the on-going dialog. Some level of “debate” via social media conversations is healthy. As in any conversation between a group of friends, there is the time to sit back and listen to all points of view and the point at which you need to inject your opinion or correct a misstatement or inaccuracy. This is the balance that companies must experiment with on an on-going basis to ensure they do no employ too heavy of a hand in the social media conversation.

 

So how do B2B marketers that aren’t the size of an IBM, HP or Microsoft leverage social media since they may not have the most experienced staff or budgets large enough to employ an agency to lean on as their social media guide and facilitator?

 

First, social media isn’t something you “try out” for awhile and then forget about … that’s like making a new friend and then after a few interactions you drop out of site. Your friend is going to expect you to be there on an on-going basis.

 

Second, even the smallest teams with modest marketing budgets needs to engage at some level with their key audiences using social media. One way to do this is to appoint a member of the team as the social media team leader and make your social media footprint only as big as you have the time to actively manage.

 

Finally, consider your role as the B2B marketer in social media to be one of a catalyst that jump starts the conversation with your key audiences by ensuring the content you’re putting out is relevant and honest and engaging. Remember, let discipline, not control, be your guide.

 

The ongoing spread of social media as part of the essential marketing fabric connecting company constituencies will continue to challenge B2B marketers to adapt and change the way they communicate. Be thoughtful as you use social media but don’t miss out on this powerful way to keep your brand relevant in the conversations about your company that are happening every day via the social web.

Comments

[Aaronwagner7000]

"B2B marketers are attempting to strike the right balance between too much and too little control as they engage with customers and prospects using social media as a communications channel."

Very good statement! Too much control is a hurdle that many businesses are now trying to overcome in their social-media efforts.