Previously posted on the Social Media Summit 2011 blog.
We often hear about the irrelevance of social media marketing in B2B. It’s tempting to discard social media; many of us have experienced the denial first hand, and we might as well go with the flow. But as digital communications and marketing practitioners, it would be unfair if we accept the status quo and do not make the requisite effort. Yes, a few years ago, even digital was considered irrelevant, but today, in 2011, it would be sheer lunacy for B2B marketers to ignore social media. The fact that there is a session on this topic at the Social Media Summit is in itself, a sign of the acceptance of social media.
But there are certain realities:
a) We see quite a lot of case studies and examples for effective usage of social media in a B2C context, but much less of it for a B2B brand.
b) The apparent marketing spend on social media is negligible as compared to traditional media
c) We see very few social media participants at leadership levels from B2B organizations
d) Social media channels and internet accessibility is fairly restricted at many B2B workplaces
There are several popular reasons cited for the above. Have you heard them? Check:
a) Sales cycles are longer and complex. Selling is through tender and RFP processes, relationship marketing and personal contact.
b) Buying is through procurement or purchasing departments, who presumably have very low exposure to even online media
c) The target audience is not exposed to social media or unlikely to make decisions based on what he/she sees on social media
d) Most organizations (at least in India) are sales, delivery or product driven, rather than marketing-driven; naturally this affects social media
e)B2B organizations have a finite audience, we “know” our target audience by name, address, email ID and can afford to contact them directly – so we don’t require social media
f) It is enough if we are present on the Internet and appear in search results. All we need is a good website, it is enough for purchasers to research our products/services and contact us if interested.
g) CEO, C-suite decision makes are more impressed by hard copy marketing collateral, don’t go online often, and hello, they are not on Facebook or Twitter!
h) We don’t do promotions and discounts, so what will we give our twitter followers?
i) After sales, we rely on personal contacts and relationships to render service, so we needn’t use social media for customer service
j) The exit process for B2B customers is quite complex, so point i above applies there as well. If we are in, we are in for keeps, at least for a decent period
k) Nobody really contacts us through our Twitter channel
f) Our customers buy from us because of our prices. Really.
All these read like excuses, don’t they?
But be honest. Much of the popular reasons are true. Sales cycles are definitely longer. Yes, we do look up tender notices published in font size 7 in a two-column inch space deep inside a voluminous dead-tree newspaper. Our target audience doesn’t tweet every two minutes. Nobody really contacts us through our Twitter channel. And so on.
But do we throw all the 53 slides of “How to use Social Media” we prepared and pitched to the management for into the Recycle Bin and do what they naysayers say? No, absolutely not.
Here’s why:
a) Social media is about people. The statistics are staggering. Millions of Indians spend a considerable amount of time online and in social media. Your target audience is one of those millions. They have a Facebook account. They have a LinkedIn account. If they are more evolved in the online space, they tweet. Not being in social media is much like not being at a party where all your contacts are. They won’t probably cut a deal with you as soon as they see you. But connect with them. If they are suddenly aware of a requirement, where do they look (these days)? Flip through a rolodex? Or thumb the think Yellow Pages? Not anymore. They do a google search, then Twitter, LinkedIn and in some cases Facebook.
b) Your target audience researches you well. They look up blogs. They rely on third party analysts/advisors to advise them on deals. They try to get an objective opinion of your company, your product or service, your employees, your ethics. What if they come across an employee haranguing against you on some forum? What if an environmental group has tweeted consistently against some of your policies (you shouldn’t have a policy that is against the environment, but that’s a different matter) on Twitter? You haven’t been seen putting out your point of view, much less being even aware of such content that has been published against you. This data is seen by your customer. Maybe it will end up in a docket presented to the CEO at the vendor shortlisting stage?
c) Getting found. Reason a, again, but this time focusing on being available on search. Social media, including blogs, are a no-brainer when it comes to search optimization. You have to use whatever opportunities you have to be visible, and not having a presence in social media can only penalize you. Online marketing these days is mainly the business of getting found. Maximize your chances.
d) Thought leadership. You need to exhibit to your target audience that you are at the top of the game and are getting better. Not only should you have a good content development program, you should ensure that your content gets read by your target audience. This includes not only the CEO of your target company, but his team, his employees, industry specialists, industry opinion makers, industry analysts, advisers, trade body members, academicians and so on. You would have to use a wide variety of means to publish and popularize your content, and social media is definitely one of them.
e) You have a finite audience? Great. Target them. Develop social media programs specifically for them. Collaborate with them. Brainstorm with them. Make them part of your knowledge base. This could be as simple as a blog where you invite them to comment on your post. Or it could be as complex as a social extranet where you could host a variety of applications that helps you tap into their knowledge base, and more importantly, help them utilize you better. If you combine this with your project management utility, even better.
f) Your relationship cycle is long-term? Exiting you is complicated for the customer? Good. Use social media to upsell and cross sell. On the face of it, networking using popular channels like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, connecting with them and consistently tweeting your content/thought leadership (but not spamming) is a good method to stay on their radar. But creating a joint space – a gated private space – where you encourage, among other things, your relationship team and their vendor management team to collaborate better and communicate better, is a much better utilization of social media and web 2.0 capabilities.
All said, it is all about contextual usage of the channels at your disposal. You need to have a judicious mix of all media channels – paid, owned and earned – at your disposal. You can’t – and shouldn’t – discard social media, but neither can you tweet paeans about yourself at five minute intervals.
Reduce that 53 slide presentation on social media to 12 slides. And give it another try.
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