Well, it was only a matter of time before all the hype around social networking produced a backlash …and it now has. See for example Luis Paez’s provocatively titled piece “Social Media is Useless”, over at The Direct Marketing Voice. Actually, Luis backs away from the title a bit, marshaling some audience-reach stats to support what he really means: that “social media is useless – unless integrated into a larger context and a larger media mix.” And he does finally advise adding social media …but in a controlled and balanced fashion.
Nonetheless, there is no shortage of real naysayers on the subject of social media. And if your focus is exclusively on lead generation …well, it will be difficult to show an airtight connection between your Twittering and a lead, never mind a downstream sale.
Over at the WebMarketCentral blog, Tom Pick takes issue with the “Luddites” and runs down some of the business uses of social media…
- Monitoring what’s being said about your company, industry and competitors
- Reaching new prospects
- Responding to customers
- Connecting with key influencers
- Enhancing your company’s credibility by promoting your thought-leadership content
Not much question about the value of those activities for every B2B, is there? As Tom points out, social networking is simply a tool; and – as with any tool – it can be used for good or ill, depending on the goals and skill of the user. With a reasonable goal set, and with diligent study of the mechanisms and “netiquette” of each vehicle, your B2B can realize all of the benefits just listed. (Tom’s piece also provides helpful pointers to earlier “how-to” posts dealing specifically with reputation management, content promotion, Facebook and Twitter.)
Study after study shows that B2Bs are increasing their usage of social media for marketing purposes at a staggering pace; and this simply would not be happening without valid business reasons. As Tom puts it: “People no longer want to be “marketed to” and they can increasingly tune out commercial content. They do want to be talked to, however, by people who understand their problems and can help fix them. Social media works for that purpose, no matter what the naysayers write.”
Your Web marketing consultants can no doubt help you develop a social media strategy that’s appropriate for your B2B.
