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Previous: Beyond Google Alerts: Free Tools That Track What's Being Said About You Online By Jean Van Rensselar If you’re running a B2B enterprise, scratching your head and wondering how you’re supposed to take advantage of social media tools such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter – you’re not alone. Aside from the fact that online social media is irrationally hyped (60 percent of Twitter users abandon the service after the first month) it’s an especially bad marketing fit for B2B. Asked to comment on the Twitter statistic, one B2B marketer said, “Most users of social media for business don't realize the time commitment and demand for resources associated with it. After a month or so they lose interest and don't update it. Any following they had is instantly lost. Non-business users just realize it's stupid and no one cares what kind of burrito they're eating.” Ask yourself, A) When was the last time you logged onto Facebook to find a prospect or vendor? B) Have you ever heard of any company getting a lead from any online social medium? Yet there are hoards of experts telling you that if you don’t integrate online social media tools into your marketing plan, you’ll be left in the technology dust – or even worse – labeled a Luddite. The truth is, you are not a Luddite and you are not alone. Only 26 percent of B2B marketers have ever used social networking as a marketing channel and the vast majority of those had a hard time proving ROI. Unless your product or service’s end user is a consumer that’s a heartbeat away from your customers (as is the case with retail suppliers and pharmaceutical companies), social media marketing just doesn’t make sense. To understand why online social media tools don’t work for B2B marketing, here’s a review of the differences between B2B and B2C marketing. Differences between B2B and B2C Marketing
To sum up, the B2B prospect - in contrast to the B2C prospect - is in a much smaller segment; requires more time, effort and money to sell to; is worth much more; equates the value of the brand with personal experience; and makes rational buying decisions. It’s easy to see why the basic differences between B2B and B2C marketing create divergent online marketing paths. The Three Tiers of Online Media Tools There’s no agreed on definition as to what is officially social media and what is not – in essence, all online media is really social media. Given this, some experts segment online marketing tools into three tiers according to their ease of access and popularity - their sociability.
The top tier tools (with the exception of your company’s Web site) create demand while the middle and bottom tiers are for consumer (not business) brand building. The Top Tier It’s a safe bet that your customers and prospects aren’t as concerned about what brand they buy as they are about who they buy from. They want specifics, credibility, and proof and they’ll buy from the first company they find that will offer those basics. So…
Webinars are a great way to address customer pain points, demonstrate products and services, and position your company as a thought leader in its field. Webinars, if smartly created, include indexing and tagging that allows Internet users interested in that topic to find the webinar easily. Assuming the video is posted on your company Web site, effective indexing and tagging will also increase SEO and drive traffic to your site. The Middle Tier You’re probably already taken advantage of RSS feeds to get the latest information about your industry and to find out what’s being said about your company on the Web. You may have tried podcasts in the past – and if you’re like most company officials – have found the participation rate so low that it wasn’t worth the trouble. You may have thought about a blog because it seems like something you should be doing, but you just don’t see the value (because there probably is no value). If you’ve grouped blogs and forums together in your head – ungroup them. Forums are actually very valuable tools for B2B companies. They allow customers and prospects to participate in an ongoing conversation about your products. Participants can ask your company experts questions and learn from each other. The difference between a blog and a forum is that there is only one person creating new content for a blog – others comment on the posts. A forum is a faster-paced, idea-generating, problem-solving roundtable. And because forums require registration and login, they tend to attract serious professionals rather than ranters. The Bottom Tier Unless your goal is popularity over credibility, it would be a wise move to forego Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, etc. Look at it this way; What could possibly be the benefit of posting your CEO’s profile on Facebook? Transparency? Is it worth the risk of negative feedback? Why would you want to post your own videos and photos on third party sites, when you can post them on your own site and increase your site’s SEO? Are you really interested in prospects that prefer to get their information in Tweets? Following are some useful and not especially useful B2B online marketing tool categories, followed by a few good specific sites. Useful Tool Categories
Not Especially Useful
Remember – the goal is credibility, trust, and respect – not mainstream popularity and trendiness. Some Good Sites IT Toolbox Google Alerts Technorati GoToWebinar LinkedIn Finally… When it comes to B2B enterprises, you’ll find that online media is ideal for trend analysis, research, brainstorming, and identifying decision makers. It really all boils down to time. Whatever marketing venues you’re using – whether print or online – they must be respectful of your prospects’ time. This means information needs to be easy to find, easy to follow, to the point, credible, and complete. Why would anyone ever think any B2B company could accomplish this on Facebook or Twitter? About the Author | Comments (24) Comments I would have to disagree as well about Facebook. In sales, relationship can often dictate the sale more that the product / service or price. I have gotten clients from being on Facebook who have seen my posts and see me now more as a “person” and not a “sales person.” I also had a client who posted about his son’s battle with cancer that I wouldn’t have known about or where to go visit him in the hospital. Two professional business people being open has cemented our relationship more than any golf game or business lunch ever could. I agree that “tweets” can be rather useless to most businesses, but you have to manage the social mediums the way they were intended to be used, as a personal communication system. They are not straight B2B tools but can definitely enhance business. Posted by: Ron Pierce on June 9, 2009 at 10:47 AM Hi Jean - I have to say that I also disagree with your posting. While I do see the point you are trying to make, making the generalization that social media is an especially bad fit for B2B marketing is just as great a sin as the agencies that scream “everyone must include social media in their mix!” How to use social media as a tool is going to be different for every business - big or small, B2C or B2B. It’s going to depend on the resources available, but more importantly it depends on where your customers and/or prospects are at. If they’re on You Tube looking for videos that pertain to your product, why not be on You Tube? If they’re on Twitter making posts relevant to the industry (and not their lunch), why not join them on Twitter? As you said for B2B marketers, it’s about nurturing the relationship. As I see it, feel free to nurture the relationship in whatever avenue possible - - especially if they’re already actively participating in some of the bottom tier social media locations you mention. Posted by: Meredith Lauer on June 9, 2009 at 11:06 AM I agree entirely with your article. While twitter and Facebook may work for The Wall St Journal, Forbes, and Business Week(who are only disseminating information). They do not fit well for a small to medium sized B2B Compnay trying to increase sales. Also a company runs the risk of employees wasting
Posted by: Eric Cumberlander on June 9, 2009 at 11:57 AM Thank you for this article. Its shades alot of light on what you call, the bottom tier of online marketing tools. Sometime back, I wanted to advise a friend on using social networking sites like facebook in order to increase his company’s brand awareness. With your article I realise that this is not such a good idea. Im a marketing student and would like very much to read more of your articles. Posted by: Hilda on June 9, 2009 at 12:20 PM I do thank you for taking the time to write this very detailed article on B2B Marketing on social media. I truly think you missed the point of social media and what it should be used for. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are platforms to disperse information and connect with potential clients/partners. Running the risk of hurting your brand is a little silly at this point, but would have held relevance 3 years ago when social media was in it’s infancy and MySpace was the big nasty kid on the block. The online mediums are maturing and older users are encompassing some of the largest growth demographics, which for B2B is highly advantageous. This is about 2 way conversations, share of voice, brand loyalty, SEO enhancements and being where users are. A businesses website is an island with no bridges/ferries to it without proper disbursement of good content on social media channels. Dell, HP, Intel, Comcast and many others are making effective inroads with social media so making a blanket statement of it’s ineffectiveness is foolish. Posted by: Ryan Lewis on June 9, 2009 at 1:43 PM Anyone who dismisses out-of-hand social media marketing to me is either afraid of it, doesn’t understand it, or has a distinct business reason affecting their or their “agency“‘s pocketbook. I don’t know which one fits Jean, but I will tell you the above poster who asks about the remaining 40% of this abandonment rate, is really where a thoughtful journalist/author would dig. But perhaps it’s too hard? Blogs have an equally high abandonment rate. Are we dismissing that as well? Shouldn’t we look beyond the headlines? My suggestion is, prior to spouting off a judgement piece designed to perhaps mollify your own lack of understanding of the medium, to engage and use the medium, it’s application to specific clients with specific needs, and apply from there. Anything else makes you look incompetent, short-sighted, incredibly foolish or simply a Luddite. Posted by: David Rossi on June 9, 2009 at 2:40 PM Jean, I found your piece to be thoughtful, wise and timely. I do B2B marketing for an SMB, and we are extremely conscious of maximizing the return on investment for both time and money spent. To embrace a marketing method (be it offline or online) without a solid business reason risks losing sight of your marketing goals. All of the comments above serve to illustrate that there can be a place for various online methods in B2B marketing. So much depends on the business, its clients and prospects, and its business goals. I doubt that a small graphic design house would want to deploy the same methods as, say, a multi-location civil engineering firm. I appreciate your article for opening up a dialogue and reminding us all that the marketing tools we use must be chosen for a clear purpose. Posted by: Sharon on June 9, 2009 at 4:15 PM Jean: As soon as I saw your article, I thought “This writer has guts!” I knew you’d ruffle a lot of feathers, and you have, judging by the posts. I am a marketing strategist for small to medium-sized businesses, and I see too many people spending way too much time on social networking because the online gurus have told them they should. Many spend hours a week and, to date, I don’t know anyone who has anything solid to show for it. At least, not yet. This reminds me of past mad rushes to adopt new technologies and channels because of the promise that they will be the next gold rush when it comes to creating streams of leads and new clients. Here’s the bottom line. Businesses should have a well-rounded mix of channels and strategies, of which social networking might occupy a small piece of the pie for a select few of them. But no more than that. If you can’t see a near-term ROI for your efforts, then don’t throw resources at something. Social networking has yet to prove itself as a viable B2B marketing approach. Tim Smith Posted by: Tim Smith on June 9, 2009 at 5:09 PM I respectfully disagree with what you had to say. It’s a free country though, and we all have the right to express our opinion. Used properly and prudently, social media can be a powerful, effective tool for any sized business. Posted by: Michelle Hill on June 9, 2009 at 6:32 PM Excellent thoughts. Many think twitter is for twits - if you want someone to follow you - you really need to follow them which many do not, hence the drop off. If you have a facebook profile instead of a page for your biz - and accept B2B clients as friends because you feel obligated - what do you gain by showing them vacation photos of how you’re spending your hard earned profits (their money) on vacation parasailing. I am currently working with a state chapter of a national non profit moving into this space. There are concerns that driving potential leadership donors to facebook could encourage them to cross the line into personal lives as they reach out to ‘friend’ people in the organization. Polarizing political views, alternative lifestyles, religious rants, postings on your wall by others, and even your customer being red sox nation and you yankees risk undoing the B2B relationship building you’ve put so much time into to create trust, blowing the brand identity you’ve created. Hence these tools used in moderation is best. I would have to agree with the previous post: “Businesses should have a well-rounded mix of channels and strategies, of which social networking might occupy a small piece of the pie for a select few of them. But no more than that.” Posted by: Glenn on June 9, 2009 at 11:14 PM I believe you have a valid point in this post. It makes more sense to post stuff on a company website instead of third party sites like Facebook or You Tube. Serious customers will most certainly visit your website thus increasing the possibility of incremental revenue Posted by: Benjamin on June 10, 2009 at 1:48 AM I agree and disagee. Social media has its place and for many is a waste of time, we’ll keep at it, posting info from our website and our blog to social and bookmarking sites. What we have found useful for scoring some good rankings is the free press releases. Any internet business takes alot of work and alot of time to see results. Let’s see where we are next year, page 1 perhaps? Posted by: Jenn on June 10, 2009 at 7:27 AM Though I think your post is well-intentioned, I have to respectfully disagree. My business is B-to-B, and I’ve not only gotten leads from Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, but actual clients - several in the last few months. Posted by: Shelley Cadamy on June 12, 2009 at 1:38 PM Great article Jean! There are some points I agree with, others I don’t, and I learned a couple of things! Thanks for the tips about ways to increase traffic to my website using the Top Tier suggestions. However, I utilize TweetLater to send my Tweets every day and only have to set it up once every week. An hour of time, once a week, and my followers get tips, ideas, quotes, facts, wisdom and what ever else I think will help them in their day-to-day operations. I’ve gotten a client from CraigsList, Elance, and one by having my phone number on my website! Personally, I think what information you post on any social media site is what drives clients to or away from your business. Thank you again for the article and the information you shared. Posted by: Viki Garrison on June 16, 2009 at 1:19 PM I’m in the social media business. All of my clients are too. I’ve gotten all of my clients that way. So far NO paying client from face to face because they’re all over the world. I buy more and more online including B2B services and so does everyone else I know. I find most Websites through links from blogs or social media not direct search. That’s because search is being guided by social media, especially the blogosphere. At least the Luddites had a clue that they were being replaced. Posted by: Shawn on June 18, 2009 at 7:58 PM Jean, I give you credit for taking a position contrary to what many b2b pros are saying. I realize you have some evidence, but I believe you and other small biz owners may be missing some of the core capabilities that others have already pointed out. No doubt, there is truth to some of what you say. But if you think back ten years, people talked about how many things “Web” were a waste of time and they were proven wrong. Yes, many companies crashed, but not all of them for logical reasons. Good ideas and companies were part of the bubble that didn’t make it — some of those emerged from the ashes in the forms we’re seeing now. Like Shawn, I am in this business, but I do offline work as well in terms of marketing. I’m going to include a link to your post here from my Dun & Bradstreet blog and even from http://www.BizSugar.com where Shawn and I met recently. Some of us will Tweet about your post and you’ll see a lot more traffic to your content - proving there is value to the b2b aspect. I don’t see any replies or participation from you (in 11 days) in this conversation which tells all of us something. I’m not slamming you — you’ve written a good piece, but I think you are missing some of the key tenets of online marketing. Come read our thoughts and participate. Posted by: TJ McCue on June 19, 2009 at 12:48 PM TJ, Jean did not realize that we had already released her post - that’s why she hasn’t responded to any of the comments. Lisa Posted by: Lisa on June 22, 2009 at 1:55 PM Jean, what a refreshing article and thank goodness someone understands b2b needs and has posted something to burst the bubble over all this social marketing nonsense. Posted by: Paul Lynn on June 23, 2009 at 5:32 AM While I agree with some of the points of this article, I disagree with the sweeping generalization that Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and company blogs are “not especially useful”. As a web designer I have recently seen an increase in the number of my B2B clients who tell me that some marketing expert told them they should get into social networking. I advise them not to jump in until they have identified solid business goals for doing so. Social networking, like a company website, is just another tool for businesses. Depending on the type of business and how social media used, it can be an invaluable tool or a waste of time. The key is to have a plan and clear business objectives. Posted by: Laura Sultan on July 1, 2009 at 2:42 PM I agree with some of this article and disagree with some of it, although I value your insight on the issue. First off, I don’t agree that search engine marketing is a part of social media at all. I also know that social media can be very successful in some ways for b2b companies. The goal is to choose which ones makes sense. I agree that a company shouldn’t use social media just because it’s popular, but forums, blogs and even social networking sites can be valuable for some b2b companies. Think about it this way - social media is about having a conversation with your target market. You do it offline, so why can’t you do it online? Posted by: Jeff Swanson on July 8, 2009 at 10:24 AM Jean, The vast majority of the comments are against you on this one and I too, disagree - especially with your sub headline,what my “instincts have been telling me all along”. I then read your bio/signature at the end of the piece and understand who you were targeting as your audience: your clients/potential clients who may hire a PR firm (rather than getting promotion and lead opportunities elsewhere or on their own). Heaven forbid that effective social media marketing is free except for the time and effort involved. Social media certainly raises the question in a business owners’ mind: “Will this work for me?”. You are stating flat out that it will not. Any good marketing professional will tell you that it depends, and that one should first test the results before deciding if the approach works or not. Posting on social media sites without a plan or strategy can indeed backfire and negatively effect the credibility of one’s business. That is why the social networking site LinkedIn is so popular (40 million users) because its B2B but with a social network platform. Direct your clients to check it out before letting them loose on Facebook. Effective use of any social media sites should rely more on the branding of the individual who just happens to own this or that business and not as a tool to actively peddle their wares. My reading of the comments confirmed my instincts: that social media marketing can reinforce my branding and extend my traffic channels if used wisely. Posted by: John Stuart Leslie on July 16, 2009 at 3:38 PM This article is helpful for me and others. Facebook, Twitter, and linkedin are great places to start promoting a product or service I have personally found a person on facebook who is willing to let me help him with his business in the insurance industry whom i never known before facebook. So it is possible to meet new people for business ventures. It is how you portray your messages. On youtube you must do something outrageous and silly to get notice. Posted by: Sharron Dark on December 31, 2009 at 11:32 AM I respectfully disagree with the majority of the content in this article. Posted by: Matt Kocot on January 19, 2010 at 10:05 PM |
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B2B - Skip the Social Media Marketing
Jean,
I’d have to disagree with your take on Twitter. The Wall Street Journal and many local weekly business journals use Twitter much like an RSS feed. Twitter also has been used very effectively to update followers on industry conferences and the like.
Twitter is a tool. It’s up to the person wielding it to decide whether the content will be about burritos or something a business customer would want to know as soon as possible. The medium doesn’t determine credibility, the content does.
And if 60 percent of Twitter users abandon the service within the first month, that means 40 percent don’t. I wouldn’t be so quick to brush them off.
Posted by: Robert Celaschi on June 8, 2009 at 4:11 PM