Does social marketing make sense for the B2B world?
B2B marketing leaders agree that social marketing is a great idea for consumer brands like Starbucks, but many are not yet convinced that social media is right for their companies.
Selling to business is different than selling to consumers, right?
No one would argue that the B2B and B2C worlds are exactly the same. Yes, the B2B sales cycle can certainly be long and complicated. And, yes, selling expensive customized capital equipment to executives is different than selling fancy espresso drinks to consumers.
However, social marketing isn’t solely about engaging with consumers and selling everyday products.
Social marketing is about relationships, and where are relationships more crucial to business success than in the B2B world? B2B marketers can adeptly use social marketing to build closer ties between clients and their company, clients and customer service, clients and product development, and yes even between clients and prospects.
The unique aspects of B2B marketing present a tremendous opportunity to attract and retain customers through the effective use of social marketing.
Why is social marketing right for B2B marketing?
- B2B has a smaller, more focused customer base. This makes it ideal for targeted social marketing.
- You often know your customers and prospects by name. They may all even know each other. This small community is ideal for the development of communities and user groups formed around niche products, services and markets.
- Relationships matter more. Because of the longer acquisition cycle, and the routine requirement for product or service customization, building and maintaining relationships over the long term is typically the goal of B2B organizations.
- The B2B world is driven by reputation and word-of-mouth. Social marketing is the ultimate word-of-mouth marketing.
- B2B relies more on non-traditional marketing like targeted print advertising, direct marketing, digital, word-of-mouth, reputation management and events rather than mass media channels. Social marketing fits well with this more targeted marketing approach.
- B2B relationships often require strict confidentiality since critical information may need to be shared between numerous parties. B2B communities and content must therefore balance the need for confidentiality with the typical openness of social marketing activities. B2B communities require detailed industry and product specific content, as well as moderators and participants with deep industry and product insights.
Social marketing is right for B2B marketing because your partners—whether they are customers, suppliers, dealers, or franchise owners—are often geographically dispersed and difficult to organize without an online community to build connections and leverage the power of your relationships.
Ultimately, engaging and nurturing customers through social marketing will help build long term, mutually beneficial and profitable relationships.
