The use of Social Media in B2B Marketing - Discuss

Today’s global economy is genuinely borderless. Information, capital and innovation flow all over the world at top speed, enabled by technology and fuelled by the consumer’s desire for access to the best and least expensive products. The latest addition to the world of marketing is the increased use of the world wide web and the uptake of social media platforms to broaden marketing strategies.

When one business is marketing to another social media can be used to increase a company’s reach and new visibility, impove brand recognition and enhance the service which the company can provide their customers through a ‘new’ idea of market research which can be gained through a new medium of interaction and engagement with their existing and potential customers.

It is important for B2B companies to be involved in social media primarily through channels where their current client base are located. Although the world we are living in is rapidly changing the online world of social media can at first be a daunting place for someone who is considered to be a traditional marketer and is not familiar with the entire range of options available to them. Therefore it is reccommended that B2B companies initially increase their marketing from an area integrated with social media which they already are familiar with.
By developing their use of social media in this way it will help to ensure that the basics are covered first allowing them to maximise the value and benefits which social media offers through professional and clear cut processes which is vital for the successful integration of social media.

The development of a clear cut strategy focussing on the content will enable the successful execution of a companies entry into the field of social media. The increase of web traffic to a companies website will in turn bring the opportunity to exploit the potential of new business leads in a relatively cheap manner.

It is important to remember that social media can be extremely time consuming and for this reason may not be the best option for very small businesses. The pro’s and con’s need to be evaluated to decide if it will be worth the investment in time for each individual company. The benefits of social media for B2B marketing differ somewhat from those of B2C marketing. The principle reason for this is the market size of which they target with B2B markets generally being on a much smaller scale to B2C markets, this means that due to the likelihood of repeat sales the value of a B2B individual customer is much higher than that of an individual B2C customer. Another point to remember is that due to the nature of B2B marketing all sales should be nurtured and maintained to the highest level.

It should not be forgotten that all marketers themselves are consumers and therefore can use their own channels of social media, whichever they choose to be involved in be it Facebook, Twitter, You Tube or other forums to give positive and negative reports on products which they consume and this in turn is fed back to their contacts and spreads through ‘word of mouth’ which is widely believed to be one of the best forms of marketing and advertising.

I believe that if any company uses social media within its marketing strategy the main ingredients for a successful recipe are : Prove the principle and set achievable goals and targets.