There is always a concern among the conservatives whether or not to go to the digital media and then to the social networking niche. If the brave marketers finds it difficult to go to this media, the conservative brick-and-mortar trader should not be blamed for being averse to it. But I think forget about the question of if you should or shouldn’t leverage social media for B2B marketing. Even forget whether you can see a direct link to ROI. If you aren’t blogging, networking, and conversing with your customers and the market through social media, you lost already because social media marketing in B2b is what a website was back in the 90’s, it is the game turner. If you use social media you have credibility and authority.
Think of this. Whenever you get a company name, the first thing is you go and check the website. Majotiry of the urban people yuse the internet from office for a variety of reasons. And thus it is a very good place to expand your reach in the easiest of ways.
Customers interaction through websites is the need of the hour. They want to hear your voice. They want you to be a thought as a leader in at least one category. It is about the exposure you are willing to subscribe to when you engage in social media marketing practices. A community, a blog, tweets, they will all help you create authority simply by stepping close to them
The number one role of marketing in B2B is to convince your customers that it is worth spending thousands or millions of dollars on your solutions. If you aren’t credible, authoritative, and a leader, chances are slim a customer is going to consider you. He has other options at the click of a buton. Just being aware of you as a provider isn’t enough. The benefit of social media marketing is that as much as it improves awareness, it ultimately establishes you as a player.
And, if you really have to prove quantitatively that social media marketing is improving ROI, stop looking at awareness. Track the movement of your brand across leadership, credibility, and mindshare. Chances are, your social media marketing efforts will be paying off here.
