As in so many other blogs I have read recently, and in my own capacity as Marketing Manager for a leading ground support equipment manufacture, we are faced with a problem of choice. Recognising the need to engage, inform and learn from our customers, dealers and marketplace we b2b marketing professionals are being hard pressed to do the social media, thing. Whether its Facebook, Twitter, My Space, Linkden, blog, You tube, or any other media platform, we investigate there appears to be inherent risks of precieved loss of brand control, the dangers of public rants and general issues of sustainability.
The biggest challenge is deciding which tools will deliver on your goals/objectives and are the preferred choice of your target markets.
Many companies are reluctant to use Facebook as a venue opting for Linkden due to it focus on business networks and high number of Decision makers. Personally, the decision to Facebook or not to Facebook is more complex. Facebook has a strong brand awareness and unlike Linkden social contacts could generate multilevel connections b2b across organisations in a way leader to leader my not. A great example of this is Southwestern's page which also incourages suppliers to connect. The involvement of juniour, middle and senior contact engage can only lead to more robust business outcomes.
Again the power of Twitter has in many business circles been misunderstood. The primary fear being that certain employees would under moments of pressure cause viral rants about the brand. The truth is email, blogging and even facebook could be said to habour this risk. The key issue should be clear, shared policies around media use similar to general work internet access that clarify acceptable and unacceptable twitter activity.
In conclusion the use of social media as a direct marketing engagement, learning and branding building tool can't be overstated. What is needed though is a clear strategies, policies and commitment to add value to users and the wider readership. This value will only arise from thought leadership and a willingness to experiment with the new social media tools to find what will work most effectively for your b2b markets.
The biggest challenge is deciding which tools will deliver on your goals/objectives and are the preferred choice of your target markets.
Many companies are reluctant to use Facebook as a venue opting for Linkden due to it focus on business networks and high number of Decision makers. Personally, the decision to Facebook or not to Facebook is more complex. Facebook has a strong brand awareness and unlike Linkden social contacts could generate multilevel connections b2b across organisations in a way leader to leader my not. A great example of this is Southwestern's page which also incourages suppliers to connect. The involvement of juniour, middle and senior contact engage can only lead to more robust business outcomes.
Again the power of Twitter has in many business circles been misunderstood. The primary fear being that certain employees would under moments of pressure cause viral rants about the brand. The truth is email, blogging and even facebook could be said to habour this risk. The key issue should be clear, shared policies around media use similar to general work internet access that clarify acceptable and unacceptable twitter activity.
In conclusion the use of social media as a direct marketing engagement, learning and branding building tool can't be overstated. What is needed though is a clear strategies, policies and commitment to add value to users and the wider readership. This value will only arise from thought leadership and a willingness to experiment with the new social media tools to find what will work most effectively for your b2b markets.
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