• by Steve McAbee , March 17, 2010

Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn allow businesses to attract customers, recruit talent, develop leads and share information in real-time from anywhere in the world. Although much of the early success in social media campaigns is from B2C companies, those that sell goods or services directly to consumers, the adoption of social tactics has been uneven for B2B companies, businesses offering goods and services to other businesses.

An Internet search for case studies of social media campaigns returns many examples from the B2C community, but very few from B2B companies. The dichotomy is striking, but one thing is clear: With the rapid growth and popularity of social media, B2B companies choosing to ignore this opportunity to connect with customers and prospects risk being overtaken by their competitors and losing market share. On a global scale, social networking is more popular than email, so why do B2B companies hesitate?

Two main factors have contributed to B2B social media adoption being outpaced by B2C. First, most people begin engaging in social media for purposes other than their job function. According to Forrester research, a technology and market research company, the number of people who are active in social media is higher for general purpose than job-related. This indicates a stronger market for companies using social media to connect and engage their consumer customers. Second, consumer interests are easier to identify based on an individual's buyer profile and preferences. For instance, a company that sells golf equipment can use a site like Facebook to identify people who are interested in things that are related or similar to golf- like a fan page for a pro golfer or a sports apparel company. Identifying people that are interested in purchasing procurement software for their company is a bit more difficult, such people typically have varying personal interests, and diverse buyer profiles.

Engaging customers via social media is more powerful than traditional customer service channels, like the telephone, because it is played out in a public forum. This allows other customers (and potential customers) to witness the handling of customer concerns, demonstrating a company's commitment to customer service. A second benefit to the company is that social media create databases of institutional knowledge that can be referred to over and over again, not just by customers, but employees and executives. For example, a company monitoring its brand on Twitter identifies an underserved customer who is having problems with the company's product and turned to Twitter to voice his troubles. Being active in social media allows that company to step in, contact the customer directly and resolve the situation. Social media also empowers the customer to then share his positive experience with his network, turning a negative situation into a positive.

Discussion forums, blogs, microblogs and social networking sites provide a company with first-hand knowledge of what people think and feel about its business, products, competitors, and industry. Social media is a direct channel for feedback from customers, partners and other influencers, and can be leveraged by B2B companies to harvest feedback from the people who actually use their products as well as the ones who purchase them. Social media gives businesses access to real-time opinions from what amounts to a focus group limitless in size and scope.

B2B companies can no longer wait to engage in social media practices. B2B Magazine's "2010" outlook indicates that six in 10 B2B marketers plan on increasing their spending in this category, and that the importance of social media marketing in the B2B arena is on the rise. Companies cannot afford to be left out of the conversation while their competitors engage in it. B2B companies should take advantage of social media as part of an integrated communications strategy and connect with customers in a way that benefits their businesses and brands.