• by Drew Neisser , August 17, 2011

The hand-painted sign said, "Try me." Just a bit of tomato for the taking at my local farmer's market. So try it I did. Shazam! In my mouth I savored a breathtaking morsel of sun-ripened yumminess. A tasty revelation reminding me that the bland blobs we buy in supermarkets have been bred for everything but eating.

Some time ago mass-market tomato farmers exchanged flavor for firmness, zest for bug resistance and vine ripening for carbon dioxide coloration. In their eagerness to sell, they lost their way -- a cautionary tale for B2B marketers hoping to exploit social media on a grand scale. With this in mind and at the risk of providing metaphoric manure, I offer this tomato lover's guide to B2B social media.

Plant the right seeds

Mass-market farmers lost their way when they put their own needs ahead of their customers. B2B marketers who approach social media as a sales channel first will see their efforts die on the vine. Explains Trish Nettleship, Social Media Lead at AT&T Business Marketing: "The key is never starting with the platform. Start with the consumer in mind and that will lead you to the right platform with the right purpose at the right time."

Choose the proper fields

Soil matters; choose poorly and your seeds won't take. B2B marketers now have a myriad of social media options from the heavily harvested LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter to the lesser-plowed Slideshare, Quora, and StumbleUpon. CMO.com just updated their helpful Social Landscape, which grades the top social platforms by their ability to engage, generate exposure, drive site traffic and enhance SEO.

Fertilize early and often

For B2B marketers, content is the fertilizer that insures growth. Chip Rodgers, who heads up operations for the 2.5-million-member SAP Community Network, notes that "it's a virtuous cycle -- content brings community which in turn, brings better and fresher content." Rodgers encourages marketers to "feed the community your best [content] by leveraging the experts you already have."

Monitor your crop carefully

Like farming, social media requires constant attention. There are few shortcuts because, as Persia Tatar, Founder of the Social Media Society, explains: "The core of social media is about relationships." Tatar, who built a loyal following on Twitter in just 12 months, adds: "I monitor my Tweet stream and reward individuals that have engaged as brand advocates with special invitations and exclusive content."

Seek organic growth

Gassing tomatoes may turn them red and hasten their trip to market, but it leaves them tasteless. B2B marketers who try similar shortcuts in social media will also come up short. Realizing that their subject matter experts weren't as experienced in social media, AT&T took the time to create the Networking Leaders Academy. "We now have an active corps of expert ambassadors who create social proof and digital trust in AT&T," Nettleship reports.

Weed quickly

Even the best-laid seeds can fail despite careful planning. IBM, which recently launched an "expertise locator" to make highly knowledgeable IBMers accessible to prospects and customers, prescribes an "agile development" process for social programs. Explains Ethan McCarty, senior manager, Digital and Social Strategy at IBM: "The idea is that we try to learn quickly -- when stuff doesn't work, two weeks later we're changing it."

Harvest when ripe

Marketers who to try to sell too quickly via social will find themselves in an unappetizing situation. On the other hand, building trust via social media and the harvest can be bountiful. After seven years of nurturing, SAP's Community Network is now driving traffic to webinars and direct product sales. "We've really cut back with list buying and traditional marketing costs," Rodgers says.

Refine and renew

Social media programs, like fields, wear out and need to be refined or replaced. Having milked this metaphor for all it's worth, I turn the final spotlight back on Rodgers, who will be making his case at the upcoming B2B Corporate Social Media Summit in Philadelphia along with AT&T's Nettleship. Concludes the zesty Rodgers: "[Members are] only drawn to come back because they know your content is always fresh, relevant and compelling."