Why B2B Companies Should Pounce into the Social Media Arena

February 05, 2010 - 1:02 PM

There has been a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. The world of business is progressively moving online and getting more social. What does this mean for B2B companies, and is it in their best interest to look into social media?

Looking for an answer, Forester research group released a report in early 2009 with insight into The Social Technographics of Business Buyers. Forrester analysts report that the survey findings were surprising and drove them to the conclusion that B2B marketers lead in social media marketing.

Forrester research group surveyed more than “1200 buyers throughout America and Europe asking not just how people participate in social technologies, but whether they use them to make buying decisions.”

Here’s a quick overview of the findings and they mean for B2B companies according to Forrester’s Groundswell Blog (http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2009/02/new-research-b2.html), the:

• A majority of B2B decision makers were going online to find information, but only 25-30 percent of marketers were using social media themselves.
• B2B business decision makers actively seek out peers online for advice online.
• B2B buyers exceed all previous benchmarks for social participation
• 91% of these B2B decision-makers are social media spectators, meaning they are reading blogs, watching user generated video, and participating in other social media. Note that 69% of them said they were using this technology for business purposes.
• Only 5% are non-participants (Inactives).
• 55% of these decision-makers were in social networks despite as mature businesspeople and not college students; you'd think they'd be participating a lot less.
• 43% are creating media (blogs, uploading videos or articles, etc.) and 58% are Critics, reacting to content they see in social formats. Again the numbers are very high compared to other groups we've surveyed, and again the level of participation for business purposes is also very high.

So, what does this mean for you?

• There has been a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. The world of business is progressively moving online and getting more social.
• Buyers in the B2B area are one of the most social groups around, based on their activity on social media sites.
• B2B decision makers are going online to find information and they’re searching beyond your Web site
• There is always a consumer on the other end of B2B and he wants to feel engaged
• If you’re a B2B marketer and you’re not using social technologies in your marketing strategy, you’re ignoring a cost efficient method of engaging directly with your audience, which includes current and prospective customers

What’s the point?

Social media tools can keep you ahead of the curve with the rapid changes in communications and how those changes impact your industry.

Chris Brogan said it best on his site (http://www.chrisbrogan.com) allow me to paraphrase - Many B2B companies firms dedicate entire business development teams to the role of “being there” before the sale and dedicate standard CRM practices for “being there” during and after the sale. There is also typically dedicated sales team members who rely on one-on-one interaction to get customers to sign on the dotted line. Through social media, B2B companies have the ability to translate these same practices into an online environment and utilize their online efforts as another way to be there before, during and after the sale.

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