Benefits of social media for B2B marketing

Social media is important to B2B marketing.

Some CMO's believe a false myth that social media is only appropriate to B2C companies. Participation in social media marketing by B2B marketers has jumped to more than 90% in 2012, according to Marketo, a marketing automation company. B2B marketers are seeing tremendous results from their efforts in social media.

David Dubois, an assistant professor of marketing INSEAD, stated in an article for Forbes:

Social media is not “just” another media channel, an n+1 communication tool in a marketer’s toolbox. Its nature and scope make it a unique instrument to leverage interactions between not just two parties (such as a company and its customers) but between multiple actors (e.g. a company, its customers, employees, collaborators, public and non-governmental agencies, external talents, etc.).

Social media lends itself naturally to B2B marketing because the B2B buying process is a demanding one.  It's a longer buying process than B2C typically, which means prospects spend time researching decisions, educating themselves and their teams and become influenced by a variety of channels. This forces marketers and sales teams to work in harmony (or at least not in conflict), and marketing teams must consider the difference between lead generation and direct sales.

Benefits of social media for B2B marketing

• Helps to educate prospects and buyers on your services and offerings
• Acts as a subscription service (similar to email or RSS), which helps to nurture a relationship over time: consider Twitter follow as a subscription tool
• Builds brand awareness
• Increases traffic to websites and other brand touchpoints, which can then result in conversions
• Helps to acquire new business relationships
• Reduces marketing expenses
• Acts as a sales nurturing tool
• If connected to an automation system, can be used to measure the commitment of leads to the buying process. Consider using a lead scoring system based on interaction data to achieve this.
• Helps build press visibility and improve media relations for a brand
• Strengthens a search presence
• Amplifies new product or service announcements
• Great for customer feedback, which helps brands improve and become more competitive
• Powerful tool for hiring and recruitment
• Makes a brand appear more contemporary and relevant

SOURCE: Forbes: Social Media In B2B Marketing: Publish Or Perish!