Five Reasons B2B Companies Should Not Ignore Social Media

Wild Pixel Media, an International Agency with offices in the US and Latinamerica.">Founder & CEO of Wild Pixel Media, an International Agency with offices in the US and Latinamerica.

If you operate a business-to-business (B2B) company and you're reading this article, chances are you're semi-convinced that social media just "doesn't work" for you. At the same time, you feel like the only kid who didn't get invited to the party of the year. Heck, it could be the best party in decades! On top of that, you're bombarded daily with news of social media business trends and innovative social-sharing strategies, and have even seen a live streamof the main social networks being grilled in Congress for possibly interfering with the U.S. elections.With the evidence of social media's power stacking up, it's hard for even the most Facebook-averse business owner to remain skeptical.

From the B2B mindset, thinking about social media might seem abstract. Can an industrial insurance company be of any relevance to a Facebook audience? Can my medical equipment distribution business achieve anything on Twitter? The answer is yes.

In my experience managing the marketing efforts for B2B clients in at least 10 different industries, I know that the first reaction to social media marketing is often doubt -- until clients see the increases in lead generation and even brand new sales channels that sprout from these efforts. I can tell you firsthand, you don't want to miss out on this. The reality is that not being on social media is hindering your growth.

Using a well-thought-out strategy, setting specific key performance indicators (KPIs) from the beginning and being consistent with your content will yield a great return on investment (ROI) and get you into that party. So, here are five reasons for building a winning B2B social media strategy and tips on how to do it well:

One of the first things you may hear when you talk to B2B sales managers is that this is a purely rational market -- decisions are pragmatic and solely based on numbers, cash flow and revenue projection. This is just not true. While considerable weight is put into the rational part of the purchase, decision-makers are often filled with emotions when it comes to selecting a provider. The result of these selections could affect their jobs, their careers and their overall stability. Nobody wants to be the person who bought that customer relationship management (CRM) software that was a complete headache and generated huge losses.

These emotions need to be addressed with a more humane approach, and social media gives us the ability to have a closer connection to the buyer, not the entity. Examples of this are using videos of client testimonials that feel real and not scripted and introducing your employees to your social audience to start the conversation in the digital environment, thereby creating closer relationships offline.

If you operate a business-to-business (B2B) company and you're reading this article, chances are you're semi-convinced that social media just "doesn't work" for you. At the same time, you feel like the only kid who didn't get invited to the party of the year. Heck, it could be the best party in decades! On top of that, you're bombarded daily with news of social media business trends and innovative social-sharing strategies, and have even seen a live streamof the main social networks being grilled in Congress for possibly interfering with the U.S. elections.With the evidence of social media's power stacking up, it's hard for even the most Facebook-averse business owner to remain skeptical.

From the B2B mindset, thinking about social media might seem abstract. Can an industrial insurance company be of any relevance to a Facebook audience? Can my medical equipment distribution business achieve anything on Twitter? The answer is yes.

In my experience managing the marketing efforts for B2B clients in at least 10 different industries, I know that the first reaction to social media marketing is often doubt -- until clients see the increases in lead generation and even brand new sales channels that sprout from these efforts. I can tell you firsthand, you don't want to miss out on this. The reality is that not being on social media is hindering your growth.

Using a well-thought-out strategy, setting specific key performance indicators (KPIs) from the beginning and being consistent with your content will yield a great return on investment (ROI) and get you into that party. So, here are five reasons for building a winning B2B social media strategy and tips on how to do it well:

One of the first things you may hear when you talk to B2B sales managers is that this is a purely rational market -- decisions are pragmatic and solely based on numbers, cash flow and revenue projection. This is just not true. While considerable weight is put into the rational part of the purchase, decision-makers are often filled with emotions when it comes to selecting a provider. The result of these selections could affect their jobs, their careers and their overall stability. Nobody wants to be the person who bought that customer relationship management (CRM) software that was a complete headache and generated huge losses.

These emotions need to be addressed with a more humane approach, and social media gives us the ability to have a closer connection to the buyer, not the entity. Examples of this are using videos of client testimonials that feel real and not scripted and introducing your employees to your social audience to start the conversation in the digital environment, thereby creating closer relationships offline.