Social Media in a B2B context

Last week I made a business development call on a local company, who were looking to find out more about Social Media–and what it could do for them.

They are a business-to-business organisation, and I was slightly stumped when asked about B2B case studies in Social Media, so I decided to have a bit Google and find out more.

Summary Presentation

The following is a really rather good presentation, which I have embedded from Slideshare.

A Social Media Framework for B2B Product Managers and Marketers

View more presentations from Dan Sears.

B2B uses for social media

According to Dan Sears, you might consider the following:

Listen and monitor the online conversation
Gather product requirements and feedback
Alert customers of new product features, upcoming events
Introduce products to prospects
Develop advocates and Industry influencers
Reposition products and brands
Share information during tradeshows and events
Align and connect communities of interest and practice
Generate awareness and exposure (press release)

Which of these might be useful for you?

Link Love

There are also a number of good links below to get you started. The Marketing Profs article “latching” (although 3rd hand) has a useful swathe of numbers which might whet your marketing appetite.

I’ve also included an article I’ve found which sets out the Devil’s Advocate position, i.e. that it’s a waste of time [but it’s from 2007 ;-)].

I hope you find these useful. I found them in a quick Google search, so there is much more material out there.

Technorati Tags: b2b,business,social media,roi,measurement,marketing,lead generation,business development

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