Confianzys Consulting is a Product Management Company

5 Ways for B2B Product Companies to Leverage Social Media December 17, 2010

There is a commonly held perception that social media is relevant mainly for consumer facing companies and that too, for those talking to youthful audiences. After all, it is college kids who spend all their time on Facebook and the like, right? Wrong!

Comscore data shows that the under-24 age group actually declined from 2008 to 2009 as a percentage of the total audience on Facebook. Chances are that even if you are a B2B product marketer, the buyers who make buying decisions on your product and the end users who will impact their buying are actually using more social media, not less. Besides, social media is not just about selling – it can be used for so much more.

So, how can a savvy B2B tech product marketer leverage social media? Here are 5 ways.

Identify influencers and early adopters: Especially for startups with low marketing budgets, places like Twitter and LinkedIn are great places to identify the influential people who are talking about the sector that you operate in, and whose recommendations are likely to influence other users.

Get heard in the noise: The most popular technology bloggers today receive a deluge of press release emails everyday – and poorly targeted, irrelevant PR annoys people. Instead of just spamming bloggers and journalists in the hope that 1 out of 10 releases get picked up, use social media such as blogs, forums or Twitter to engage with people first. Conversations lead to a much greater probability of your news being heard.

Seek feedback: Launching a new version? Want to understand a customer problem better? Use social media to run surveys or interact with users – Facebook applications, for example offer many possibilities in this area. Traditionally, most companies have been wary of talking about ideas before they are out in the market, but time and again, it’s been proved that great implementation to market matters more than just having a good idea. Engagement marketing is the way to go.

Brand building: Yes, as a B2B company, you sell to other companies, but companies are not faceless monoliths – the buying is still done by individuals. Use social media to carry forward your company branding consistently. Individuals ultimately carry forward their perceptions of the companies that they deal with, into their buying decisions.

Customer support: Places like your Facebook page or Twitter profile are an additional channel for you to listen to customer problems. Why do you need these if you already have a hotline? Because it’s not about you – it’s about the channels that your customers want to use! As more customers spend time on social media channels, that is where they will talk to you. Word of caution though: Don’t do this unless you can maintain the conversation. It’s better to stick to a well-manned hotline than offer a Twitter ID that talks to no one!