B2B Marketing is Moving to Social Media - Chris Ritch

Currently , B2B marketing agencies have begun to analyze social media closely ? what it is, how it works, the different types, and what social media means within the B2B marketing environment. Even though it is still too early in the development of social media to have concrete answers for its ideal use in business to business formats , there are many beneficial social media opportunities for B2B marketing agencies and their clients to learn about and explore .

Prior to talking about the multiple exciting opportunities social media present for business to business marketing, it is vital to remember not to forget about traditional marketing communication efforts , such as direct marketing, in the future. As the world is changing at a quick pace, the challenge is not how to replace traditional efforts, but how social media can help what you already have in motion for your clients? PR, business to business advertising and marketing practices .

The details of how social media will impact B2B marketing remain to be witnessed . The following is a list of a few things that we do already know:

1. By using Twitter, a start-up company got one hundred fantastic marketing thoughts for free; a group of women raised more than $6,000 in a day; and a wooden toy maker in New Hampshire obtained a nationwide contract.

2. IBM received more leads, sales and exposure from a simple podcast than it did from a major print campaign.

3. Ninety percent of industrial buyers go to the Internet first when searching for a new supplier (ThomasNet, 2007).

4. A total of 3.3 BILLION text messages are sent every month globally, with 95 percent of them being read by their recipients.

In addition, a recent study by Marketing Sherpa of 400 business to business marketers from across varying industries learned that given the declining economy of the past couple years, 48 percent of those surveyed had added social media marketing to their tactical mix in 2009. Relatively low-cost tactics based on social media are receiving high attention and use as marketing budgets face more scrutiny .

Clearly , there are significant opportunities for social media for B2B marketing to benefit from. It is well worth taking a look to learn how it works, and how it can uniquely fit your own business to business marketing strategy .

So, where does social media fit in with you ? First, pay close attention to your audiences; listen and learn from them. Take a look at the websites or blogs your audiences visit regularly in order to know what information they are looking for and to see how they connect with each other online. Then, when you initiate your own social media, take small steps. Build slowly. The concept with social media is that it is community-based and it requires time and consistent interaction .

Dayton marketing agency TriComB2B walks the talk , and has made a blog of its own to participate in the online environment , as well as a Twitter account. If you?re curious to see how one B2B marketing agency participates in social media, take a look at TriComB2B when you have a chance .

Welcome to the exciting new Social Media World!

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Source: http://www.chrisritch.com/small-business/b2b-marketing-is-moving-to-social-media/455

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