Social media has broad implications for b-to-b organizations in general, but its uses in marketing and sales will be much more specific.
From the introduction of moveable type in the 15th century to the rise of the Internet in the 20th, businesses have consistently looked for ways to exploit evolving methods of mass communication. It is no different with social media, communications based on Web 2.0 technologies that allow Internet users to interact with one other; with the growing popularity of sites such as MySpace and Facebook it was only a matter of time before b-to-b organizations began to jump on board.
It’s not enough, however, to start a blog, create a podcast or place ads on a social networking site to drive new business. In this new communications world order, one quickly learns that Web surfers are not just consumers, but producers of content that is shared, critiqued and linked to. As more b-to-b organizations explore social media as a way to raise awareness and create demand, they must first understand the landscape and the macro effects each category within that landscape has on sales and marketing, a starting point we focus on in this issue of SiriusPerspectives.
THE SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE
According to our research, roughly 50 percent of b-to-b organizations are utilizing some type of social media, reallocating a portion of their traditional media spend to do so. SiriusDecisions has identified eight categories of social media that can influence b-to-b sales and marketing efforts, including:
- Blogs. Web logs (“weblogs”) or journals that allow readers to comment on and create links to and from other entries or posts. Primarily text, blogs can also include video or sound files.
- Social networks. There are two types of social networks. Online communities such as MySpace and Facebook allow users to post profiles about themselves and connect with others, while professional networking sites such as LinkedIn and Jigsaw enable users to link to others through their association with friends or colleagues.
- Forums. These message boards were first seen in the 1980s (Usenet, bulletin board systems), where users with similar interests exchange messages. Most forums are moderated and focused on a particular topic or function.
- Podcasts. Syndicated or subscription-based digital media files that can be downloaded or streamed, providing automatic distribution of new content. Podcasts can be audio-only, or include video.
- Media sharing. Sites that let users upload, download, link to, comment on and rate digital media such as videos and images.
- Web feeds. Content data format that notifies users when updates are available; these users then click through to the new content.
- Wikis. Collaborative documents that are created using a Web browser. Contributors can add, delete or edit content, and notify other authors of their changes.
- Social bookmarks: Sites such as del.icio.us (owned by Yahoo!) and Digg that enable users to store and share Web bookmarks typically organized by tags into lists. Bookmarks can be public, private or restricted to a certain group; users can rate and recommend bookmarks, and many bookmark sites provide Web feeds to notify subscribers of updates.
FUNCTIONAL IMPACT AND VALUE
While the “cool factor” of these social media types make many of us want to try them all, the impact and value of each type varies dramatically. Following is a look at this impact and value by category:
- Blogs. Although blogging has emerged as an effective brand and awareness tool, its demand creation value is limited due to the fact that blog visitors tend to be turned off by blatant selling. The most effective b-to-b blog strategy uses senior-level executives to discuss business issues related to a solution set without an overt sales pitch. Blogs also can be created for existing customers to provide tips and best practices regarding your solutions, and to allow customers to interface with their peers. General keys to successful blogging include being consistent and timely with content creation and answers to reader comments; many organizations struggle to maintain their commitment to both as time progresses.
- Social networks. Professional networking sites can be valuable as sales prospecting tools because they allow reps to build networks and gain access to individuals outside their own databases. They also have high internal value as community builders for company alumni as well as for new hires to quickly create relationships within their new employers. Finally, social networks also can foster knowledge management and sharing to help solve technical or business issues; a big miss for b-to-b organizations that we see is harnessing the interactions within these networks to help prioritize content, tool and collateral creation.
- Forums. These communities have evolved to targetbusiness or technical users across many different verticals and sub-verticals, captive audiences that certainly excite marketers and salespeople. Any form of advertising or promotion, however, is typically deleted and the user banned, limiting the value of forums for most reputation and demand creation efforts. There is some value in creating forums for customers to drive loyalty and knowledge sharing, but the thought of “big brother” watching will likely drive customers to forums where they believe they can more freely share information and opinions.
- Podcasts. Many b-to-b organizations use podcasts to broadcast their message, drive awareness and build prospect lists. Subscriptions and syndication allow sales and marketing to track their distribution and consumption, making podcasts as valuable as the rich media applications offered by vendors including Brainshark and Avitage. Corporate communications can use podcasts to broadcast press releases and news events, while field and product marketing can use them as a tactical replacement or supplement to online event attendance. Given their portable nature as well as the wide availability of easy-to-use tools, audio and video podcasts also are useful internal tools for education and training.
- Media sharing. Viral marketing is alive and well on media sharing sites such as YouTube and Flickr, where users can rate, link and share their comments on individual digital videos and images. Many b-to-b organizations are successfully seeding media-sharing sites with scripted and professionally produced videos meant to drive brand awareness and recognition. Given the costs and diminishing returns of traditional print outlets, media sharing sites will continue to gain importance for corporate communications and advertising. For field marketing, the key to leveraging media sharing sites is to combine them with a program to drive visitor views of your media; a strategy to identify the optimal tags and keywords is also critical.
- Web feeds. From company announcements to product and blog updates, allowing your prospects and customers to subscribe to your content can be a powerful addition to your opt-in marketing tactics. Web feeds play an important role in any demand creation strategy because they can help separate genuine prospects from hand raisers, due to the fact they require recipients to take action to download the new content. For example, RSS feeds are documents that contain a summary of available content and include a link to your site; you can track who acts on the notification and the frequency of their activity. Field and product marketing can use Web feeds to notify sales of updated collateral, training materials and other company information.
- Wikis. Many organizations are beginning to use wikis to drive loyalty by collaborating with customers to create content that can be leveraged for support and training. Wikis are also replacing existing intranets or knowledge management systems, as they allow for the collaborative creation, editing and linking of relevant content behind a firewall, particularly between product marketing and sales. The one drawback is that anyone can edit Wiki text; therefore, a level of oversight is necessary to prevent dissatisfied customers and disenfranchised employees from adding negative or inaccurate content.
- Social bookmarks. Although their value is subject to debate, there are instances of b-to-b organizations using social bookmarks to direct customers to the correct resources within your organization or across a partner network. You can also use social bookmarks to tag links so that visitors who find your Web content valuable can share the link with others. This process can help spread your content among bookmark sites and further your search engine optimization. The danger – as with other search optimization tactics – is that bookmarking and tagging multiple pages on your site can backfire since most search and bookmark sites block content that is tagged an inordinate number of times.
THE SIRIUS DECISION
It is critical to take a measured approach to leveraging the various types of social media before buying into even the slightest bit of hype. We have no doubt that social media can be a valuable addition to the b-to-b marketing and sales arsenal, particularly to grow brand awareness, increase customer loyalty and enable knowledge sharing both internally and among your customers. Demand creation, however, is more of a stretch, certainly for those organizations that do not closely adhere to social media’s rules of the road. Setting the proper expectations and using these tools in the right circumstances can ensure that the baby won’t be thrown out with the bathwater if they disappoint in terms of demand funnel impact.
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