By Nick Johnson - May 24th, 2011
There simply aren’t enough great examples of B2B Social Media out there. Having spent the past few months deep in the world of research speaking to just about every B2B company in the United Stat...
There simply aren’t enough great examples of B2B Social Media out there.
Having spent the past few months deep in the world of research speaking to just about every B2B company in the United States, there are a few names that come up over and over again:
- Cisco
- Dell
- IBM
- SAP
- Radian 6
They are all fantastic examples of how a B2B’s social media should look and a blueprint for future plans. Yet if you’re looking for B2C Social Media – a list longer than both my arms (which are of average size) of companies come to mind. Coca- Cola, Starbucks, Dominos, Home Depot, Best Buy, Whole Foods, Ford, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, McDonalds, General Motors and the list goes on...
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Despite this clear gulf between the two, B2B take up of social media is increasing and there is an ever growing demand and necessity for B2B marketers and companies to get it right. I sense a disconnect of epic proportions. How can you benchmark your social media strategy and implement plans when there are so few who are viewed as leaders in your space?
While a few of you may say, sure but we can look to the B2C examples and modify them for a B2B audience. Really? I’m not convinced and from speaking with countless others, neither are they.
Fear not, this is not just a rant. I hope to have provided a solution. In one small step for Useful Social Media and hopefully one Giant Leap for B2B kind, I have created the B2B Corporate Social Media Summit. An event designed entirely for B2B companies looking to utilise social media for better marketing, comms and profitability. Here you won’t find any B2C companies, strictly leading B2Bs setting benchmarks and achieveables.
This should hopefully be a red letter day for B2B Social Media and when I muse on this in six months time, I’ll hopefully be able to list some B2B examples which are longer than my middle finger!
Am I right?