Making Social Media Work In B2B Marketing

Business-to-business (B2B) marketers' interest in social media and Web 2.0 tactics spiked during the past nine months. Yet those who focus myopically on the tools — as they contemplate whether to start a blog or advertise on social networking sites — will fail to recognize and follow the practices and disciplines needed to embrace communities. With community members more willing to listen to peers than seek advice from a vendor's sales representative, bad vendor behavior will repel prospects and customers like milk gone sour. To avoid alienating these socially adept early adopters, B2B marketers should focus on audience and objectives first and avoid deploying social technologies as just another communication channel customers will choose to avoid.