Why You Need Social Media

Social media isn’t new but it hasn’t been around very long. In that time it’s had a profound impact on our lives. It’s now estimated people who use the internet spend three hours a day on social media sites. Originally conceived of as a tool to allow friends to interact with each other, its scope is now much more extensive.
Think about it. It’s now common for social media sites to break international news stories leaving traditional media trying to play catch up. It’s used for politics, job searches, and by the music industry to name just a few. In fact there seems no area of our lives social media hasn’t touched.

Social Media for Business

Now this is important for business. Social media thus so far has been the preserve of business to consumer brands.  These have utilised social media extensively for brand awareness, product marketing, product launches and finally direct leads and even sales. If B2C businesses can get direct leads from social media, what can it now do for B2B brands?
I should refer to something I mentioned above. Social media was initially about communication between friends. Friends occupy a special place in our psychology making it easier for people to be sold or suggested to. Think about something your friend has liked on Facebook that you have then liked as a result.
This is precisely the psychology that B2C brands have used so successfully. But now social media has matured and with more people using it more for more things (that’s important), business to business brands can profit from social media used wisely.
And by that I mean social media can add the human element to your marketing. It should not be underestimated how powerful this is.  The time is now right for B2B businesses to use social media to build brand awareness.
It is of course easy to set up a Facebook page. You can add likes quickly. But you can lose them just as quickly. The key to success is to know your audience. There is a certain psychology involved and it’s difficult to experiment in public. Used in a heavy handed way you can guarantee to alienate your audience.  Facebook is littered with business pages with no more than a few likes.  Companies give up at crucial moments because they run out of things to say, or they just don’t generate any interaction on their page.
All that said, there is a huge opportunity out there for B2B brands to grasp.  You can bet if you don’t get it right, your competitor will.