I have talked to many B2B companies who are struggling with how social media fits into their business model. Meanwhile, many B2C companies are deepening brand engagement and increasing revenue with social media. Actually, some B2B companies are achieving great results with social media as well, the buzz just isn’t as loud.
My theory is that social media is about building and maintaining relationships. For B2C companies, the customer relationship void has been deep and wide. Companies and brands had a long way to go to meaningfully connect and build trust with consumers. In contrast, B2B has always been about the relationship. It’s a bit more complicated as the formal relationship is between two companies. Bottom line, though, is that people work in those companies. And people still want to do business with other people that they trust and respect. Since the relationship void is smaller in a B2B environment, the movement into social media won’t be as dramatic and groundbreaking. It will flow more naturally and will receive less attention. Nevertheless, there is real value in social media for B2B. Here are some case studies I’ve found.
Lured in by Social Media: An unofficial B2B case study
B2B Case Study from Media Awaken
Tags: B2B, B2C, Social Media