Facebook for B2B?

Is Facebook becoming your primary channel for B2B presence?

For years, I have researched, pondered and discussed this dillema among my peers. I have often wondered the feasibility of allocating resources in development, creation, monitoring and engagement of the various Facebook groups, profiles and pages.

Frankly speaking, when I see costs (agency spend) associated with Facebook on the B2B side, the ROI figure makes me think.

From leadership perspective, would you continue this? Or would you step back and question the ROI dillema. Is it just a broadcasting medium if no meaningful ‘business’ value generating conversations are actually happening? What if the presence leads to valued and engaged community?

It still acts primarily as a consumer facing platform but ultimately even on the B2B side, we are all people and we all like to connect.

The growth has been expotential

It has a place in your social media strategy since everyone is on Facebook now. It acts as a relationship platform to help you connect with each other, undestand each other and develop better relationships. In addition, the user demographics have definitely changed since the adoption has been expotential throughout the different age groups, geographies and even mobile platforms in the recent years.

Value

However, the question is, are the conversations business related or do we want to just focus on the personal networking aspect of social media in this case? From developement perspective, the API back-end does allow developers to offer greater value within and outside of the Facebook network and create fresh and creative customer experiences.

Some examples

If you’re unsure what B2B Facebook usage looks like in practice, here are three top brands to learn from. Each manages to simultaneously engage its audience, show personality and be a valuable resource to prospects.

IBM’s People for the Smarter Planet. IBM’s People for the Smarter Planet page focuses on the engagement and the people aspect of building a smarter planet. More emphasis on the community vs what the brand does. Great social engagement model in practise. True ROI.

SalesForce.This cloud-based CRM solution was one of the first companies to make good use of B2B Facebook marketing. As a result of its popularity with fans, SalesForce was chosen by Facebook to manage FB’s growing sales department. Within its Facebook presence, SalesForce highlights industry news, shares articles that are of importance to fans (e.g., tips for small and mid-sizes businesses) and cross-promotes its other social media presences including YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.

Gartner. This information technology research and advisory giant greets new fans with an impressive edit of the main Facebook pages template. The Gartner page displays a full color ad for the company’s next event with a clickable button that leads the fan to registration. Other features of thisFacebook page include links to videos and announcements about latest product releases. If you’re looking for a well-done and highly professional example to follow, Gartner is a good “textbook” example. The page/ site is friendly without being overly casual.

You decide.

Fast Company: Why IBM Could Be Bigger Than Facebook in Social Media

Drew Neisser, CEO & Founder of Renegade, posted a very insightful piece on our recent launch of Customer Experience Suite and the Project Northstar and how it plays into the future of web commerce today.

I’ve stated it earlier in various blog posts that the current explosion of social media cannot sustain its growth without revenue models in place. The current explosion has also added lot of noise in this space as well which dilutes the whole ‘experience’ as well.

However, that is being changed by packages like the IBM Customer Experience Suite that focus on transforming and incorporating the social processes that define the digital experience of any brand. It’s not about the tools but how you take that ‘social’ interaction and make it meaningful.

Have a read here >>>
fastcompany.com/1689837/why-ibm-could-be-bigger-than-facebook-in-social-media