B2B marketing via social media isn’t easy. This is why it’s so important that, before embarking on one of these ventures, a company comprehensively understand itself. Its value proposition, its competitive advantage, and its brand each need to be clearly articulated to make a dent in the Twitterverse or blogosphere.
On one hand, Carone is right: a post on Pinterest isn’t going to close a $5 million deal. Every company doesn’t need to tweet—Apple, the world’s most profitable one, shuns social media altogether. Instead, each company needs to identify the platforms that are most effective for its brand and business. Selectivity is not only smart; it’s also imperative.
On the other hand, you never know where a sale is going to come from. It’s possible to imagine the daughter of a CEO who reads a promoted tweet, which she then shares with her father, who e-mails it to his CIO. What’s more, social media works best as an amplifier of traditional media; that is, when your tweets complement and reinforce the message that you’re pushing out in interviews and advertisements. By itself, a billboard on the highway may not influence me, but when I see the same image and quote on Facebook, I’m likelier to remember it.
Addendum (5/3/2012): Success!
