The WOMsta monsta
Social media and B2B. Hitting the bottom line?
Referring to social media in a post on PR & B2B, I used the example of John Deere’s ‘Ultimate SkidSteer Smackdown’ and the comments it’s attracting on YouTube – people are swapping product-opinions based on their experiences of using earthmovers.
But will this positively influence John Deere’s sales or bolster customer loyalty? Given the impact that Word-of-Mouth can have on a brand, then surely the answer must be ‘yes’.
The big WOM buzz.
If you read the marketing press, then you’ll know that social media is attracting massive attention. Most of the focus is on its applications in B2C (no surprise there), but a recurring question is how social media might develop as an interactive communications tool in B2B. (Social Media B2B has plenty of useful insights.)
The keyword here has to be ‘interactive’ because WOM has become so much more accessible. Who is talking and what they are saying is being made increasingly public. Market reflections – what is being said about a brand and the response this generates – are now being widely shared through the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
So, interact. Start talking.
A blog on a B2B website really changes the way people can use the site. It increases opportunities for interactions within the market by changing the site from a read-only, ’shop-window’ into a two-way channel – it’s a shift from information to communication.
And that shift certainly creates some new challenges in terms of how B2B websites are used as commercial tools. Does a blog replace newsletters and the trad ‘News’ section? How will it be kept active, attract and encourage participants and who will monitor and respond to their comments? How would a blog affect the rest of the site? Critically, what would its role be in terms of building sales, margins and customer loyalty? Thought provoking stuff for those tasked with market communications.
The WOMsta is here. Is it staying?
Well, it would certainly seem to be: 45m+ Twitter users, 250m+ on Facebook and 40m+ on LinkedIn. Last week, YouTube reported they were getting more than a billion views a day.
Even if the numbers themselves don’t mean much, what is significant is the fact that these channels for interactive communication are well-established. The providers themselves may change or be eclipsed by others (MySpace?) but the monsta is among us and getting bigger every day.
More on PR and social media in B2B:
Getting results: John Deere ‘Smackdown’ - outstanding B2B marketing
Back to The Long Hello: making B2B marketing work for the bottom line
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
