These days, most tech-savvy businesses are looking to establish a firm link between the all pervading social media and their brand identity through focused marketing efforts. Tracking the trend, Forrester Research analyst Diane Clarkson, who charts out eBusiness multichannel strategies with the future in mind, states:
“The year 2011 will witness an increasing number of businesses reaching out to their customers through a host of networking channels in the various innovative ways.”
Evolving social media marketing strategy
The expert believes that the social media marketing strategy will revolve around proactively reaching out to prospects, resolving customer grievances and dealing with service issues. He has been quoted as saying: “We’ve (already) seen leading companies achieve both service and brand success with extensive support communities online. We can expect to see many more companies testing the waters, so watch out for a rise in peer-to-peer support.”
Of course, not just consumer driven brands, but also a growing number of small ‘business-to-business ’ (B-2-B) entities are keen to experiment with social media for the following purposes:
- To establish business identity in a niche audience
- To create a buzz
- To widen their reach and broaden the contact/user base
- To increase their market share
A case in point is Bill.com Inc., a bill-payment services provider located in Palo Alto, Calif. The venture-backed company is striving to market itself vigorously on Facebook. With over 10,000 clients, it has already managed to access many ‘business friends’ on the popular social-networking site.
Establishing presence on social media
Spelling out the desire to be where the target audience is present, another small business owner, based in Reston, reveals a similar strategy. Tim McLaughlin has built a dynamic presence for his Web-strategy & design company (Siteworx Inc.). He mentions: “B-to-B buyers are just like any other consumer, which means they are going to be on Facebook.”
However, unlike their more consumer-focused counterparts (retailers who sell smartphones, games and similar such personal products), most B-2-B businesses seem to be facing more hurdles in their endeavor. They are having a much harder time when it comes to connecting with their audience.
For example, so far, Bill.com has just about half the actual base of Facebook ‘friends’ as their average user, far fewer than a majority of its consumer-centric counterparts. On the other hand, LegalZoom.com Inc., a small business helping people file legal documents like divorce papers and wills, has well over 10,000 Facebook ‘friends’. This is an issue that demands some consideration.
