How are B2B companies using social media?

Wondering what the “cool kids” are doing? Wondering how social media really relates to your business? You’re not alone. The promise of social media is real, but distinctly different for B2B companies.

Here's a chart that shows how B2B companies are using social media for business purposes. 

The most effective usage is to build brand reputation, followed by building awareness. In our work with high tech companies, social media is being used for networking, lead generation, and business development. In essence, the build brand awareness and reputation.

Not sure how to get started integrating social media into your marketing plan?

Here’s my take:

Start with LinkedIn. Get your sales guys, managers and leaders on LinkedIn, building their online network of industry contacts. Post status updates that (over time) educate customers on your broader expertise.
For instance:

• “Giving a lunch-and-learn on …”
• “Headed downtown to train partners on new software”
• “Launching … for new tech applications”
• “Recruiting for … to expand …”

You get the idea…
After that, add in LinkedIn discussion groups and Q&A.

And after that, move to Twitter & Facebook. (Auto-posting from LinkedIn helps.) These are most useful for new product launches, promos, contests, e-commerce, etc.”Teasing” the customer with coming innovation, products & contests are effective here.

So, how are you using social media? Experimenting? Embracing? What’s worked for you? What hasn’t?