SOCIAL MEDIA: Snake Oil or B2B Lead Generation Tool

Posted by JasonB on December 9, 2009

Is Social Media just a buzz or is it the real deal?  As a business professional, you’ve probably grown increasing familiar with words like Social Media, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.  You’ve heard the hype, but what can your company gain from them? Better yet – how do you start?   

How do you take the plunge into the social media world?
Simply creating a profile on Twitter and Facebook is not the recipe for instant success as some claim.  Tools don’t equal prospects; you need to have someone to do your social media work, and most importantly – something to say.  Social Media is a marketing catalyst for your company’s ideas.  Your target market must have something to listen to first; you need to have something to offer them. 

Social Media isn’t easy to and can’t be run by a generic computer program.  It is very time consuming; personal approach is needed in order to successfully reach your target market.  A specialist is required to decipher what content to push and what speaks to people.  Your company’s information will be broadcasted through a number of outlets, so warm body is needed to tailor your message to specific markets.

You don’t have to start from scratch…
If your company has a file cabinet full of white papers and research you’re already well on your way.  You’ve got the information, now all you need is someone to implement it online.

What can you gain?
Social media is not going to automatically blow your sales numbers through the roof.  The main objective of social media is for your company to reach and gain new prospects – some of which you may had never networked with offline. 

How do you now when it’s working?
Successful social media will impact your traffic and add to your prospects list.  You’ll know people are connecting with your company when you witness:
-Your website’s traffic increases.
-You gain more fans/members/subscribers.
-People are reading what you have to say.

In closing, just remember that your objective is to increase online traffic to build your prospects list, and that social media can’t do it alone – your company needs to have a solid message.