How Do You Get B2B Firms Excited about Social Media?

Selling Social Media Is Like Selling Anything Else

Selling Social Media Is Like Selling Anything Else

There’s been a great deal of talk lately about pitching social media services to b2b firms. Alina Popescu wrote How to Sell Social Media to B2B Companies right here, and this one, The 5 Things I Hate About Social Media, by Brian Carter on Karen Swim’s Words for Hire blog reflects my own feelings on the topic. The discussion raises three intriguing questions.

  1. How important are metrics to social media engagement?
  2. How do you measure the ROI of social media engagement?
  3. What are the compelling reasons for engaging in social media in the first place?

When it comes to pitching social media marketing services to b2b firms, we need to recognize that the answers to these questions will differ depending on the mindset of the client. I’ve noticed three distinct mindsets, corporate cultures – whatever you want to call them – that respond to the social media phenomenon in distinctly different ways.

The technician mindset likes to measure everything. These firms are goal oriented and tend to be immersed in tactics and excel at execution. They are hesitant about social media marketing because it seems fuzzy to them in terms of purpose, value, and clarity of execution.

The visionary mindset is not so keen on measurement. These firms have a compelling vision, but rely more on instinct and reasoned discussion to shape plans and execution. The lack of clear social media metrics doesn’t give them any heartburn, but if the purpose of engagement doesn’t mesh with or support their vision, they’re not interested.

The dual mindset is a tough nut to crack. These firms measure some areas of the business to the nth degree and others to little or no degree. I think this is symptomatic of a management team comprised of technicians and visionaries that pull decisions in different directions. Whatever the case, dual firms need to be sold on the strategic value and ROI of social media before taking a serious step in that direction.

A Few Social Media Sales Suggestions

With this in mind, we should emphasize the strategic value of social media to visionary firms, making sure that the proposed strategy meshes perfectly with their business plan. We should emphasize ROI to technicians, obviously making sure the metrics are real rather than smoke and mirrors. For dual firms – put it all together, perhaps in more detail than in either of the former two cases.

What’s interesting is that any of these three b2b mindsets can succeed. It makes no sense to rail against the dual firm for being inconsistent or against the technical firm for being shortsighted or against the visionary firm for being sloppy. It’s highly unlikely that a successful organization will change its culture to accommodate a social media marketing firm.

If, on the other hand, the b2b is struggling or recognizes a need to change in order to thrive or even survive – here is an opportunity to be a social media evangelist and make a meaningful contribution to the organization on a higher level. Be careful, though: just because a firm is struggling doesn’t mean it’s open to change. Just as often, companies in that situation hunker down all the more.

Bottom Line - Selling social media marketing is like selling anything else. Until you understand the environment, you cannot navigate your way to a deal.

___________________

word sell inc chicago online marketing servicesChicago based SEO copywriting, blog consulting, and content strategy consulting.