Turning B2B Social Channels Into Sales

Barry Harrigan at Accelerating IT Sales hit on a number of important points about about business-to-business firms using social media. Now I'm not pulling the bandwagon here, social media is a channel worth testing but not an end-all.

As you know, I've been teaching that social networking can be tested as an extension of existing efforts. Use social media to test proven campaigns, to create dialog with buyers, and to help buyers find you through reciprocation.

I appreciate that Barry touched on some practical ways to implement social networking in that ongoing conversation with prospective customers. They include points I've mentioned here, plus some results from a Forrester report on B2B Marketers and Social Media.

Interesting enough many talk about how to use this new media, which I don't think is much different from networking channels of old. It is a way to extend what you already know works in front as well as to do research.

Before you get full into social medial it's important to understand how B2B customers are using social media, so many marketers miss the point here and waste time on channels their customers aren't going to see. It's possible in your market that people are only using a small part of what social media offers.

The key is to use these channels for understanding your customers buying desires, connecting with them, and driving for a response. Use social networking to bring visitors into your lead qualification system.

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Justin Hitt helps selling professionals utilize multiple marketing channels to generate leads and profits. Get started now at http://HittPublishingDirect.com/