I enjoyed reading a post by Bernie Borges about how Rick Short of Indium Corp is using social media for B2B purposes (here’s the original post: Rick Short…) . To convince his CEO to go for it, he used this logic:
“People talk on the phone…People email customers…People send faxes..People speak at conferences…People write in magazines…And, there are no formal policies for these methods of communication.
But blogging can live forever! Yes, but, so can the other media…It’s not a reason to inhibit the use of blogging.”
Makes sense to me. And his advice to those who have not yet implemented a B2B social media marketing strategy:
- “Don’t rush to do it just because others have told you to do it. Your heart must be in it!
- It’s OK to make some mistakes. Fail forward.
- Begin at the end. What does your situation look like two years from now? Write it down.
- Build confidence through education, support, relationships. Cultivate skills.
- Refresh frequently. Challenge status quo. Are there newer/better tools?
- Measure results.
- Be very transparent. You’ll get a lot of help and support from others.
- Be committed. Start small by listening and commit resources to taking some action”.
I call that sound advice.