Facebook’s finally friendly for B2B marketers
June 7, 2010 by Charlie WalkerPosted in: communication, In this week's e-newsletter - Sales & Marketing, Latest News & Views - Sales & Marketing, New Research, online marketing
If you’ve been shunning Facebook, like most B2B marketers, now’s a great time to reconsider — and here’s why:
The number of Facebook users is growing at a phenomenal rate, and many marketers say they’re now starting to see the social media site as an effective way to connect with their target audience.
In February, Facebook hit 400 million users — twice the size of its user base in 2009. Experts says it’ll grow to 500 million by June, an increase of 25% in only four months.
Up to now, most B2B marketers have steered clear of Facebook, instead opting for blogs, Twitter, message boards and networks like LinkedIn.
But here are three recent developments that could make Facebook a more viable avenue for your B2B marketing:
- More business-friendly. Recent developments include a function that allows businesses to put a Facebook “like” button next to products or services on their websites.
- More focus on discussion about your business or your product. Using Facebook’s “Wall” gives your content immediate exposure and allows for user interaction. It provides a much better venue for highlighting your own products than other networks. LinkedIn, for example, frowns on self-promotion.
- Moving up in search engine results. Setting up a Facebook brand page can land you more real estate on the first page of search results. How? When you write your company description/profile in Facebook, be sure to include relevant keywords and website links. Search engine indexes will pick up on them and boost your search engine ranking. It’s another way to establish an easier-to-find web presence.
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Tags: B2B, Facebook, keywords, LinkedIn, marketers, search, search engine, Twitter
June 9th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Encouraging employees to engage in “business” activities on FB opens up a gateway to all sorts of time-wasting buffoonery. Just one man’s opinion.
June 9th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
@ Mike – I completely agree with your assessment that this type of task could end up creating a time sink and a lot of loafing. I think the way of limiting this would be by having 1 dedicated employee that is resposible for creating and managing the company’s social media presence. For larger consumer-oriented businesses, this may merit having 1 employee (or even more) who’s dedicated job is all and only social media (Twitter, FB, Myspace, LinkedIn, Blogs, etc.). For B2B, it will most likely be a Mktg Mgr who’s job ranges across multiple marketing responsibilities. Guidelines for time allocation and accountability for deadlines (on other projects) will allow you to [try] to limit the other negative effects while still gaining the benefits of a social media presence.
Just one woman’s opinion.
June 11th, 2010 at 10:15 am
I have been kicking this idea around for a few months now. My biggest fear is that a customer with a bad expeiernce will slam our product on the page and it could turn into a product bashing site quickly. Has anyone had to deal with this problem? Is there any way to combat it?
June 17th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Many companies, including the one I work for, have blocked FB and Twitter. Although they do see the benefits of having the two they believe these benefits are out weighted by employees who will continually abuse the privilege of having it available during work hours. Top company executives are convinced it would be a waste of the companies resources.