23 Feb Social Media: Not Just for Consumer Marketing Anymore!

Two good friends and clients of mine run a rapidly growing social media agency. They work mostly with companies with consumer-driven products but also a number who sell business to business. There are still some in my worlds of law and finance who believe it is not necessary to market on social media. That B2B marketing, especially for services, is personal and cannot be aided by promotion on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the like.

Nothing could be further from the truth. As a corporate transactional lawyer, the amount of business I’ve received just from folks who were a fan of my blog or found me on LinkedIn continues to surprise me. Of course my three books and many speaking engagements also yield terrific business leads. But these were not through the old methods of in person and over-the-phone networking, which are still critical and valuable to me and anyone else in my world but now strongly supplemented by over-the-transom business generated through social media outreach.

The federal government has also realized this as Congress opened the door for online marketing of private securities offerings for the first time through the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. If you don’t have a current LinkedIn profile and spend at least some time on there each week, you are missing the boat. Creating and distributing meaningful content, whether through blogging, YouTube or Twitter, is also appreciated by the online community and can enhance brand awareness and create solid business opportunities.

The key, of course, is having the right strategy. Develop a strong marketing plan with social media a key highlight. And if you want my friends’ names let me know, they’re great!