As a B2B marketer your quest is primarily to find new, quality leads. You may have a mix of lead generation tactics and processes that have worked for you and some that didn’t. In recent times, you may have also tried Facebook marketing. Did it do something for you…by way of lead generation?
I’ve been thinking a lot about social media and why it appears so exciting for marketers in general. So, does the leading social media channel, Facebook have B2B fans? I think it certainly does. Just like the star-struck fans of a Hollywood celebrity or pop star—fans that swoon at a concert, and brave stampedes to reach out and touch the star of their dreams. There is the same euphoric hysteria surrounding Facebook at the moment. And it’s understandable; as the only Internet company that comes close to Google in size and numbers, Facebook is glamorous and attractive. A one million square foot campus with work spaces for 2000 employees in California—that’s not a size you can ignore. So yes indeed, Facebook has this captivating aura.
Most B2B marketers, however, are either:
a) Attempting to get a handle on Facebook marketing under pressure of jumping on the social media bandwagon
b) Have made some sort of start with a mix of social media initiatives that include Facebook business pages and fan-building
c) Are sitting on the fence not knowing whether or not they should explore Facebook marketing or not
Is there a category of B2B marketers that have actually monetized Facebook for their business; got true leads and conversions and sales and profits? I have yet to see any. And I would love to see and hear about them if they do exist.
How Can B2B Marketers Leverage Facebook? What Results Can be Expected?
Fact of the matter is that Facebook is still a channel for personal use. Individuals from B2B organizations who visit Facebook are there for personal social reasons, not organizational. It is definitely a good meeting point and allows for idea exchanges between like-minded people, but is there a set of defined business objectives one can aim for and achieve in the B2B world using Facebook? In my opinion, the scope is limited to:
- providing interesting information on a company Facebook page
- offering educational content that is in some way related to your industry, products and services
- garnering customer feedback, answering questions, responding to suggestions and complaints
- reaching out to other B2C companies who could be potential customers of your B2B company
- driving traffic to your website and blog with quality inbound links and fresh, unique content
Can Facebook drive qualified leads and conversion to your B2B business? I think that stage is still a long way off and I would be delighted if it actually happens! Any new channel that creates a sure-fire way to generate true leads is a welcome addition to a good, weathered, tool belt. I WANT this to happen; I just don’t know when and if it will.
Facebook has the power to create the right environment where listening and reaching out to prospects brings you closer to them. Having a respectable Facebook presence gives your company the opportunity to show its human face to your target audience. If done correctly, it can take you to the point where potential buyers are now happy to listen to you and you can try to work your way through nurturing, engagement and finally conversion. Provided, you use tried and tested lead generation methods along with Facebook marketing to strike a good balance of traditional and new approaches. But if you believe you can reach the end of that road with Facebook alone or even a random mix of social media tactics, you are chasing a Utopian dream—a Shangri-La that is not to be.
Truth be told, I am eager to hear a good, solid Facebook success story for B2B. If there is one out there, your company’s or one that you have heard of, please be so kind to share it here. This is a new, unexplored territory and we are all looking for Columbus to help us discover the light of this new world. But we want to be sure it is not just an illusion…
