B2B vs. B2C: Why is Social Media MORE Opportune For B2Bs Than B2Cs? It’s The ENGAGEMENT Level, Stupid.

As a B2B marketer who regularly employs social media in her projects one would naturally argue, “But CK, of course you find social media applicable, profitable and meaningful for B2Bs, as that’s your focus.”

But my professional focus is not the point. 

The point is that while I find social media applicable, profitable and meaningful for many companies—be they focused on consumer or business audiences—I posit that social media represents a veritable goldmine of potential for B2Bs. More to the point, I contend that social media is MORE opportune for B2Bs than B2Cs.

How can I say such a thing? It’s the engagement level, stupid. And for marketers? Engagement is the Holy Grail of marketing: the uber goal, the most critical of critical success factors, the paramount payoff, and the pinnacle benchmark of how well your marketing is performing (or lacking).

Why? Because more than anything, we marketers vie to (1) GRAB our target audiences’ attention and discretionary budget dollars + (2) KEEP our audiences’ attention and keep them spending on our offerings + (3) ENCOURAGE our target audiences to encourage others to spend their attention and dollars on our offerings.

Which is to say, we battle our competitors not only for market share but for share of mind, we burn the midnight oil to build programs that will cut through the clutter produced by the multitude of marketing messages, and we constantly rack our brains in order produce a strong signal for our audiences, not more noise. After all, we want audiences tuned into us, not them. We want audiences focused on “me” not relegating us to a me-too offering. And we want a wide disparity in our audiences' perception of how relevant (and resonant) we are over them.

Thus, we are most intent on engaging and, ergo, maintaining high levels of engagement. But so are B2C marketers. So why do business audiences (B2Bs) qualify as MORE opportune when it comes to social media marketing?

It's the engagement level, stupid. Because business audiences are engaged by virtue of their very livelihoods. How can I say such a thing? Easy! Just look at their drivers and motivators—and how they all stem from protecting and advancing one’s livelihood, to wit:

• Business Professionals Must Lower Their Purchasing Risk. Their jobs depend upon how well they spend their budget and their purchasing decisions--and third-party WOM on products from other professionals helps them limit their risk before they make purchases.
• Business Professionals Must Increase Their Knowledge To Ensure Their Livelihoods. They must stay up-to-date in order to keep their jobs and find better jobs--and all the online sharing of information significantly increases their knowledge and expertise.
  
• In Order To Advance Their Careers, Business Professionals Must Grow Their Networks. It’s not only what you know, but who you know when it comes to career advancement; and online networks provide a tremendous vehicle to exponentially build and grow business contacts and professional relationships.
  
• To Solve Problems, Business Professionals Must Conduct Research--And Reach Out To Companies And Other Professionals. In their jobs professionals face many challenges and must constantly learn and hone new methods and methodologies for overcoming these challenges. Social media gives professionals a convenient, effective outlet for solving problems and discussing solutions to business challenges with other savvy professionals and companies.
  
• (Note: much more supporting detail on all the above bullet points is located at this post.)
  

I’ve seen this B2B social media opportunity for quite some time, in my January ’08 paper on "The Share Economy" I stressed:“If innovation drives opportunity, which in turn fuels new profit centers and lucrative market segments, why do the majority of B2B marketers view this phenomenon (social media) as merely a B2C play? Moreover, if business professionals automatically qualify as "engaged" around an expertise or practice area—unlike fickle consumers easily lured by the latest fad—why aren't more B2B marketers engaging with them?”

The lesson here my fellow marketers? It’s The Engagement Level, Stupid—and business audiences are more engaged by nature of their livelihoods and thus, social media marketing signifies a HUGE opportunity for B2B marketers. An even BIGGER opportunity, I contend, than for B2C marketers.

Rest assured that, yes indeed, social media presents a great opportunity for B2Cs, too. But the engagement level for consumers is by-and-largely based upon personal interests not professional NEEDS. And while both are important, needs always trump interests. Remember, consumers change interests frequently, especially as they age--invariably, a teen has wholly different interests than a 30-something, or a senior. But professionals are far more loyal to the profession they've chosen as their career path, no matter their age. And even though "connecting with others" is a very core need for all people (as with socially networking), without securing one's livelihood how could people purchase all those wonderful consumer goods that marketers are promoting? Yep, that's a rhetorical question.

Oh, not for nothin’, if you’re reading this blog post, chances are that you (yes, YOU!) qualify as a business audience—and look at how engaged you are in the Social Web due to your profession... as I highly doubt that consumer audiences read my marketing blog (though they are very much welcome here!).

Disclaimer: Please trust that I’m not calling anyone stupid in this post, it’s merely a takeoff of the famed political line “It’s the Economy, stupid.” I just want to clarify that I find all you savvy marketers very smart ;-).

*B2B Bonus* For a collection of 20 helpful B2B social media posts, presentations and series that no modern-day B2B marketer should market without, just go here. (And for a B2B Mobile Marketing Starter Guide, just go here.)

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Comments

[Steven Moore]

Ck- Alway great reading your blog. In the B2b area really hit the nail on the head. I have a brother-in-law who is a CEO of a good size company and about 6 months ago he started talking with me about SM. He had the thoughts that it was all B2C, when I got done with him and showing him a lot of your posts and slide decks he saw the light... Thanks for all the great info you produce and best wish to a successful 2010...
Steve

[Elmer]

Couldn't agree more for Twitter and Linked In. Still finding the "dating and mating" demographic of Facebook and awkward biz/personal mix off putting. But our clients are very conservative/highly regulated.

[Lucila]

Hi CK! Loved your post!
I have some comments on Social Meda for B2C and B2B in my blog also, http://condiminds.tumblr.com/, we should write some comparison between both as you did some day!
Great Idea!