Every day, more businesses are taking advantage of social media to reach their customers. You can “like” a business on Facebook to get access to special offers and if you tweet about a business, you could be re-tweeted and be included in a promotion for its product.

Businesses are clearly using social media, but how much business is actually being generated from social media outreach?  The problem is there are few data points for sales impact. There are many studies about B2B social media successes (see these Top 10 examples), but no information regarding the correlation to actual sales metrics.

So, what is the best B2B social media resource?

I found a great article in Fast Company that takes a look at LinkedIn being a great resource for B2B businesses to find information on companies and people. And, a recent study by Performics said that almost 60% of active social networkers claimed that LinkedIn was their most important social network.

Image: splashmedia.com

I found a great example of an active B2B social networker company using LinkedIn— IBM. IBM has over 450,000 followers on LinkedIn, making this B2B company the most followed company on the network. IBM features recent blog posts, tweets and stock prices. More importantly, IBM features over 300 job postings and recommendations, driving viewers to learn more about particular jobs and departments of interest.

So, what do B2B companies need to do to grasp this kind of following in social media?

Before incorporating any social media channel into your communication plan, you must ask yourself a couple questions. Is your target audience using these channels? And, if so, how can you calculate the sales impact from using social media? And how does your company plan to define B2B success from a social media perspective?

How is your company using social media? Have you found any sales impact?

Last month, I went on a girl’s weekend to Sedona and tried something a little out of the ordinary. I decided to intentionally NOT talk as much and actually LISTEN. Not interrupt at exciting moments, but ask questions and listen attentively.  And I will tell you, it was enlightening! Even after the fact, I still remember so much about the girls I went with, the stories they shared with me and all the personal details I listened so intently to.

How often do we truly listen? To our co-workers, customers, and most importantly – customers prospects? Even further, how often do we absorb what we just heard and use it to our benefit? Sometimes we’re moving so fast that information goes in one ear and out the other.

In B2B Marketing, listening is our most powerful weapon. We B2B marketers most likely listen in one of three ways. How you improve your listening in those facets is the true test!

Photo credit: Orin Woodward Leadership Inc.

In-Person
It’s not every day that you get face-to-face time with a customer or prospect these days. Face-time to me also includes email, phone and Skype.  All are considered real-time situations where you have their direct attention. Take this as the perfect opportunity to improve your listening skills.

You might have perfect eye contact or the best e-mail voice, but if you’re not genuinely listening to what they’re saying, you’re only diminishing your chances. You need to make them feel most important. I really like these tips to improve your listening – I’ve also found them to improve my memory retention!

Online
Improve your listening by being where your customers are – online! There are an endless number of conversations happening online that impact your business that you should be listening to and monitoring. Go where your customers are and follow their conversations – listen to their challenges, opinions, and questions.

You can rely on social media networks like Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and Facebook to see into the minds of your customers and prospects and conduct custom, keyword/phrase searches.  Contribute as you see fit, but mainly just spend some time online listening and tracking what people are saying, particularly about your brand.

Another great tool that I use daily is Google Alerts. Set up an automatic alert when your brand name or company is mentioned online. It actually gets pretty addicting and the conversation comes to YOU.

Post-Sale
Are you asking your customers/prospects to share their feedback with you? And if so, how frequently? Most importantly, how are you showing them that you’re listening?

Make surveys or focus groups a part of your strategic marketing plan. You can conduct these in person, online or even via video conference. After you decide on the channel, decide on the frequency – monthly, annually, after every sales experience, etc.

By asking them questions and showing them that you care about their opinion, you can listen reactively to your customers while simultaneously proving that you’re trustworthy because you value their input.

Ultimately what will you gain from listening better?

• Trust – it’s rather important
• Knowledge – insight into your customers’/prospects’ behavior, decision-drivers, needs and opinions
• Perspective – what do people think of your brand? What is the state of the industry?
• Ideas – listening might spark something you never knew you or your company needed

I’ll now leave you with four great quotes from Dale Carnegie on listening:

• “Learn to listen more than you talk.”
• “Many people listen, very few actually hear.”
• “If you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener”
• “To be interesting, be interested”

Which Carnegie quote speaks to you the most? What social networks do you use regularly to listen or what are some of your most useful listening tips?

There is still a lot of skepticism when it comes to social media and B2B marketing.  But why? Is it because as consumers we have become so familiar with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and now Google+ that we are unsure of how to adapt our behaviors to make these social platforms build business and generate leads?  Or is it because once we generate scores of fans, we don’t know what to do with them next?

Industry experts continue to encourage businesses to adopt social media best practices. And it looks like they are starting to listen. According to a White Horse survey, 86% of B2B companies are investing in some form of social media. If you want to compete in your industry, it’s time to get social.

Let’s use LinkedIn as an example. How do you know if LinkedIn is right for your business? Ask yourself these three quick questions:

1. Do you offer a product or a service?
2. Do you have a sales force responsible for engaging new prospects?
3. Does your customer base have a presence on LinkedIn?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, there is a place for your business on LinkedIn.  In a recent HubSpot article, they described LinkedIn as being similar a tradeshow. Imagine LinkedIn as a place where you can share new products, a recent whitepaper, get involved in industry discussions and get introduced to new prospects.  And it’s hard to get noticed if you don’t have a presence – being aware of and involved in the conversation can sometimes be the most important – and effective – first step.

Are you ready to take that first social step? What social media tool performs best for your business?

With more than 41 million Facebook fans and over 537 million Google results, it is no secret I am not the only one mildly obsessed with Lady Gaga. And while admit that I enjoy her as an entertainer, I am equally as fascinated with how she has developed her brand in a few short years.

In less than 4 years, Lady Gaga has grown her net worth to $110 Million. She is responsible for shaking up an industry that has been struggling to adapt to technological advances since 2005 when digital downloads gained mainstream acceptance and labels struggled to combat piracy. Her strategy started with taking advantage of the power of social media to connect with her target audience through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter and has grown to include partnerships with MAC Cosmetics, Polaroid and Google Chrome.

Gaga's "Born This Way" album cover. 2011 Interscope Records.

Businesses can learn a lot about social media from the Queen of Pop. Lady Gaga uses emotion, engagement and interactivity to connect with her audience (little monsters) and in exchange builds trust. Her little monsters trust her, her brands and her partnerships – all contributing to her net worth.

Here are 3 quick practices that can help your company be more successful when using social media to engage with prospects and customers.

1. Cultivate your Audience by making sure your content is relevant.
2. Embrace Technology and use it to communicate and interact with your audience.
3. Keep it Simple and provide a clear path for your audience.

Social media has been key to the success of Lady Gaga and can help grow your business too! How is your business using social media to interact with clients and prospects? If you need help executing a social media plan, contact @canyoncomm – we’d love to help!