5 reasons why B2B companies should not ignore Facebook

We know that competition is fierce. We know internal resources are still strained. We know that you are continuously working on staying connected with your clients or customers while trying to gain new ones. But there is a ripe opportunity staring you in the face that, if used correctly, will help you get ahead of your competitors while making a mark with your clients and customers. What is it? Facebook. It’s time for B2B companies to start taking this communication vehicle seriously and here’s why: 1) Facebook is not just a hobby for teens anymore. Ever so fickle, teens are leaving Facebook for newer and flashier social apps like Vine. On Facebook, 46 percent of users are older than 45, and the average age of Facebook’s board of directors is 49, a Pew Internet and American Life Project found. Replacing teens are adults – adults who are the decision makers and purchasers at companies who are in need of your products and services. 2) Facebook is a customer-purchase vehicle. A recent study by strategic consulting firm Vivaldi Partner Group on how top B2B companies are leveraging social and digital media found that 90 percent of all purchases are subjected to social influences and that $30 billion in revenues are predicted for the social commerce market in 2015. B2B consumers are turning to Facebook when it comes to 1) obtaining information about products and services and 2) purchasing those products and services. 3) Facebook is all about mobile. Smartphones are a key part of the day-to-day functions of the business environment. According to the Vivaldi Partner Group study, 59 percent of B2B professionals use smartphones to gather purchasing information. Mobility and Facebook go hand in hand as demonstrated by a HubSpot study, which found that 41 percent of all companies that used Facebook for B2B marketing acquiring new clients via this network. Your clients and customers have smartphones. When on their smartphones, they are heading to sites like Facebook to make key purchasing decisions. 4) Facebook can help streamline your communications program. When companies create a Facebook business page, they also will receive free and valuable data. The administrator of your Facebook business page has open and free access to Facebook Insights, which provides a range of in-depth data on your page, posts, and followers. Through the Insights page, Facebook can help you better gage your audience and, in turn, streamline your communications efforts, saving your business time and money. 5) Facebook can offer a personal brand connection. It’s important for businesses in today’s environment to build a personal connection with its clients and customers. If a customer feels that a brand is personally invested or connected, then he/she will more likely continue to purchase the company’s products or services. Used appropriately, Facebook can help break down that wall between a company and its customers or clients. Through engaging and lighthearted posts, companies can create a personal connection between its brand and its followers. For B2B companies, Facebook can provide the competitive and cost-effective edge needed to get ahead and connect and engage with clients and customers. It’s an underutilized yet highly effective communications tool, which needs to be taken seriously by B2B businesses. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Social Pro Daily

5 reasons why B2B companies should not ignore Facebook

Franceen Shaughnessy

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Franceen Shaughnessy