B2B Social Media Edition – Ranking the Big 4

August 13, 2010 | By Matt Rogers

This is a  post in a series ranking the Big 4 social media sites — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Foursquare — for B2B, retail, and real estate.  Read the introduction for background.

Not every social media application is right for B2B marketing.  Yes, there are tools that allow you to post the same content to the Big 4, but that ignores the nuances of each site and can make you look spammy and out of context.  In the end, picking the proper channels and doing right by them will drive the most value.

Here’s how we rank the the Big 4 for B2B -

1.  LinkedIn

LinkedIn has basically taken the posting functionality of Twitter and Facebook and optimized it for business.  Also like Facebook, they now allow businesses to set up their own pages and accumulate followers.

So why not just do Facebook?  If you’re like me, your LinkedIn contacts are business people who want business information and will have a genuine interest in the information you’re providing.  Don’t be shy about asking for followers and posting interesting content that reminds them of who you are and informs them of important milestones, new hires, and client acquisitions.

2.  Twitter

Let’s be honest, Twitter is a pain the @ss, especially for Type B’s such as myself.  You need to post frequently and do a lot of interacting to build a following and make it work.   That said, you’ll find a lot of general and industry Media on Twitter, and if you work the relationships, you’ll be able to slip in your news and other timely content items.

As I’ve said in a previous post about building real relationships behind Twitter, it’s important to press the flesh with your Twitter network in person.  Get that Type A go getter in your company a Twitter account and send him/her off to industry conferences to hob-nob and meet the media.  You’ll see your posts getting much more traction and respect, and the publicity will follow.

3.  Facebook

Imagine logging into your Facebook account to see what your friends are doing and seeing something in your news feed about the latest advances in PVC piping.   Construction guys aside, I probably only Like your page because you’re a friend of mine, you suggested it, and I feel obligated to follow it.

Unless your B2B product or services cross into areas of social and hobby, you can feel free to leave Facebook alone.  It simply isn’t the right context for B2B communication in most cases.

4.  Foursquare

Of the big four, Foursquare is most blatantly geared toward consumers.  Unless you’re trying to — okay, I honestly can’t think of a real Foursquare/B2B scenario. Can you?

If you insist on doing all of the Big 4, do yourself a favor and use a service like Hootsuite to manage your accounts.  You’ll be able to post simultaneously, which is nice.  More importantly,  you’ll have the option to NOT push content through certain channels.

In summary, don’t stress yourself out thinking you’re missing something if you don’t do everything.  Internet marketing, like traditional marketing, is about making choices, and it’s more important to do one or two things well than everything mediocre. B2B companies will find the most fruit with LinkedIn and Twitter, and should focus on building those channels first.