From an agency perspective, it can be difficult at times to instill the value of social media / content marketing to clients within the B2B sector. For one reason or another, most B2B companies still fear a dedicated marketing investment into social media strategy - and it's fully understandable.
Let's step back and be realistic for a second: 10 years ago marketing and advertising for fortune 500 companies was still about direct mail, television, radio and billboards. Social media, as we know it, isn't even a teenager yet so why should we expect established businesses to jump on board willingly?
Walking into a boardroom trying to convince shareholders that Twitter and Facebook are legitimate forms of traffic and lead generation would be like going back in time and convincing the cavemen that electricity will replace fire and become a more efficient means to cook with.
Earlier this year the folks at Econsultancy, a leading digital marketing firm, hosted the 2012 Digital Cream roundtable in London. They sat down with senior marketing professionals and discussed the challenges and opportunities B2B's face when identifying audiences, choosing relevant platforms, and developing more relevant approaches to service provision through social media.
Sit back and enjoy the video - it definitely has some great takeaways.
Photo courtesy of birgerking