The B2Bs of Social Media Engagement

Engagement in its simplest form has changed very little throughout history. People still look for answers, and others provide solutions. Social Media marketing will not reinvent the engagement wheel. However, it has reshaped that wheel to fit this new vehicle of message distribution. As Social Media marketing moves out of infancy, and is further defined, so are the tactics behind this crucial tool.

Business to consumer (B2C) target marketing, from a Social Media and engagement standpoint, is possible. Very successful campaigns are now available for our review. Coke, Starbucks, Zappos and Dell (to name a few) have case studies and results to justify an absolute need for a Social Media marketing campaign driven by targeted engagement and a successful reputation management strategy. In the future, we will see very little change in engagement tactics for a B2C Social Media campaign.

Social Media marketing for Business-to-Business (B2B) is far from settled. In this arena, we will see the most growth, especially from Community Managers. It is the task of a Community Manager to be the megaphone and voice for a brand. This is the very essence of engagement. It is easy when there are millions of consumers to reach, but what if you are trying to sell your services to another business? The aspect of targeted engagement does not change. However, to be successful with a B2B Social Media campaign, the importance of hyper-targeting conversations and communities is more important. It is not just about engaging in simple conversation. More so, it is about being a thought leader within a specified industry and defining a message as the expert voice.

Andy Engages on several Social Media campaigns. His success as a manager earned the distinction of “Rising Star in Social Media” from Finger Candy Media. His blogs appear on Social Media Today, USAToday.com, DallasMorningNews.com and FuseTV. Andy focuses on Project Management and client relations for Speak Social. Our campaigns include various moving parts; there is little time to determine who is out of the loop. Andy keeps the Speak Socialteam moving at the speed of Social.