Part One: Trends in Social Media for the Coming Year

Business to Business (B2B) will increase exponentially. I was getting a cup of coffee last night at a truck stop and was shocked to see an ad inviting me to join the companies face book fan page. Social Media has hit the truck stop.  Twitter and Face book have almost become a requisite to their business profile and it’s happened in a year. It reminds me of when email hit. And then the ubiquitous question that still lingers “what’s your website address?” Now with twitter by simply giving your name or company name your whole world opens for your potential customer. With one word, blog, forum, website, face book fan page and more is instantly available on a smart phone.

Up to just a year or so ago social medial was almost used exclusivity for business to consumer (B2C). Companies did not really understand why social media was important to their branding and marketing efforts. In the coming year companies will become much more engaged in social media in ways unique to their bottom line. Read about Pepsi story and the Super Bowl and how they chose social media. While the verdict is still out it is the direction of the future. Social Media allows B2B companies to build meaningful relationships with their vendors, suppliers, employees, and customers in ways that are only limited by a companies imagination. Looking at Dell, Lego, Zappos will let your mind run wild with what can be done with Social Media and your bottom line. The question a company has to ask is since Social Media is becoming a part of the B2B picture the question is who is going to be the best at it.

Harvard Business School recently published a paper written by Professor Quelch that stated “coordination of company websites worldwide to present a consistent face to stakeholders is the best way to get control of marketing communications that may have become too decentralized.” By using Social
Media properly a local or global company that is local can present a branding image that is consistent. Particularly in the area of it’s feel and message.

Here’s the exciting piece if you are reading this in 2010. If you are a local business owner or a CEO you are at a point in history to move confidently forward to use social media to expand your company is some of the ways discussed above. And as an attendee of almost every convention in Vegas which is just six hours away, there’s still no Social Media Convention yet. Keyword being yet.

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