I’ve attended a handful of kick-off b2b project meetings when inevitably, at some point in the conversation the question arises “What about social media?” This is usually followed by a moment of silence as though we were paying homage to how much easier things seemed before such questions reached the ether. It’s not a bad question, but it’s becoming borderline rhetoric when applied to smaller or mid-sized b2b strategy—how do you tweet about or obtain friends around a manufactured device (not the likes of an iWhatever) or a commodity service? The answer is not that you don’t, but that you reformulate the initial question. How should I be talking about my device or service through social media?

Here’s where you may find yourself—you’re wanting to communicate with other businesses in a way that’s more lively than your website and less sociable that Twitter and Facebook, yet you feel a fair amount of pressure via the media or management to use social media as a communication medium. It’s not that you are unaware of the tools and what they do, or even how they work, it’s more a problem of qualifying the appropriate outlet for your message. You rely on innovation, service, support and trust—not buzz. You prefer dialog and storytelling to sound bites and you’re definitely more interested in making sales than “friends.” Have you considered a blog?

Take a look at the following diagram to see why I think a blog is a good place to begin. This example is not a catchall for every situation, but it does offer basic insight on using each tool. Basically your blog is a good way to explain things related to your core competency that you would like to get a reaction or feedback from. A successful blog in turn provides a starting point for building a network with other tools, and then those tools can eventually have content and a life of their own that loops back to accomplishing other business goals.

Here’s why I think a blog may be appropriate for a small to mid-sized b2b communications strategy:

• Blogs are still where conversations are happening. There are corporate, sales, news, support, video and photo blogs so you’re not limited in the way or media you use to get your point across.
• A blog is a great platform to start with. By first focusing on what you really want to communicate and the benefits of it, you’ll have something worth building a network of friends and followers around later.
• In a small- to mid-sized business your time and resources may not be best used managing friends or followers in an opt-in or subscription-based network. This doesn’t have to be time consuming. But if you’re just getting started, it can take your focus away from what you should be doing—communicating about your business.
• You want what you put online to be available to anyone who may find it (including search engines), not just your network. (Some social tools are open to search, but many aren’t).

Growing up I avoided AM radio for its lack of a Top 40 countdown and hair-band guitar solos—the more loud songs in an hour the better. Today I prefer both for different reasons (sans the hair-bands now) and the same applies to how I delineate social media tools. Consider the differences between AM talk radio and FM Top 40—one is designed to be taken in over a longer period of time and the other happens in 3 to 4 minute blocks. It takes more than 140 characters to explain your business niche just as it takes longer than a wall post to highlight an insider’s perspective on a product feature. Communicate well. Begin with a platform that makes sense. Change your business broadcast.

Additional Resources
If you’ve made it this far and still question your tech savviness or ability to execute something in the blogosphere, give your IT or development partner an invite to help integrate a blog into your website or other online offering. If that’s not an option, give one of the following tools a try—both have extensive instructions, can be set up in minutes, and have the option to be branded or themed. They’re also free and hosted externally, leaving you the sole responsibility of typing.
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• WordPress – https://www.wordpress.com
• Blogger – https://www.blogger.com/start