any companies are well aware that Social Media has become critically important to engaging audiences and promoting online "presence" while some wonder how to approach their executives and prove that it is not all hype. With so many ways to engage in Social Media, how can they get buy-in and begin execution with so many different venues and tools available? Staying on the sidelines and becoming a latecomer might make it more difficult to create a convincing "social" presence. Put the overwhelming options aside. Let's see how B2B can step into the world of Social Media by developing a simple strategy and using a few simple tools. For a full version of this document please visit: http://www.oshyn.com/landingpages/social-media-marketing-b2b

1.
Getting over
Social Media Marketing
Paralysis for B2B
September, 2009
Many companies are well aware that Social Media has become
critically important to engaging audiences and promoting online
"presence" while some wonder how to approach their C-level
executives and prove that it is not all hype. With so many ways
to engage in Social Media, how can they get buy-in and begin
execution with so many different venues and tools available?
Staying on the sidelines and becoming a latecomer might make
it more difficult to create a convincing "social" presence. Put the
overwhelming options aside. Let's see how B2B can step into
the world of Social Media by developing a simple strategy and
using a few simple tools.

2.
Getting Over
Social Media Marketing
Paralysis for B2B
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 4
1.0 What is Social Media? 5
2.0 Getting Over Social Paralysis 7
3.0 An Overview of Tools 9
3.1 Blogs 9
3.2 LinkedIn 13
3.3 Facebook Page 16
3.4 Twitter 19
3.5 Bit.ly 22
3.6 Hashtags 23
4.0 Marketing Your Social ID's 24
4.1 Update Your Website 24
4.2 Press Releases 24
4.3 Newsletters 24
4.4 Brochures and other Marketing Collateral 25
4.5 Email Signature 25
4.6 Facebook Page 25
5.0 Evaluating Success 26
5.1 Start by Blocking your IP 26
5.2 What to Look for in Analytics 26

3.
5.3 Google Analytics 27
5.4 Google Alerts 27
5.5 FeedBurner 28
5.6 Twitalyzer 28
5.7 Twinfluence 29
5.8 Social Mention 29
5.9 Grader.com 30
What's Next? 31
About Oshyn 32
About Kimberly McCabe 32

4.
Executive Summary
Social Media has become critically important to engaging
audiences and promoting online "presence". The consumer, in
both B2C and B2B, now has more influence and control over
how they choose to engage with your business and how you
reach them. While many businesses have embraced Social
Media, some with extraordinary success, many are still standing
on the sidelines wondering if they should use Social Media and, if
so, how to successfully engage. Much of the information
available about using Social Media is geared to B2C. Many B2B
organizations wonder how they can participate and even
question whether Social Media is useful for their organization.
There are endless ways of using Social Media for B2B, so much
that some companies may defer participation because they are
not sure of how to build a Social Media plan to enter into this
exciting and ever-changing medium. Many online "How To"
resources and blogs, for example, provide extensive lists of
Social Media tools with very general overviews of their
functionality, further overwhelming those trying to figure out
where to start. Companies can get over Social Media Paralysis by
starting with a few popular tools, an understanding of "best
practices" and guidelines on measuring success.
Rest assured that understanding how
to measure results will keep
overcoming paralysis from becoming
a Social Media addiction.

5.
1.0 What is Social Media?
Social Media has gained popularity because consumers - B2C and B2B - have
been changing the ways they obtain information. In the past, we tended to
receive information. It was pushed to us. The marketer decided what
messages we would get and how we would receive it. Companies pushed
their messages to us and we either reacted or we did not. Marketers centered
on traditional methods of reminding their existing customer base about their
products and services. To increase the customer base they focused on tried
and true methods that relied on the belief that customers needed repetitive
messages to become aware of a brand or to be driven to taking action.
And we fell for it!
But as Internet technology progressed, we became able to do a lot of
interesting things wherever and whenever we wanted. We can shop, watch
TV, listen to music, share files, watch webinars, research, study, play games,
join groups with people that share common interests, share photos, get
frequent (sometimes too frequent) updates from friends, and on and on.
And then we took back control!
These days those same consumers who are bombarded with messages, have
become increasingly able to block them out. The playing field was leveled.
You're not answering your customer service line? Fantastic, I'll tell the world
about my problem on Twitter. Maybe someone there can help me. Sorry about
the bad PR, I tried calling. Your sales guy keeps calling me and he has sent all
kinds of pretty brochures and given me lots of information. But can the
company he represents really deliver? After all, the guy needs his paycheck.
Maybe he's just good at sales. So I am going to go online and research and
see what other people are saying about your company by searching what HAS
BEEN via Google and then I'm going to look on Twitter and on LinkedIn and
see what people are saying now. And I might even start asking questions and
have conversations with your current and former customers about your
company.
Want to be part of that conversation?

6.
Yes, now companies are challenged with finding ways to engage the customer
base and prospects without being tuned out: enter Social Media.
Today it’s about the masses finding YOU. They want to know what is
happening right now. And they're not going to just take your word for it. Take
the auto industry in the USA for example: are customers making buying
decisions based on nostalgia or about how a car meets their specific needs
"right now"? If nostalgia were the answer, would the biggest US auto
manufactures be facing a crisis?
Social Media allows you to engage with the masses in real time or "near real
time". Imagine how the auto crisis could have played out differently if a few
years ago the industry could have easily followed what consumers (including
fleet buyers) were openly saying about their products, the competition's
products?
Social Media is a 24/7 Focus Group.