Here was the LinkedIn:Answers question:
If you have any examples of a blog or other social media tactics that have worked with gritty B2B markets–particularly where complex buying processes are involved–, I’d like to hear about them.
If you have an opinion about the value of social media communications aiming to reach executives in the B2B sector, please share it.
Here’s my response:
I think that the biggest hurdle that you’re going to run into is the “chicken and egg” problem.
1) Typically a legitimately recognized expert is a pretty busy person doing “real work”
2) A new blog takes quite a while to build an audience without significant marketing expenses (in the B2B space that can mean a lot of off-line advertising in things like trade journals, etc.)So now you’ve got the issue of trying to convince an expert at your disposal to spend a lot of time writing a blog that for quite a while no one is going to even be reading.
Yet without a lot of good, targeted content no one is ever going to find or read the blog!
It’s like having someone with the gravitas of Einstein giving a lecture to an empty hall.
So I’d say that if you really want to make it work in a B2B space you need:
1) A writer that people really are going to want to read
2) A significant marketing budget to “prime the pump” until the blog starts catching on it’s own.The good thing about this is that if you are in a very specialized / targeted industry it should not take long for your particular blog/site to start ranking well due to the long-tail, niche nature of what you’re writing about.
For instance, I’ve been involved in e-commerce and internet/next-gen marketing in the motorcycle and powersports space for over 4 years. I’ve recently started focusing on providing consulting services on a more formal basis.
It’s a total B2B play where I’m writing to/for the OEM’s, disti’s, and retailers/dealers in that space.
Because of the sort of mom-and-pop nature of this market, I have the distinction of currently being sort of one of the only “experts” that’s focusing on this niche.
Good news: if you Google “motorcycle e-commerce” my site www.radicalpowersports.com is #1 after only like 8 months in existance
“Bad” news: there’s not a lot of people looking for this stuff now. So I sort of feel like I’m talking to an empty room. the upside is however that when someone does stumble across my little site, they are VERY targeted, and VERY interested.
But I also write for the leading offline trade publication for the motorcycle and powersports dealer community so I’ve got that offline leverage that helps drive qualified traffic.
So, there’s some general info from my own experience. Without more specific information on what market you’re looking to play in or what your specific goals are with regards to providing the information in question that’s about all I can offer now.
If you wanted to provide more information on what you’re looking to do specifically you might be able to get some more actionable ideas.
I’ve provided a link to a pretty good SearchengineLand post on B2B blogging that you might find useful.
Links:
Tags:B2B, blogging, consulting, LinkedIn-Answers
