This is a great post from the PJA Blog, which is authored by… actually, I have no idea My bad – authors names are listed on the home page of the blog, but not individual posts. They don’t show who has authored individual posts. Odd. Anyway, it’s a great post nonetheless, asking (and answering) the following questions:
1. What are other BtoB companies doing about social media? Where are the shining examples?
2. What is our assessment of the power, reach and influence of social media?
3. What capabilities do we need in house to get started? For example, what are the requirements for doing a corporate blog? Is it a full-time employee, or 50% of an FTE’s time? Who should play editorial moderator?
4. What kind of return should we expect? How will we know if we’re successful?
These questions are asked within the B2B context, but are applicable (and I have heard the same sentiments expressed) in almost any market segment. Pretty good read.
Hi, Maggie –
Not sure if it was your influence or the resolution of a temporary bug … but names are now appearing on individual posts over there.
Hi Maggie,
That’s my colleague Hugh Kennedy, a partner and EVP at the agency. Hugh says that the best way to start is to simply jump in. But B2B clients also need to understand the social media space before jumping in themselves – know the tools, the sites, and simply spend some time reading what’s being said about them.
The worst mistake a company can make, IMO, is starting a blog, podcast or other new media site without knowing what it’s like out there. Lots of mistakes are made by skipping this simple, yet crucial step.
Hey Scott – too true. That’s why our methodology starts with what we call simply, “listening” – we strategically evaluate who’s out there, what they’re talking about, and make recommendations on the best way to join the conversation. Glad to hear we’re all singing from the same hymnbook! (or drinking from the same cup of Kool-AID, or… I could go on…)