Social Media in B2B Communications takeouts

Brands are no longer in control. Journalists and magazines are becoming less influential. 39% of people don’t read a daily newspaper, 75% read it online. 2.64 billion tweets per month are now posted on Twitter. These were just some of the fascinating and intriguing facts and statements that were revealed at PRmoment.com’s Social Media in B2B Communications Conference. They highlight a significant shift in the media world, especially in the way that we need to communicate. Social media has theoretically ripped up the rulebook and made companies, and agencies, reassess their marketing strategies and rethink how they communicate with their target audiences. The old school of thought is being radically challenged, yet fear and scepticism still pervades many businesses – mainly, it has to be said, at board level. With the facts and research presented though, it is something that has to be taken seriously. Social media is not just kids’ stuff. However, if you’re not committed to a social media campaign, then the message seems to be, don’t bother. Social media takes time and needs constant nurturing. If content is not updated, a strategy not fully planned or carefully thought out, it can have an extremely detrimental affect to any brand. The uptake of social media and digital is also seriously affecting the established media. As Richard Bagnall from Metrica astutely pointed out “We are all editors now”.  Anyone can publish content in a matter of minutes and we can all manage what information we want and how we receive it. The thought leaders now are not necessarily the ones that used to be the most influential – the pool is widening and everyone is becoming part of the process. Social media has enabled everyone to have a voice and, therefore, the ability to become highly influential. Below is a selection of the highlights from our #SocB2B twitter stream on the day: RT @Bryce_Keane: 'final rule: measure appropriately' @richardbagnall Brilliant presentation from MD of Metrica! #socb2b RT @simonglazer: "Measure what is relevant NOT what is easy in B2B SM" #Socb2b says Metrica > yup agree! @EmmaATheron engaging spkrs at this am's #socB2B seminar at ketchum and good opps for peer networking. still sore from very hard chairs tho! @HK_London: @lawkas from Deloitte now on centre stage about using SM across multiple markets. Are there cultural differences when it comes to SM?#SocB2B @azeem: Logica says that twitter has been the best way to recruit people across all job types/ages vs any other channel #socb2b RT @crossy: #SocB2B good event, perfect balance between case studies and vendors who had something interesting to say. Good work @DarrylSparey  Elaine Doherty @logica at #SocB2B conf: "By 2014 Enterprise Social Networks replace email as primary comms tool at 20% of companies" @hollandizzle: #socb2b @azeem has taken to the stage - discussing influencer levels online. PS. CNN revealed 43% of traffic is from FB/Twitter!  @HK_London Five revealing questions about a social media strategy. 1. "Do you have a social media policy?" Elaine @logica #socb2b 2. "Are you using sentiment analysis/listening?" Elaine @logica #socb2b 3. "Are you training people?" 4. "Do you have a digital crisis plan in place?" Elaine @logica #socb2b and finally 5. "What shows up when you google you C-level execs?" Elaine @logica #socb2b @girisham1 Elaine Doherty from Logica on the importance of distinguishing between social media strategy and a campaign #SocB2B #in RT @Bryce_Keane: @richardbagnall anonymously exposing some serious flaws in the sm top monitoring tools- all run on ave 60% RT @Bryce_Keane: We must not stake our reps on monitoring alone. Human-added value still req'd @richardbagnall #socb2b Thanks go to Ketchum Pleon for sponsoring our Social Media in B2B conference. This article was written by Stuart Tarrant.