“How does social media apply to our target audience of business professionals, and help us achieve our B2B revenue goals?”

I’ve had this question thrown at me scores of times by many an enterprise executive, and in my fair share of B2B boardrooms. And as I frequently explain, even though the word “social” modifies these media, the Social Web is not merely a consumer playground, but a business marketplace brimming with B2B potential.

The reason is as simple as it is profound: While consumers use social media to enhance their personal lives, professionals engage with social media to advance their livelihoods.  As a result, B2Bs are now afforded a set of remarkable new ways to advance their brands among the highly sought-after audience of business professionals.

That’s not to say there isn’t a bevy of social-media opportunity for B2C marketers. But due to their fickle nature, consumers are constantly shifting from one set of interests onto others, especially as they age. Think about it, teenagers have entirely different priorities and preferences than 30-somethings, or seniors. Professionals, on the other hand, are more dedicated to their chosen career paths, a loyalty that spans many decades throughout the course of their lives.

For professionals, the stakes are much higher, too. In taking to the Web, business audiences are seeking advice, assurance and solutions related to their job security, as well as obtaining the requisite knowledge to move into bigger jobs (with bigger paychecks). Moreover, business networking has been in practice long before “social networking” was even a buzzword, as professionals have always worked to surround themselves with a community of fellow practitioners.

But back to the core question: How does social media apply to business audiences, and help B2Bs achieve their revenue goals? This is best answered through tying the B2B benefits of social media to the prime motivations of professionals using these tools and platforms:

• Professionals Must Decrease Their Purchasing Risk

Business professionals buy big-ticket items, with purchases affecting their entire organizations (not just themselves). After all, they’re not buying two-dollar sugar water, they’re investing in two million-dollar software systems. And their jobs are contingent upon how well they spend their budgets, so risk is a mighty big motivator.

How does social media play a role in decreasing purchasing risk, and how can B2Bs benefit? Professionals use these tools to research third-party referrals, recommendations and information (online WOM) from fellow professionals—not solely from the companies selling the offerings—before making purchases so as to decrease risk to their companies, and themselves. Thus, B2Bs who consistently deliver on their brand’s value proposition increase their odds of having favorable online WOM and referrals spread about them by professionals… precisely the type of “buzz” that generates awareness and pulls in qualified leads.

• Professionals Must Improve Their Knowledge

In order to keep their jobs, and to find better jobs, business professionals must stay up-to-date, competitive and relevant. This is a tall order in today’s ever-evolving environment that produces an intense learning curve for executives. Yet the professionals who are most likely to succeed are those who best adapt to the world that is dramatically changing all around them.

How does social media play a role in acquiring knowledge, and how can B2Bs benefit? Through these tools, professionals are enabled a free, easy and timely way to share information and advice that advances their knowledge and expertise. And the smart B2Bs who fulfill this need –as through producing industry-specific learning networks enabling professionals to share their ideas and experiences with each other—endear business audiences, and their budgets!, to their brands.

• Professionals Must Identify Solutions

Business professionals contend with many challenges and need to identify solutions to more effectively run their businesses, overcome their “pain points” and achieve their goals. It’s exactly the reason that so many conferences, articles and books are focused on solutions.

How does social media play a role in identifying solutions, and how can B2Bs benefit? These tools give professionals an effective outlet for researching solutions, as well as posting questions and communicating in real time with others who have experienced the same challenges. B2Bs who develop and distribute thought-leadership content that addresses these pressing challenges, posted in formats and forums around which professionals can engage and swap ideas, place their solutions directly in front of their core prospects at *precisely* the time they are evaluating vendors.

• Professionals Must Increase Their Business Networks

In order to advance their careers, professionals must develop relationships and grow their business networks to learn of career-advancing opportunities.  Just as the old adage teaches, it’s not just what you know but who you know.

Where does social media play a role in professional networking, and how can B2Bs benefit? These tools provide professionals with an unprecedented channel for building business networks, both locally and across the globe. B2Bs that produce networking opportunities—such as with professional forums, idea exchanges and online events—succeed in strategically injecting themselves inside prospect-rich networks where they can cultivate customers… but in a manner that does not interrupt participants’ networking activities and experiences.

B2Bs, Your Business Media Awaits You.
In directing their focus around social-media programs that help professionals decrease risk, increase knowledge, identify solutions and grow business networks, B2B marketers provide their target audiences a powerful incentive to engage with their brands in meaningful ways. And the outcomes of these efforts, like building awareness, providing positive brand encounters and developing lead-generating relationships, result in new revenues for B2B organizations.

So the next time an executive disputes the benefits of integrating these tools into their B2B marketing mix, use these points to explain how “social” media is business media.  (Or if you prefer, a slideshow encapsulating these key points is located here.)