B2B TALKS about social media…

Nothing gets sold until it gets communicated. However, communication is a fluid thing. It’s difficult to manage and even harder to lead.

Meanwhile, smaller B2B companies are attending social media seminars almost monthly, trying to catch up with larger B2B companies. That won’t take long. And when they do, many of these entrepreneurial businesses will do a better job of it, because they won’t allow themselves to come up against the social media “policy” wall -- that barrier built by lawyers and managers as no-fault disclaimers, establishing a hands-off approach to having employees walk-the-walk when it comes to all the social media talk.

The uneven adoption of social media illustrates the difference between management driven and leadership driven business cultures. A management driven culture is inclined to control social media. Realizing this isn’t possible, the decision will be, “Ok, if we can’t manage it, let’s minimize the damage it can cause.” Alternatively, in a business culture driven by leadership, the attitude will be, “Let’s cultivate our employee leaders to use social media to build our brand. Not only that, let’s show them how!”

B2B leaders understand that social media is just another way a company can invest in the professional development of people. It’s just another way to go to market and to build brand identity.

It’s another way to communicate. Or not.

JB