Social media marketing is no longer a nice to have; it’s a must-have and customers expect it. Companies need to rethink their sales process as social media has become a valuable core ingredient in lead generation. It also can shorten the sales cycle and deliver revenue. Business-to-Business (B2B) companies are engaging in social media marketing, using it to grow their business and help sell more products and services.

It’s likely that your competitors are already actively engaged in some social marketing activity through LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. If, by chance, they are not engaged in social marketing, then what a great opportunity for you to get the jump on them!

When considering social media, check out these numbers:

• LinkedIn is a network of 225 million professionals
• 25 percent of worldwide Internet users are now active on Google Plus
• Facebook has over 1 billion active users
• There are over 550 million active users on Twitter
• Pinterest attracts over 4 million unique visitors daily!

Where to begin your B2B social media marketing:

I would recommend starting with LinkedIn, as it is the world’s largest professional network and recently rated the most important social platform for generating new business.* There you set up your business profile, build your professional identity online and then connect with colleagues and industry professionals. You can also discover professional opportunities, business deals, and new ventures there. You can post and share new content that helps increase your visibility, reach, and credibility.

On Google Plus, you can create relationships with industry influencers (who may have big followings). Initially, that might not seem that important until you realize that those relationships can extend your reach and help you become visible. You want Google to know of your business and the content you produce.

Every social media outlet has opportunities for B2Bs to expand their reach!

Social media marketing is more than merely fishing where the fish are. It is a place where businesses show off their expertise and position themselves as trustworthy experts in their field. Interacting via social sharing tools will attract and engage an Internet audience (traffic), which over time will turn into revenue as people become better informed about your products and their benefits.

You can set up social accounts yourself or you can talk with us about setting up, integrating accounts into your website, and managing them for you as well. Let us know how we can help.

Share your social media marketing needs, concerns, or successes with us below.

*http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Agencies-Use-Content-Case-Studies-Generate-Leads/1010213.