Social media is a tool that, on the surface, appears to only have use in certain areas- such as simple interpersonal relationships or business-to-consumer marketing. However, experienced users recognize the benefits of social media in establishing and maintaining business-to-business marketing. Those in marketing may claim, “Well, people who are into social media aren’t the audience we are going after.” or, “My distributors are too old- they don’t even use email!” Certainly these arguments are true in some cases, but you will not gain anything if you don’t step out of your comfort zone and try. Remember that your future network of distributors will most likely be experienced social media users. If your business peers aren’t deep into social media, their interns and new hires will be.
Many people are still not sure what “social media” is. Is it Facebook, Linkedin, or Youtube? Actually it is not any one of these things on its own. It is a means of communicating, sharing, and listening. It’s all about sharing your ideas with your distributors so that both of you can be more successful. Tips, tricks, and success stories help build relationships. Social media, in all its forms, is all about posting questions to your networks, listening to ideas, and getting timely feedback to create better business partners. It’s about sharing presentations and demonstrations to help build credibility in your industry.
Social media in the business-to business realm is all about connecting, learning, and growing- it is building and fostering relationships so that businesses can grow together. And remember, its all about the relationships!
tommytrc @ HC Miller [the author of this post] belongs on your follow list! Not only is he the nicest guy in social media but he’s an ‘a-list’ content aggregator and creator as well…
Todd Lohenry 
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