With all the ways people have to talk to/with/at each other today, how can businesses who sell to other businesses find their voices and become part of the conversation? Should we be on Facebook? How can we use Twitter? And what about YouTube?

For companies that sell stuff like candy, soda, or snacks, their customers (aka consumers) are easy to reach with simple games, contests, and gimmicks.

But for those of us whose consumers are buyers of technologies, machinery, and corporate services, how do social media and/or viral marketing fit into our corporate advertising, PR, and marketing mix? That’s what we hope to share with you in this edition of Booth Bay’s The Social Marketer.

Social Marketing is more than just tweeting, or blogging, or putting up a video on YouTube and hoping somebody sees it and tells their friends. Social Marketing is what businesses – especially B2B businesses – need to begin doing in a thoughtful and careful way, to expand their customer base, improve customer satisfaction, maintain loyalty, and increase sales.

Social Marketing is a way for businesses to build customer relationships with multiple, personalized contacts on a regular basis. Then you can monitor and grow those relationships in ways that businesses never could before.

For example, I purchase a piece of software from you, and I’m fairly happy with it. However, a few months down the road you offer an upgrade. Do I need it? Do I want it? How different is it from what I already have? Sure I could talk to your sales rep, but am I going to get the full story? I’m probably going to start by talking with a few of my friends and colleagues first. That’s a conversation you’re never going to hear – unless you’re following me on Twitter or you’re one of my Facebook friends, or you’re on a free resource for software guys, like me.

So how do you get in on the conversations your customers are having “behind your back?”

That’s where social marketing, and The Social Marketer, comes in. We’re going to help you understand and explore how to use social media and/or viral marketing in a B2B context. We’re going to make it as easy as showing your customers how they can use Twitter to stay connected directly to you. So stay connected with us. The future of B2B is changing. The Social Marketer is here to help you stay just ahead of the curve – and your competition.