Millions of people are using social media today.  So when a study of social media users says that they feel more positive about brands that interact online, it’s worth noting.

It’s especially interesting to see that 68% of the respondents feel better served by a company when they can have a conversation via social media.  One of the major benefits of social media is that when you’re helping one person out, millions get to see and/or hear about it.  You’re not only helping out one customer, but attracting 100’s more.

Not only does it build goodwill with the majority of users but interacting with people via social media also makes them more likely to engage with your company and your brand.

Last week, Yahoo Finance posted an article by J. Bonasia titled, “Social Networking Is Fast Migrating To Business World”.  In it, they talked about the impact platforms like Facebook and Twitter are having on allowing people to connect and how businesses are being prodded to get involved.

While the article mainly focuses on software for allowing companies to get involved in social networking, it did touch on some points relating to business in social media overall.  Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang is quoted as saying, “Social networking can be a marketer’s dream, letting firms communicate directly with customers and partners. Traditional Web ads are already becoming less effective than campaigns that invite people to social Web pages where users can try things out and tell their friends.” 

“Marketers moving quickly to embrace this trend will benefit, while those coming late to the party will struggle,”

The only thing I would add to the article is not just to move quickly, but to move quickly with a plan.  Know what realistic goals are in social media and have a plan in place that includes interacting on platforms or groups where YOUR customers are.  Just joining every popular platform out there will not help you.  Also, make sure that you have a social media policy in place and that you educate your employees about if and how your company is comfortable with their participation in social media.

Hopefully, your company already has a plan in place and is taking advantage of social networking.  This is not the latest fad that all of the cool kids are doing.  This is the next level of interacting with customers, prospects, and business partners.  The bus is leaving whether you’re on it or not.

Picture “DSC01368” by BRivey on Flickr.

While we’re not big fans of research or analyst firms providing reviews on business applications or services, we do appreciate their ability to step back and provide insight on industries or trends themselves.  This Monday, Forrester came out with a presentation titled, “Using Buyer Social Behavior to Boost B2B Social Media Success”.  Some of their report was based off of their B2B survey of 1217 technology decision-makers at companies with 100 employees or more.  You can see their presentation on SlideShare. 

There were more then a few nuggets worth noting in the report:

“Social media puts buyers, not marketers, in control.”  We’ve been saying this for awhile.  While there’s no one to blame, historically, the solution providers themselves have been the gate keepers for prospects and customers to find and share information about their business products or services.  Whenever you needed to find other customers in order to get the information needed to make a decision, who did you go to for those contacts?; the company trying to sell to you.  While there isn’t anyone that would think of buying anything in their consumer lives today without going online to look at reviews and ratings from their peers, the business world (where the dollars involved are exponentially larger) is slow to use the same common sense practice.  One of the few bright sides to today’s economy is the fact that “We’ve always done it this way.”, is no longer an acceptable answer for anything in the professional world.  Companies now realize that using this same methodology is needed not only when making an informed purchase, but also when selling to businesses in order to improve inbound marketing and make the most of their marketing budgets.

Peers and Colleagues have a major impact on decision-making. Another powerful point in the report was when they asked “Which of the following sources impact your decision-making process?” “Peers and Colleagues” was the number one answer with 84%.  Once again, people want to find out what their peers think when making an informed purchase.  Referrals matter.

More B2B companies are looking to social media.  Two other important points to note out of the research are:

• 48% plan on experimenting more with social media to compensate for budget cuts
• 22% plan to increase social media use and shift dollars from traditional channels online

And the final key point from the report worth noting is this; “Online activity changes B2B marketing practices permanently”.  There is no going back to yesterday and these trends will continue to add value and take hold in the marketplace.

Now is the time for smart companies in the B2B markets to prepare and get involved in social media.  There is major opportunity for those at the forefront to grow market share and beat out your competition.

I read a blog post by a great Chicago company called Gaspedal that pointed out a study on how Americans expect companies to have a presence in social media.  The study was performed by Cone in September 2008 and refers to the 60% of Americans that use social media.

Of that 60%, the study showed that:

• 93% of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media
• 56% of users feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment
• 41% think that companies should solicit feedback on their products and services
• 37% Companies should develop new ways for consumers to interact with their brand 

These numbers show the continued trend of people feeling more comfortable with social media and wanting more companies to stick a toe in the water and get involved.   

One thing that you won’t see in any study is that users want to be flat-out sold to via social media.  They’re really looking to have a conversation and be acknowledged.  

So while more studies will come out showing an increase in this trend, the interesting part is going to be watching how companies take up this task and get involved and integrate social media into their customer relationships as well as their own organizations.