by Joseph A. Defetti

Created on: July 21, 2009   Last Updated: July 23, 2009

Is Social Networking Not Working for You?

The good news is that it is Social not Business networking. The bad news is that everybody, including the business-to-business world seems to be caught up in it. Should your company, specifically small to mid-size manufacturers and business service providers engage in social media for the good of your company?

Generation Landslide

Only 1% of people over 55 years old use social media. Move the timeline and the numbers are overwhelming for those using Yahoo Groups, tribe.net, or blogging to their hearts discontent.

The person making the final decision to buy your products may not know what a connection on LinkedIn is, but the generation that grew up on the Internet will be calling the shots soon enough.

They are already forging the paths of social networking interacting with business. They are listing and discussing their places of employment and in that context, representing their companies.

This may be an unsettling development for some, but considering what baby boomers did to their parents in the sixties, it's not so bad.

Financial Model

There are three ways a website typically makes a buck: charge for subscriptions, which is tough to get away with; sell stuff, which only goes so far for non-retailers; and run ads.

Advertising is the engine of the economy because it is the most efficient way to connect buyers and sellers. Can social media deliver a targeted audience (with minimal waste) at a fair price to a B2B company? Will the ads be considered a welcome part of the experience (like in a magazine) or a nuisance?

Although the marketing mix has grown increasingly fragmented during the past decade more to do with fewer resources social media cannot be ignored. Social networking sites will need advertisers and work with them to ensure that a company's message is delivered to an appropriate audience.

Which Tables Are the Cool Kids Sitting At?

It's hard to know which social media will thrive and which will fall into oblivion. This is not a new phenomenon. Print journals, trade shows, directories and yes, blogs, have risen and fallen over the years. The ones that adapt to the technology but remain true to their customers needs tend to stick around. So if today's top social media falls tomorrow, there will be something better to replace it.

Less than 8% of all people in the US are registered on Twitter and just 60% of those are regular users. Celebrities, politicians and news organizations are embracing it

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