Times are a changin’.  Maybe there was a time when LinkedIn was the preferred social media outlet for B2B online marketing, but not anymore.  WebMarketing123’s 2011 State of Digital Marketing Report showed that 47% of the B2B marketing professionals have generated leads using Facebook and out of those, 41% closed deals.  Of the professionals surveyed, that adds up to more closed deals from Facebook than LinkedIn and Twitter put together.

Facebook is great for B2B companies because it works at generating leads by word of mouth advertising.  And that is still a vital part of B2B sales.  Think of how many purchase decisions your company has made because a product or service was recommended to you by a trusted source—an employee, a colleague, a friend.  People are just more likely to buy from you when a friend adds the stamp of approval, and what is a Facebook “LIKE” but a tacit stamp of approval from a friend, delivered right to the news feed of your prospective customer.

Call Them to Action

On Facebook, it all starts with a “Like.”  You want people to “like” your company or business page on Facebook.  That gets your name out into a community of buyers (i.e. the friends of your fan).  If someone “likes” you, it will appear on their Facebook wall and everyone in their network will see it in their own news feeds, putting your company name in front of more people.  But how do you get a “like”?  A lot of the time, it’s as simple as asking for it.  In online marketing terms, we like to label this a “call to action”; essentially, that’s just the online equivalent of asking or requesting something from someone.  Studies show that people are 216% more likely to “like” a page when they are called to action.  We are conditioned to follow direction—that is our default mode—so more often than not people will “like” simply because you ask them to.

You can include calls-to-action on almost any marketing material you put out there.  That includes brochures, whitepapers, case studies—even bumper stickers.  In the online world, add Facebook “like” calls-to-action to your website, articles, blog posts, pay-per-click ads, banners.  Take every opportunity.  Here’s an example of what that call-to-action should look like.

Example:

Poor Call-to-Action:  We added a new post to our blog.  Check it out!

Better Call-to-Action: We added a new post to our blog.  “Like” us to check it out!

Get Them Talkin

To gain a fan’s business, though, you have to do more than get them to “like” you; you need to get them to interact with you.  That can often be done by applying some simple best practices for posting to your wall on Facebook.  It is a well known fact in psychology that people enjoy sharing their opinions, so when you post, give them the opportunity to do so. How do you do that?  Simple, just ask.

Example:

Poor Wall Post:  Salesforce is one of the most customizable CRM’s out there.

Better Wall Post: What do you think – is Salesforce the most customizable CRM out there?

Pretty obvious which one would draw more comments.  Remember, the whole reason social media exists is for interaction.

Give Em a Reason to Like You

When people see your name for the first time on a friend’s wall or in ads, they’ll go to your Facebook landing page to learn more about you.  So it’s worth it to get a custom-designed Facebook landing page or banner.  And on that landing page, give them a reason to “like” you or share their information.  You could offer a free whitepaper or a free newsletter signup.  Maybe talk about a free trial or discount.  And, of course, include a call-to-action asking them to sign up or “like” you.

B2B online marketing has its nuances, but as with other forms of marketing, you really can’t do too much.  The more visibility your company gets on Facebook and other social networks, the more likely you are to generate more leads.  All the latest stats are pointing that way.  Don’t be afraid to try new things – Facebook included!

Any other Facebook tips for online B2B marketers?  Please add your comments below.