My favorite chat session B2BChat has produced again. Below is a question posed that spurred the following comment about how small biz can gain a thought leadership advantage using social media:
What are social media’s practical benefits, even for companies who do not monetize their web sites?
The responses varied from lead conversion metrics (from those lucky enough to have a closed-loop lead tracking system), to better understanding he industry landscape and listening to conversations, market intelligence and building personas.
- SM for a small biz helps to level the playing field; leads to interaction with industry pros – as long as you provide quality content
The last observation was especially interesting to me; you don’t need to have a huge PR or ad budget to know what is happening in the industry, and you can engage with the influencers directly. In addition, having the first-mover advantage, you can establish a position in social media and stand apart from the crowd.
I agree with the moderator’s comment about the low cost of thought leadership campaigns using thought leadership. If you have the knowledge and content to back up your interactions with the industry pro’s, they won’t care how large a company you represent.
