Gail Nelson
Recently, I read The Cost– And Payoff — Of Investing In Social Media by the freelance writer Lydia Dishman. She reported on how small businesses owners could participate in and benefit from social media. One entrepreneur was quoted as saying, “Previously wasted downtime like sitting in taxis for 20 minutes or standing in a bank line for 10 minutes is now spent on my mobile phone, bouncing between Twitter and Facebook. It’s getting easier and easier, and for branding an entrepreneur, I think it’s golden.”

On the other end of the spectrum lie the investments large companies make in social media. If you watch any TV at all, it’s likely you’ve seen BestBuy’s pricey TV ads designed to spread the word about Twelpforce – a cadre of staff providing customer assistance via Twitter.

So what does social media success require? Simply a long commute and a smartphone, or a major restructuring of the business? Of course, the scale and type of effort depends on the size of your organization, its business goals, and other factors, but it’s a question many B2B PR and marketing pros are wrestling with right now. It reminds me a bit of the customer relationship management (CRM) revolution of yore: As with CRM, social media burrows into the heart of company’s interactions with its clients, and like CRM, getting to a winning strategy is a journey.

I’m happy to report that I’ll be participating on the panel of a free Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) webinar exploring what really works for the “meaty middle” of the market – companies with more than one employee but less than the 10,000+ of an IBM. During Overview of Business Applications of Social Media (part of a webinar series on social media in a B2B setting), I’ll be sharing the BurrellesLuce experience with the social media revolution – our sales, marketing, PR, and customer service goals, our program results, and a word about our clients.

Joining me are some top-notch PR and marketing executives: Angela Lauria, CMO of AppAssure, will present her company’s case study. Jeff Majka, Director of Marketing and Business Development at the national PR firm Strategic Communications Group, will offer insights based on his firm’s work for its portfolio of clients. Guiding the session is Karen Leavitt, CEO of Marketing Fusion. Here’s where to register for the September 8 webinar. Hope to see you there!