As everyone and their brother creates and then abandons their Twitter accounts, or logs onto Facebook, many B2B marketers are wondering if social media makes sense in their world. Sure, we can all make the case for B2C marketers, and the evidence (and case studies) abound for success in that realm, but B2B has always been a different animal. Or has it? We need to break free from the mindset that we’re trying to connect to a business, and realize that there are human beings on the other end of our communications, regardless of whether they represent a company or not.

Here are my 6 reasons social media works in B2B:

1. Search LOVES social media. And people love to search. Over 60% of all purchase research begins with an internet search. As the prospect moves through the sales cycle, they search for more specific keywords. Think about your most recent searches. How many YouTube videos, blogs, and Facebook comments appeared in the results? These trends are not going to change. Social media allows information to be created and updated quickly, which is something that search engines like Google and Yahoo have always favored. They also favor pages with inbound links, which means those with the best information win the popularity war.

2. Sales & Marketing need some common ground. We all know sales and marketing have some trouble getting along. Especially in a long, complex sales cycle. Even if you assume they are working together, traditionally sales has difficulty closing the deal with the materials that marketing provides. The best answer for relevancy in “push marketing” consists of getting case studies or articles published in trade publications and having sales deliver reprints to the prospect. While this is still a valuable approach, it only works when the case study published is relevant to the prospect’s problem. It is also backwards focused, meaning it does not take into consideration upcoming industry trends.

Social media can help fill in the gaps left by traditional public relations. Marketing needs to be providing sales with content that is engaging to the prospect and pulls them into conversations. Both sales and marketing need to be monitoring industry trends and what real people are talking about in your industry. A simple Google Reader account allows your team to monitor the conversations that are happening out there, right now.

3. “My customers aren’t talking online.” I’m not buying it. Odds are you just aren’t looking for them in the right places. You need to be tracking who is talking about your industry, where they are, and what they are saying. Until you have done your due diligence, you really don’t have any idea where your prospects and customers are or what they are talking about. But, let’s assume you are right, and they aren’t engaging online yet. They will be soon. And now is the perfect time to jump in and make your mark so your name is top of the list when your prospects do show up.

4. Early adopters get the name recognition. Because the online social media world is still the wild west, it is anybody’s game. There is a low cost of entry (basically time – but lots of it) and a relatively low learning curve, this is an arena where any company came make their name by providing valuable information that your prospects and clients want to know about. You establish your credibility through the content you put out there. And the best posts will encourage readers to comment and further engage with you in the discussion.

5. Actual conversations with your customers. What makes social media powerful is the fact that it is a 2-way dialog. According to a 2007 Keller Fay Group study, “Business decision makers most value communication channels that provide a two-way dialog.” Allowing your readers to respond to your comments makes your brand vulnerable, but it also makes it human. People want to do business with people. They also want to talk to people. And joining the conversation means you get to make your voice heard as well. Because whether you are part of it or not, the conversation is happening.

6. Word of Mouth is the #1 influencer on B2B purchase decisions. That’s not just my opinion. That same 2007 Keller Fay Group study found that 50% of respondents were highly likely to buy based solely on word of mouth recommendations, and that 49% of respondents passed on what they learned to others. That was a study performed 2 years ago. Just as social media has grown over the last 2 years, so has the influence it has in purchasing decisions. If I said B2B sales are made through relationship selling, no one would argue. Social media is simply another tool that can be used to start forming relationships.

I hope that my six reasons have sparked some thought and even some disagreement with you. If so, please take a moment to share your thoughts. I promise to take the time to respond back. Let’s start talking.