Forget B2B. Forget B2C. Today’s Business is P2P.

It is not without a good bit of irony that the cold hard world of technology has completely morphed marketing and sales from being Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C) into Person to Person, or Peer to Peer (P2P). Instead of replacing humans and ruling the world, technology has instead connected humans in ways perhaps no one could have predicted.

Technology - and the swift infiltration of social media in particular - has enabled people from all walks of life to meet, converse and share information and ideas. It is breaking down geographic and cultural differences, and allowing us to interact on a much deeper and more meaningful level.

Think about it. As I engage in an online discussion about marketing, for instance, I don’t know where the person I am interacting with is, what they look like, the color of their skin, their religious or political affiliation. All I know is if they share my viewpoints, know what they’re talking about and are worthwhile to add as one of my connections. If I value what they have to say, I will choose to stay connected. If not, I will be moving on.

The way consumers interact with those they choose to spend money with is much the same. If they value what is being offered, if they find spending time there worthwhile, they will choose to connect and stay connected. Hell, they may even tell their friends to do the same.

As a marketer who is all about the never-ending game of figuring out what makes humans tick (and more importantly, what makes them buy) the concept of P2P marketing is intriguing.  It’s not a new concept - the chatter has been around in the industry for years - but the meteoric rise and buzz about social media marketing is bringing it to the forefront.

There was a time not long ago (it may have been last week) where marketing and advertising teams pondered how one business should speak to another business - B2B. You stepped outside of your human skin and took on the persona of ‘the company’ on either side. “How do we - Accounting Software Company X - speak with our target market - Mid-Size Manufacturer Y?” We spoke in the third person, and used terms like ‘the industry leader’ and ‘enterprise-wide’. And we wondered why these message - so expertly well thought-out and crafted - fell flat.

B2C was a little better, but not much. We spoke to humans and really tried to care about and address their issues, but again, we approached it from a Business to Consumer perspective. “How do we - Household Cleaner Company A - speaking with our target - Homeowner B?”

The influx of human conversation, painfully honest feedback, and spontaneous word of mouth marketing brought on by the internet and social media marketing is changing all of that. Now we are FINALLY realizing that business is done by people. At the end of the day, every purchase, every decision is not made by ‘the business’, it’s made by a person who just happens to represent ‘the business’. Simple logic tell us that our message, therefore, must be to a person, by a person.

So how does the ‘the business’ become ‘the people behind the business’? 

I believe the transformation starts from within. Subtle changes in the way a company communicates both internally and externally can make a big difference. Take third person speak, for example. Let’s say we have a marketing firm specializing in manufacturing called PlanNine Marketing. And let’s say we’re writing our ‘who is’ statement.

We could say…

PlanNine Marketing Offers Manufacturing Marketing Services to Move Small Businesses Forward

Or we could say…

Trust the Team at PlanNine Marketing to Help Move Your Manufacturing Business Forward

The shift from referring in the third person as ‘the company’ helping ‘the business’, to emphasizing ‘the team’ behind the company helping ‘the business owner’ is subtle, but powerful.

We soft and squishy humans want and need to know that we will be cared for. It’s instinctual. Try as we might to toughen that exterior, our basic instinct drives us to those that will look after us, protect us, care for us. Can ‘the business’ shake or even hold my hand and ensure me that I’ve made the right choice? No. It doesn’t have hands. But the team inside the business does. They have lots of hands for shaking and holding, and that makes me happy.

What else can be done?

Because all business is done by people, consider having some trusted members of your team become involved in public communications with customers. Blogs and social media outlets like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, allow for virtual face-to-face interaction, with the added bonus of instant word-of-mouth marketing. Making connections takes a little up-front work, but once that is done, the base is established for having meaningful interactions with customers and prospects.

Webinars are other ways companies are using their in-house talent to connect with customers and prospects. Setting up and marketing a webinar, for example, is a miniscule investment. Develop a hot topic in your field of expertise, promote it through e-mail, the internet and social media marketing, and you not only have the chance to draw in new customers, but for your existing ones, you are reassuring them that you are, in fact, the leaders in your field.

Through all of this technology, let’s not also forget REAL face to face interaction. Meet and greet events, trade shows and conferences, in-house seminars and even social events are a great way to truly connect with clients and prospects. Although the time and monetary investment is no doubt greater, sometimes there just is no replacing the soft and squishy handshake.

What are you doing to reach clients and prospects? We’d love to hear how you’re putting P2P marketing to the test, and the results you’re seeing. Comment, or connect with us on Facebook and share your thoughts at www.facebook.com/digidaze

Social Media for Corporate Leaders

The Top 5 Excuses Keeping You from Being There…and How to Get Over Them.

If you are in a leadership position in a corporation and you're not tweeting, blogging or connecting with clients and colleagues via Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, what are you waiting for?

Wait...let me guess...

• "I don't have time for that nonsense."
• "My tweets would only get me - and my company - in trouble."
• "I really don't have much to say, and besides, who will listen?"
• "I'd prefer to keep my social network and my corporate network separate."
• "I fail to see the benefit of chirping about my life."

Now...let me address these one by one...

"I don't have time for that nonsense."
If you have time to read the news over morning coffee, on the train, or at your desk, you have time for social media. While getting started on social media does require some time and effort up front, keeping up with it can be as quick and easy as your morning latte.

If you're like most, you are getting your news online. You browse to your favorite news site, jump to the news topics that interest you, scan the headlines for what you need, and read the articles. Add just one step to that process, and you're engaged in social media marketing.

Say you're the leader of a window manufacturing plant in Minnesota. Your daily scan of online news revealed breaking news about new tax credits for energy efficient home products, including windows. Great news for you! This could well mean that demand for your product will be on the rise. Now, instead of simply reading that article, smiling and going about your day, why not use social media to help spread the word?

The article that you just read most likely had a few little icons for sharing it with the world next to it. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, sharing that news is seriously as easy as clicking those buttons. Instantly, your Facebook wall or your Twitter 'What's happening?' box is populated with the article headline and a link to that article. Add your two cents, click your Share or Tweet button, and voila! You've just engaged with customers, colleagues and friends with news about your industry.

"My tweets would only get me - and my company - in trouble."
While we hear news stories almost daily about loose-lipped celebrities, athletes or politicians releasing confidential or controversial information through social media, there’s a way to take care of that. Use your head! You are 100% in control of what you broadcast to the world on social media. Social media posts should be released with the same scrutiny as you would an e-mail or any other form of communication that is permanent record.

"I really don't have much to say, and besides, who will listen?"
If you’re a corporate leader, you should have lots to say. You’ve worked your way to where you are today by exhibiting high-level knowledge and thought leadership in some way, shape or form. You may not have shown it in writing, but you’ve shown it. Your thoughts and ideas have the ability to move business forward. By sharing them with others, you’re exhibiting superior expertise in your field of work, and you’re being recognized by others as industry expert.

So who’s listening? Who isn’t listening. If you’ve done your up-front work to gain followers and connect with clients and colleagues, they’re listening. And after they listen, if they like what they heard, they’re sharing. The viral legs that your thought leadership on social media can have is tremendous!

"I'd prefer to keep my social network and my corporate network separate."
That ship, my friend, has sailed. The days of 9 to 5 and ‘work/life balance’ have been replaced simply by ‘life’. Life is work. Work is life. News is everywhere all the time, and conversations with friends, family and colleagues are a mix of business and personal. We share with our families what’s happening at work, and we share with our colleagues what’s happening outside of the office.

While you may choose to have separate Facebook or Twitter accounts for business and personal, it shouldn’t mean that you keep all social media activities personal, and opt-out of using it for business.

"I fail to see the benefit of chirping about my life."
For each individual, the benefits of communicating via social media are different. For the corporate leader, here are just a few.

The first is relevancy. In order for you to remain relevant – with your customers, your employees and your colleagues – you must exhibit a mastery of how business is done today. To resist forward movement, technology or change is a sure-fire way to quickly become irrelevant…dare I say ‘old’. Yikes!

Next is exposure. For companies and individuals alike, corporate leaders have become brands in and of themselves. CEOs are often in front of cameras and featured in news articles. The public wants and needs to hear what they have to say. By exhibiting your keen industry and business knowledge through social media, you have the opportunity to build your personal brand. Not only does this help your company stay relevant in the eyes of customers and stockholders, it helps your own personal marketability. And you never know when or where your next big opportunity lies.

Connecting with customers on a deeper level is probably the most important benefit in engaging in social media for business. If you’ve ever watched ‘Undercover Boss’ you can see how corporate leaders easily become disconnected from their customers and employees. Ten hours a day in a corner office crunching numbers and planning the next big thing has a tendency to isolate you from the very things that make your business thrive. The use of social media to connect with people, listen to their feedback and engage in dialogue on a regular basis should be of critical importance to you.
Ok. You’re convinced. You need to be there. Now what?

A corporate leader’s dive into social media should be done methodically. You need a plan for getting there and for keeping it going. Depending on the size and scope of your organization, you should consider developing a social media plan with a social media consultant. You don’t do your company marketing and advertising without a plan, so why should social media be any different?

Digidaze helps companies and corporate leaders use social media to drive business forward.

Connect with us today:
http://www.digidaze.com/    www.twitter.com/digidazenow   www.facebook.com/digidaze   http://www.digidazeyap.blogspot.com/ 
marketing@digidaze.com  1-855-digidaze

Why Your Nephew Shouldn't Be In Charge of Your Social Media Marketing

It's happening everywhere. Business owners are putting their young nephew, niece, child or a college intern in charge of their business’ social media marketing charge. Sounds harmless enough...until you truly realize the impact of this powerful new marketing medium.

Most business owners (unless you own Facebook) are not in their 20’s. 77% of all U.S. business owners are between 35 and 65+, with the highest number on that scale – 32%  – being somewhere between 45 and 54*. These entrepreneurs, while not un-savvy when it comes to technology, have only just begun to understand the reach, impact and importance of social media marketing. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube – they hear the buzz and know they need to be there, but they don’t know exactly how to get there. So what happens? That 55 year old business owner turns to the person he sees utilizing social media the most for help – his nephew.

Now, I don’t want to knock the knowledge of someone in their teens or 20’s. They certainly do understand social media tools better than most. They practically post photos and information to Facebook in their sleep. They’re hardly ever disconnected. But understanding the medium, and using it to represent your company brand are two completely different concepts. Look at it this way. Your high school senior may get straight A’s in math, but would you put her in charge of your accounting department? I don’t think so. While the basic understanding may be there, the ability to use it properly to move business forward comes from experience. Not just experience using the medium, true business experience.

This phenomenon is like déjà vu taking us back to when the internet was brand new. It was such a foreign concept. Business owners didn’t get it, and many were slow to adopt it. And when they finally realized they were falling behind, many of them turned to those that they believed understood the medium best – teens. The result? A worldwide web littered with poorly written, poorly designed websites with flashing text and really, really bad animated clipart. Cool!

It took a few more years for business owners to fully realize that their website was the face of their brand and needed to reflect their core business. It’s 2011, and now, you wouldn’t dream of trusting something as important as your website to an amateur.

So here we are at the crux of the next big thing for businesses. Who will you trust to lead the charge?

Need Help with Your Social Media Marketing?
Digidaze helps businesses extend their brand identities and reach new customers through social media marketing and search engine placement. Visit http://www.digidaze.com/, e-mail marketing@digidaze.com or call 1-855-digidaze for more information. And don’t forget to connect with us on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/hTZiDN and follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/digidazenow




*Source: http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/sbo/age.htm