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Has B2B Social Media Marketing Crossed the Chasm?

by Jennifer Beever

Cross the ChasmI think social media has crossed the chasm for B2B marketers as a way to create brand awareness. Pragmatists unite – it may be time to think about getting on board.

In 1991 Geoffery Moore published Crossing the Chasm, which described how technology products move from launch through adoption by mass markets. Not all technologies make it, because they can’t cross the chasm between techies who adopt new technology early and business pragmatists and conservatives who need to see proof, third-party support for the technology, and lower pricing.

The first market in Moore’s Technology Adoption Life Cycle after the deadly chasm is the Early Majority. Business owners in the early majority are called pragmatists. Pragmatists need to know that there is a good likelihood that a technology will get them an incremental improvement over their current state.

Other factors that indicate that B2B social media marketing has crossed the chasm include the existence of industry case studies that offer proof that it works, reducing the risk of taking on this new marketing approach, and the emergence of credible market leaders that the early majority can buy from.

My personal belief is that B2B social media marketing adoption is subject to two major factors in the pragmatic Early Majority marketplace. One, either the owner of the business or an influential champion within the company has to understand the opportunities social media presents. Two, there has to be enough evidence that the business will get results from social media. Social media hasn’t been proven in all industries at this point, but some, especially those that were hard hit by the great recession of 2007-8, are adopting social media as a cost-effective way to increase brand awareness.

Using social media creating brand awareness has crossed the chasm, but has the more sophisticated use of it for lead nurturing and converting prospects to customers crossed? I think getting businesses to use social media to move buyers through the buying cycle is still a challenge for B2B social media experts.

Do you want to be in the early majority and gain the advantage over your competitors? Contact New Incite about our social media marketing services – we provide pragmatic strategies and implementation so you can get results from your social media efforts.

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