Will Facebook Work for B2B Companies?

For 2011, a big opportunity, largely untapped for small businesses, is Facebook (FB) B2B.  I think the fatal error on Facebook, particularly in the B2B space, is to think about it in the old paradigm.

What I mean is, asking about Return on Investment (ROI). As soon as you start asking about ROI, your FB B2B adventure is probably over, if it even ever gets launched.

Ultimately you will have to accept the ‘give to get’ model. You have to go in, not expecting a 1 for 1 return. By its very nature, Facebook  is a long-term proposition.

Here’s what I mean. We designed a custom Welcome page. If people ‘like’ the page, they can go to our Wall, and get a free idea to improve their website’s conversion rate. No strings, no gimmicks, no sales pitch.

Here’s the problem, and the “payoff”. You have to trust the visitor to understand the value of what you are giving, the value of your service, and having recognized it he / she says, “That’s great! Who are these people”? You then have to trust them to figure out how to contact you, entirely on their own, with no prodding and tricks. This is a very tall order for most website owners.

They say, “Where’s the Call To Action”. Well, I have news for them, there is none. The Call To Action is entirely internal with the visitor. That’s what trusting them means. It is a complete reversal of the old paradigm of, “I give you something of value, here’s what I want in return”. The new paradigm is, I give you something of value. I trust you to recognize the value. If you do recognize the value, I trust you to consider your own self interest, and in that consideration, seek me out for the services I offer.

If this sounds a little far out, perhaps it is. But until you adopt the ‘give to get’ with no strings, as a B2B company, I think you will be disappointed on Facebook.

What do you think?