Are you growing your brand or Facebook's?

There's one thing I want to make clear right from the outset of this post: Facebook does not need your help growing their brand. Nor does Google. Nor does Twitter. Nor does LinkedIn.

Over the past year or so, there appears to have been a shift in B2B marketing departments where they've begun using Facebook et al as their go to destination for driving traffic. So, you'll see an increasing number of brands pushing people through to facebook.com/XYZbrand rather than XYZbrand.com. Or they'll ask you to follow them on Twitter as their only call to action. And, as soon as the company pages on Google+ are available, expect to see that being trumpeted too.

Now, of course, there is some good rational thinking lurking behind all this. As the phrase goes: shoot where the ducks are thickest. And there are millions of 'ducks' on these networks. What's more these are caring, sharing ducks who can help spread your message to vast networks of others. So what's not to like?

Well, here are some things to consider before jumping in:

• If Facebook changes the rules, there's nothing you can do about it – you are on a walled network with its own rules which can be changed (and have been). Eggs, basket, that kind of thing.
• You will have limited flexibility in what you can do – for all the add-ons, the functionality of these networks is still relatively limited (ironically, this can actually be a good thing but you need to have thought it through).
• The user mindset may not be in the right place – yes, there may be plenty of people there, but what are they there for? Facebook is still primarily about keeping up with friends. Increasingly, like Twitter, it's also being used for time-limited offers. But the question remains: what role should it play in a complex B2B sale? In the tech space, Cisco uses Facebook well – but while there are lots of comments, typically the engagement is shallow at best. LinkedIn Groups are better in this regard but the volume is significantly lower.
• Facebook (and the other networks) are just a part of the picture – the danger is to view Facebook as a panacea, but it is really just a part of the picture which can be useful early on in a sale (at an awareness stage). Too many marketers are making the same mistake they used to with traditional advertising – driving for awareness (fans/follows/likes) and thinking that the job's finished. This is simply and obviously not the case.
• Facebook and LinkedIn may have less influence than you think – there are many and varied conflicting stats to choose from here but if we look at research from Forrester (who know a thing or two and are generally pro-social media) – social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn rank as #12 out of 14 on a scale measuring influence on IT decision making.

So what am I saying? Never go near Facebook for B2B? No. Both Facebook and LinkedIn (and I expect Google+ in a couple of months) have a place in your B2B marketing plans. However, you must be clear about exactly what that place is, what you can expect in terms of results and what the cost is (mainly in time and attention).

Importantly, you must balance your public social networking presence within an integrated approach to your marketing as a whole. You need to root this in the evidence rather than the hype. And ultimately, you need an approach that grows your brand, your customer engagement and your sales.