It's a question which is still asked everyday - isn't Facebook for friends and consumer brands why would I use it for B2B?
We all know about the big B2C guys, the Starbucks, Pringles Adidas etc, but how about smaller businesses and B2B? The big B2B guys are all over Facebook e.g. Intel, Cisco, IBM, we'll stick to small SMB examples.
Here are 5 SMB B2B Facebook pages:
How about Mid West Laboratories, for "analysis you can trust"? Tied to their blog, a basic but functional one, they take full advantage of a Facebook presence. They are obviously tracking news and keywords, as this is often the topic of a blog post, which in turn is fed through to their Facebook page (that tracking is easy to do using Google Alerts).
Who'd have thought, staid McKinsey's have a Facebook page, and they are dealing exclusively B2B and with the very top C-level! They have a good selection of videos, and the link on their main Facebook profile goes to their Twitter account, not their homepage! I guess McKinsey's isn't really a "small business" however it's more the point about their C-level audience and Facebook which is the surprise.
Or how about Parature on Facebook, one of my favorite examples. Parature sells Customer Service Software to companies, like Southwest Airlines What I really like about this example is that Parature also provides for the use of Facebook Pages themselves as a customer service portal. They also make full use of the Video, Slideshare, Events and Conferences elements of their Page.
Allied Building Products Facebook Page makes good use of the Events in particular, and you can also search the status of your job application.
Finally how about Chinese Lawyer ,Shanghai, "International Lawyer for your business in China!" who has more than 2,500 "fans"!!
Hints: if you are looking for inspiration check out Custom Facebook Pages, they have a great gallery, and the tools, and more at Facebook Designs. And here are 5 Tips for B2B Facebook Pages from Hubspot, and Mari Smith is the ultimate guide for small business on Facebook. Don't forget that integrating your website and Facebook will get the best results, see "Social strategy: Web integration to leverage brand advocacy", and if you are looking for a tool to better manage your time spend in the social media generating leads or following thought leaders check out Xeesm.
