As social media continues to gain traction among B2B companies, we as a B2B focused marketing firm continue to challenge ourselves with how to make our clients sassier, sexier and savvier in social media-land. But it doesn’t happen overnight. A healthy, quality social media following that attracts and engages the right audience takes time to build. “Social” media is about connecting with people, organizations and companies on a more personal level and good relationships take time to foster. Once those foundations are set, how do you up the ante? The answer: with new and exciting ways to engage those followers -- like launching a creative contest!

As many of you know, MCG recently upgraded its capabilities to include social media marketing. I’ve come into CMOthink’s fold talking about the new social media movement that seems to be sweeping the B2B marketing industry, but ultimately, we realize the importance of adding social media to your company’s integrated digital marketing campaigns because we’ve added it to our own, and it works. Social media is a barrier-less way to reach your customers and engage them in conversation. Today, people are less interested in what your corporate website has to say, and more about what other people are saying about your brand

We’ve posted a few times on the blog about how much we love where we work. For those who are unfamiliar, MCG’s office is in the heart of the Art District on Santa Fe, a network of over 60 art galleries, studios, theatres, restaurants, and other creative industries. All of the energy flowing around the district from these creatives inspires us everyday because they’ve been doing some major things since we’ve moved here. Since the District’s inception in 2003, they’ve turned the area from a notably “rough” neighborhood into a thriving district with hundreds of members.

Consumer social media's goal is volume of distribution of the message. How can you get more people to follow, how can you create a large viral event, how can you get as many followers as possible? In the consumer world, social media supports the brand primarily, creating demand generation second and then thought leadership (if at all), third. Business social media's goals are almost opposite.