5 B2B Companies and Luxury Brands On Social Media

• Tweet

• Tweet

We often mistake skepticism as rationality.

There are so many people out there who weigh possible loss more heavily than potential gain. But of course, it’s in our nature to be that way.

However, we can either look at being searchable online as an opportunity to be found by future employers, clients and business partners. Or we can look at it as an invasion of privacy.

Businesses can try to find reasons not to use social media or they can find creative ways to make it work for them.

There are many people who don’t see how the benefits of social media can be applied to big ticket items like luxury brands and aircraft, and B2B products/services.

I used to agree with these people, thinking that social media would dilute and “cheapen” expensive brands, and there was no need for B2B companies to go social.

Well I still think that social media is not for everyone and every business. Simply because not all of them have what it takes to succeed on this platform. However, there are so many examples out there that would prove skeptics wrong, very wrong. I would like to share with you some that I have come across:

1. PiperSport

When Penn Olson collaborated with SimpliFlying to promote the Singapore Airshow 2010 on social media, we also held the world’s first tweetup on a Bombardier aircraft. Some criticized how this is going to benefit Bombardier because it is, after all, a B2B company. I guess now I can just copy and paste this video of how PiperSport uses social media to sell aircraft, with the cheapest tagged at $140,000 to help prove my case.

2. Scania Group

Scania is a leading manufacturer of heavy trucks and buses as well as industrial and marine engines. The company also markets and sells a broad range of service-related products and financing services. If you want solid B2B, I think this is the case study you need. I was surprised by the number of interactions on its Facebook page. There are people asking about the products and how they can be shipped overseas. Scania can also be found on Flickr, Twitter and YouTube.

3. Cisco

Another great B2B success example summarized in slides:

4. Gucci

Gucci, Gucci, Gucci. Being bombarded by so many brands and choices everyday, even a name like that can sometimes be forgotten. To keep your brand on the top of your customers’ minds, you have to be a part of their lives. Gucci does that with a successful Facebook page, Twitter profile and YouTube channel. It even has an iPhone app for savvy mobile fans. Even for the Gucci runway show, which ended on Feb 27, fans were not left out as they could follow the show live on Facebook and the app. Real time tweets came freshly out of the runway too.

5. Burberry

Once you enter Burberry’s Facebook page, you would be greeted with videos of its latest collections and Art of the Trench campaigns. I literally spent a good half hour just browsing around. With more than 900,000 fans, and a few thousand of them raving about new collections, I am sure the Burberry brand is no way near diluted. In fact, it is very successful in generating hype and feedback. Check out the brand’s Twitter and YouTube profiles too.

Conclusion

While we put so much focus on using social media to reach out to clients and customers, we must not forget the usefulness of social media in the operations of a business. Some companies have started using tools like wikis and blogs for employees to communicate and learn from each other more efficiently.

At the end of the day, it is not the industry or market you are in that deters you from using social media. With the right approach, strategies and the willingness to give it a try, most businesses can benefit from social media.

Image powered by Pixmac