by Carson McKee of Direct Contact

It’s so easy, so why doesn’t everyone use it? Social media - merely a buzzword to some, is an absolutely invaluable tool for many business to business networkers.

And yet, so many still seem to think it’s not worth their time. Why not?

In this guest post, LinkedIn and sales specialist Carson McKee takes an in-depth look at the problems solved and perceived to have been created by the networking breakthroughs of social media.

While social media has been embraced by many marketers today – it’s still the early days for business to business (B2B) marketers.

A Waste of Time?

Many social media sites are blocked in the work place, like Facebook and YouTube are where I work. So right off the bat, access is a problem. While many business environments allow access to Linkedin (I train sales people on using Linkedin as a business development tool), use of social media at many work places is seen as unproductive or a waste of time.

Of course, it is obvious that a great number of people who are on Facebook go to work and return home to spend their personal time engaging and updating their networks – so it is possible to reach the B2B audience in this way, but it’s not the same as connecting during business hours.

Problems of Social Media Networking

I think one of the issues that must be addressed lies in demographics. A lot of business leaders and managers (generally 40 years and older) have never heard of web2.0, and therefore do not recognize or understand the impact it has had.

The other issue is the “value” of time. I would venture that many sales managers out there would prefer that their sales teams spend their day cold calling, than to reach out to people through Linkedin.

Yet So Much Potential

B2B social media marketing is something that I keep chewing on, so to speak. If you’ve come across Marshall McLuhan’s quote “The medium is the message” (and if you haven’t, you should check him out), then you have an idea of where I see the state of things right now.

Here, at our finger tips, we have powerful communication tools and the ability to connect in new, engaging ways. But what do we say?

This is a complete reversal of thinking and action – McLuhan’s quote is proof of it. In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg “invented” the printing press (I’m using quotes because Europeans have a history of claiming to invent things that were already invented. By as early as 1041, movable clay type was already being developed in China). Gutenberg’s press remained the standard technology – wooden, later metal moveable type – for about 500 years, until well into the 20^th century.

But the compelling question here is the “why” – and the reason that Gutenberg invented the press, was to print copies of the Bible. So in this case, “the message was the message”, and the medium (the printing press) was a means to accomplish dissemination of that message.

Very different from where we are today.

Social Media is the Modern Day Fix

Now, I can use Twitter, my blog, my Facebook or Linkedin profile, Del.icio.us… dissemination is not an issue. There are several different (and free) ways of communicating with and engaging other people, and to return to my point – communicating with and engaging business.

So – B2B marketers, the medium is social media and the message is your brand. But how can you get both to your audience?

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Trisha, @mayobrains on Twitter