The phrase B2b has always puzzled me; it implies that two businesses or logos are conducting a transaction. When in reality it is people who are making the decision. According to a recent study by Forrester B2B is the "most active groups of people I've ever seen when it comes to social participation -- buyers in the business-to-business sector."

Since social media is about people, does it matter if your company markets products or services to businesses as opposed to consumers directly? Has social media made it easier to connect with buyers in a b2b market?

This was a question I asked on LinkedIn and got a great answer from Michael Leis, “I think the strategy is the same. It must answer the same questions: Isit valuable? Where can I take it with me? Will it strengthen my relationships by sharing? Will it help me gain or solidify status in my peer group?."

I totally agree. The challenge we faced getting our social media efforts going was the lack of case studies for b2b to “prove” it works. Many of the case studies commonly circulated simply did not resonate with executives who were not familiar with this space.

We did was exactly as Michael points out to communicate the benefits. We changed the story from social media tools to business outcomes. Do you think social media for b2b is different?