Social media often seems dominated by people posting baby pictures on Facebook and posting decorating ideas on Pinterest but there is a whole other world of business news and recommendations going on just beneath the surface.

A recent study by Burson-Marsteller found that in 2012 79% of Fortune 100 companies are active on Twitter and 89% have a social presence on at least one social network. In addition, this year more companies are creating additional social media accounts for specific regions, products or service lines.

Having a social media account is not the same as actually using it but the study also found that in 2012 93% of these companies Facebook pages are updated at least once per week.

Specifically looking at B2B social media impact, another study by Global Web Index proclaimed that “B2B decision makers are some of the most engaged social media users on the planet.”  Certainly a bold statement but it makes sense when you review the findings.

B2B decision makers rely on infomration to make smart, fast choices in an evolving market place.  The speed of social has pushed those leaders away from the traditional print or broadcast news sources to the real time networks of social news and conversations.

“When purchasing products or services for your business, which of the above sources most influences your decision?”

B2B buyers need to stay informed and the real time, crowd sourced power of social media is just the kind of tool that serves their needs the best. Business tool providers have already started to respond to the need for better social tools as evidenced by Salesforce’s purchase of Radian6 and Buddy Media as well as Microsoft’s $1B purchase of Yammer.

The Social Channel B2B Opportunity

The social channel represents a new source of information and industry conversations that are critical to both sellers and buyers of B2B products and services.  The better positioned sellers are in the creation of social content and the conversations that ensure, the more influence they will command over their buyers.

However, a comprehensive social strategy is not a Facebook page or a Twitter account.  Companies need to look at how social impacts all phases of the sales funnel.  Beginning with social monitoring and public relations all the way through advertising and marketing, the time is right for B2B social channel utilization.