In the late 90s, The Cluetrain Manifesto, one of the more incendiary books on the new media, made the statement, “markets are conversations.” The truth of that observation has become apparent in the rise of social media in this decade.

Perhaps more importantly for B2B marketing strategy, B2B social media (yes, it was necessary to repeat “B2B”) are quickly becoming the medium where thought leadership is established.

There’s one important reason why social communities are displacing brochures, PR articles, and white papers as the medium of choice for B2B thought leadership messaging: as lawyers put it, you can’t cross-examine a piece of paper.

Social media give readers a chance to talk back, ask questions and start a conversation. And it is in those conversations where B2B thought leadership is now being established.

So how can a B2B marketer use B2B social media to establish thought leadership? We recommend a four-step process:

• Find the conversation. It could be on a social media site like LinkedIn, a magazine web site, its own individual community, or all of the above.
• Monitor the conversation. Who is talking and what are they talking about? And what are the rules or etiquette to follow with individual sites?
• Join the conversation. What can you add for the enlightenment of the community? In most cases, that doesn’t mean blatant product plugs, but real, substantive information and advice.
• Ultimately, lead the conversation. For most B2B companies, the clear goal of a marketing program is being a trusted authority on their key technologies or product issues. That’s what thought leadership is all about. 

And, if the conversation doesn’t exist, all the better for you, because that means you get to start it.