If you have already read J.Leigh Brown’s post about adapting your thinking regarding social media, but are still not convinced that you should include a social media strategy as part of your 2010 marketing initiatives, please consider the following:

Ten Reasons to develop a social media strategy in 2010

1. Real time search results – Google and other major search engines have incorporated Twitter into the results. You could potentially be bumped in the rankings by an outside party tweeting about your company or products.

2. Reduced marketing spend in 2009 – If budget cuts forced you to go dark in 2009, a social media strategy can help you reconnect with your customers and prospects. It is worth noting that while social media is sometimes thought of as “free”, it can take a lot of time and resources to implement an effective plan.

3. You want to be seen as an industry thought leader – if that is truly part of your company’s marketing message, then ignoring this audience connection channel seems contrary.

4. Your company does not have a corporate social media policy – if employees are representing your brand online, it is important to provide guidance in order to protect the business interests of the company. Since many corporations have adopted such policies, there are many resources to help you get started.

5. Build brand awareness – All messages are brand messages, and integrating a strategic social media campaign into your overall marketing plan will extend and strengthen your brand awareness.

6. Educate – a lot of what happens during the B2B buying cycle is education, whether it is demonstrating the total cost of ownership savings, or presenting how your product or service can solve a problem – social media provides a great opportunity to engage in that that dialogue.

7. Generate leads – by joining relevant industry groups and communities you can build connections with your target audience.

8. Identify needs and trends – Monitoring relevant social networks and communities within your industry can be considered a form of market research. You can learn what issues your audiences are discussing, the type of jargon and keywords they use, and ultimately gain insight into how to develop stronger marketing messages.

9. Keep an eye on your competition – knowing what is being said about your competitors and their brands is a relatively low to no-cost business intelligence tool.

10. Gain insight – Monitoring what is being said about your company and brands in the social media universe is a great way to determine your online visibility (where, and how often, they are mentioned) and gauge whether it is positive or negative.

To learn more about engaging with your audience via social media download B2B Social Media: The Rules of Engagement white paper