Erster Arbeitskreis Social Media in der B2B-Kommunikation

In Summer 2010 the workgroup “Erster Arbeitskreis Social Media in der B2B-Kommunikation” was founded following the concept of the agencies COMMUNICATION Presse und PR and HFN Kommunikation GmbH. Initiators of the workgroup include businesses of many different industries and sizes – from IT to healthcare and from middle sized companies to international enterprises listed on the TecDax. The workgroup, a non-profit organization, is also supported by science and research institutions.

Reason for initiating the workgroup was that consulting services in Germany did not meet the needs of B2B. The workgroup strives to answer specific B2B questions regarding social media usage and to share this knowledge with the broader public. Questions of the members´ companies are gathered to be answered either by members of the association themselves or by specialist speakers. Surveys are conducted as well covering different German industries to investigate their usage of social media.

“Erster Arbeitskreis Social Media in der B2B-Kommunikation” focuses on addressing B2B companies. In comparison to communication with end consumers, topics in B2B are more complex and less accessible. This challenges the process of to strategically implement social media into corporate communication. Nonetheless, B2C companies profit as well of the workgroup by the setting of milestones of the B2B companies. Among target groups are young talents taking the dialogues as input for further education and research institutions gaining new insights by discussions with representatives of various industries.

Organization and management

Members of the workgroup meet on a regular basis. Core of the meeting is a predetermined topic to engage in discussions either by keynote speeches of own or external resources. Between meetings small project groups are built to work out special themes.

The long-term goal of “Erster Arbeitskreis Social Media in der B2B-Kommunikation” is to set up behavioral and working customs for the application of social media for corporate communication. In addition the job profile of a “social media relation expert” is to be developed and determined.