Over the last couple of weeks, I've had a discussion with some of my colleagues about how to implement social media strategies for B2B companies. It seems like many of the communications professionals and managers at these companies are reluctant to use social media measures to reach their customers.

As far as I'm concerned, the B2B (and B2C for that matter) term is outdated, and should be killed of. A company itself does not really sell anything, neither does a company itself buy anything. However, the people working for a company buy and sell all kinds of things, and this should be the main argument trying to pursue a communications manager to take a look at social media.

I suspect a lot of companies define themselves as B2B out of habit, and haven't really considered the definition for some time. Have you ever considered talking directly to the people that make the decisions? Maybe you've been doing that all along? In that case, why shouldn't you try to build a social network for your customers?

This is not an issue just limited to Norway. My Danish colleague Brian Woodward has written about it on his blog (Un)spun.dk, and my colleagues in the States are trying to "crack the code" as well. I think the business that manages to see beyond traditional B2B marketing philosophy has a great chance to become a thought leader in this field.

I'd love to discuss this with anyone, whether you're in Norway or anywhere else. Consider untraditional communication and be creative!