Is Social Media Ready for B2B Marketing in Latin America?

I was last week attending Forrester Research Marketing Forum 2009 in Orlando. The main topic of the forum was the impact of Social Media in both B2C and B2B Marketing. There were many examples of uses of Social Media in B2C, where the value of communities in brand reputation, consumer feedback, etc., is increasingly recognized. One of the examples was the use of Facebook's Fans of XXX as the best way to get feedback in aspects such as new packaging from very loyal users.

In B2B, although less of a buzz, social media is gaining ground very rapidly. Some of the examples presented, showed the transformation of User Groups into Peer Communities, with a life of their own, that could be leveraged for marketing. A word of caution: Vendor Marketing should be a member of the community, bringing true value, and avoiding imposing any pretended leadership on the community. Lots of information that I will be discussing in this blog in days to come.

As for Latin America, there are many sources indicating that Social Media has taken a hold of our communities. After the US, the second largest geography in Facebook is Latin America. Also, 7% of all worldwide Twitter accounts are in Brazil.

With these numbers it is clear the potential of Social Media. However, how much of these potential can be tapped into B2B and even into B2C Marketing in Latin America is not clear. There is in my view, a lack of data that can back up any assumption we make. One of the reasons I am writing this blog is to establish a forum of discussion where data can be shared to leverage these new media into our marketing mix. I welcome your ideas, and I will be expanding these thoughts and topics. Of course, whenever I find precious data, I will share it with you