Every once in a while, we meet a prospective client who is unsure whether their company, always a B2B tech company, should engage in social media.

Often, they tell us, their series customers aren’t engaged in social media.

This is a great opportunity for you to use social media to reach and engage potential buyers early in their problem-solving process and start to build a trusted relationship with them, so they’re more likely to consider your company when they do enter a buying process. But you won’t do it by tweeting product announcements.

Why? Business buyers don’t “buy” your product or service; they “buy into” your perspective and approach to solving their problems. To attract these folks to your company and engage them in a conversation, you need to share big ideas and compelling positions on the issues your buyers face, and establish your business as a thought leader in your market.

We’ve got a B2B client that has recently started a thought leadership program via social media, and they’re finding that they’ve started reaching other major thinkers in their space — and are helping achieve the “buy into: their approach.

Check out the two articles — they’re worth reading.