Shortcut case study managing social media for B2B companies

Communicating effectively through social networks is of growing importance for businesses. However, successful incorporation of such channels in the communication strategies of B2B companies is not as linear an issue as for B2C firms. B2B companies establish fewer relationships than B2C do; however, when established, these connections are more intense and direct and are based on trust (Lacka & Chong, 2016). When communicating with stakeholders, B2B companies rely on Facebook and, particularly, LinkedIn (Siamagka, Christodoulides, Michaelidou, & Valvi, 2015). They use these channels to promote their brands and to engage customers, especially by sharing informational brand content with links for information searches (Swani, Milne, Brown, Assaf, & Donthu, 2017). The goal of this study is to solve a problem raised by a B2B IT company – Shortcut – regarding how B2B SMEs can embrace social media effectively, especially through Facebook and LinkedIn, to promote online brand awareness.