I recently gave a talk on social media for board members on my company’s executive training program (all from B2B companies). Feedback was great, but there were a lot of questions about relevance, ROI, etc – the usual stuff. Because of that I thought I’d jot down some of my thoughts about why social media is so important for B2B companies and why, without the understanding and buy-in of the C-suite, it will never really work.

I can see where the doubt/reticence/uncertainty – call it what you will – comes from. However, I think boards are looking at things the wrong way round. Instead of asking about what ‘value’ can be gained from using social media, I’d turn it around and say, “what will you lose by NOT understanding it and – if you’re feeling bold – actually engaging with people on social networks”?

Social media is about communication; it’s about networking; it’s about listening; it’s about gaining market knowledge and insights.

And here’s the thing: social media is NOT about sales. But it DOES offer competitive advantage. The competitive advantage of being a company and a leader that is tuned in to the digital conversation taking place all around them.

Social media is the Zeitgeist; it’s life as we live it in 2014; it’s part of us. Social networks (or whatever you want to call them) are now an integral part of the lives of the majority of the world’s population. Yes – even ‘old dinosaurs’ are signing up. We crossed a Rubicon some time ago and there’s no going back.

As I tried to get across in my talk, burying one’s head in the sand is just not an option for any company exec who should not only be keeping up with current developments, but also be looking forward at emerging trends. While it’s not necessary for execs to engage directly on social networks (although I’d argue that they should give it a try) – it’s essential that they:

1. Understand the significance of the social/business/cultural revolution that social media is bringing (and remember, we’re only at the vanguard now – in 5 years things will be so much more integrated). It’s all-encompassing.

2. Once they understand its significance, they should actively work to make their companies’ ‘social enterprises’, where social media is an integral part of the way it does business – both in terms of reaching out to and engaging with customers & other stakeholders, and internal communications and employee engagement.

3. This requires a completely different mind-set – a mind-set that accepts that social media (and its emerging variants) is as significant as the emergence of the printing press, of radio, of television, of the internet, of e-mail. It’s just the latest development along the digital road – and it’s all one-way.

So, do companies (and their boards) accept that things are changing faster than they could ever imagine and decide to urgently educate themselves, or do they sit back and hope that their industry, their company – their job – isn’t affected? The danger is that, when the tidal wave finally breaks, the laggards will be too far behind to gain any advantage and could actually see their companies failing.

And as for security – like in all walks of life and business we need to be sensible and tread carefully.

I’ll finish with this quote: “Directors who don’t understand social media are placing their company at risk of not capitalising on the business opportunities, as well as exposing it to unnecessary risk” (Walter Adamson).