I submit that it is! Please hear me out.

When I say Ralph Lauren, Nine Inch Nails, Vineyard Vines, GAP – or even Apple – you get a sense of a very homogeneous type of person. You get a picture of exactly who I mean and the “lifestyle” that brand portrays. When I say Ralph Lauren, it’s like reading the preppie handbook.

But what happens when I say Unisys or Delco or even Oracle? What mental image, what picture of homogenous people comes to mind, if any? Probably nothing, right?

Now, consider Nine Inch Nails and their use of social media. The band printed tour shirts with different, seemingly random boldface letters that, when strung together, spelled out a website address – iamtryingtobelieve.com. The tactic engaged an audience that was totally in sync with their brand and lit up their community site, Spiral.

Sure a B2B company can launch a microsite any day. But can it launch one that speaks to the company’s audience so perfectly that it resonates with a vast majority? I would submit the answer is no.

Yes, I know microsites aren’t social media. My point is that out in social media land if you know exact who your audience is, what will resonate with them and how to tap into it, you are home free. B2B audiences are more fragmented, with internal employees, external partners, channel partners, third party vendors, and, oh yeah, customers and prospects.

What’s your take? I’m interested to hear from you …