Recently, I found myself at Moe’s Southwest Grill with my girlfriend. Being college students, we like to stuff our faces whenever food is around, so we typically don’t talk very much at meals.

But today was different… when our drinks arrived I noticed this big, bold question written on the cups:

“If I could eat at Moe’s with anyone (dead or alive), it would be”

This question was so intriguing it made me pause in taking the next bite of my delicious crunchy taco wrapped in a soft whole-wheat tortilla. It even got me talking to my girlfriend about it. As if this wasn’t surprising enough, it also got me thinking about tweeting out the question (and I NEVER tweet!).

What Moe’s is doing with their cups is a great example of how B2C companies are engaging their customers to spark word of mouth conversations on social media.

So what can B2B marketers learn from B2C companies when it comes to driving social media engagement? And how are some B2B companies already incorporating this strategy?

Entertain and engage using pop culture

By referencing consumer advertising, celebrities, pop culture, and current events, your business can catch the attention of your buyer (since they’re people too!) in a fresh, fun, and unique ways.

For example, consider Marketo’s infographic, Kittens and Bacon: The Most Viral Infographic Ever. In this gem, Marketo explains the impact of kittens and bacon have had on the Internet, and how you can use them in your social campaigns to make more sales and attract more traffic.

While this infographic is mostly for entertainment and engagement value, it also gives useful information that could be applied to any marketing campaign.

Start a conversation everyone wants to be a part of

By broadening the conversation beyond selling, you can tap into the implications of your product for the world as a whole. Brands such as Ben and Jerry’s, Whole Foods, and Patagonia have been doing this for years.

But now take Cisco. They’ve used their The Internet of Everything campaign to start a conversation about what it means for the Internet to become omnipresent. The Cisco campaign draws an image of the future that intrigues and fascinates everyone… which inevitably leads to lots conversations while getting Cisco’s name out there.

Is there a larger mission or meaning that can be applied to your B2B products and services?

Go ahead and use hashtags (more often)

In my Moe’s Cups example, they use #WelcomeToMoes to tell me what to reference on social media (while making it easy for them to track the conversations).

These days, B2B marketers mainly use hashtags for trade shows and events like Hubspot’s recent conference, #INBOUND13, or CMI’s #CMWorld. Why not use more clever hashtags for your social media marketing?

Now it’s your turn… what other social media strategies are B2C companies using that B2B marketers should consider?