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B2B Social Media Opportunities [#B2Bchat Recap]

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Join #B2BChat on Twitter every Thursday at 8:00 PM EasternIn our most recent #B2Bchat discussion, we looked at a number of social networks and how B2B marketers can take advantage of them, and once again I was pleased to have the opportunity to moderate the lively discussion.

Rather than a deep dive into a single network or objective, the discussion quickly touched on a number of social networks or platforms.

Participants identified a number of specific opportunities, however what was most apparent throughout the discussion is that social media is moving quickly. B2B marketers need to stay on top of the market if they are to identify and take advantage of new opportunities. [Read more…]

Give Us Freedom! Lessons for Corporate America

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American Flag

In America, we relish our freedom. Many early European settlers to America were seeking freedom to live a Godly life, one they were not able to freely and openly live in Europe. Our nation’s founders fought to enshrine the freedom those early settlers came in search of when our nation was formed.

The formation of our country illustrates what happens when people are not allowed to pursue a course they firmly believe in. [Read more…]

The Hidden Message from SiriusDecisions: Serve Your Audience

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SiriusDecisions’ B2B Sales and Marketing: Forging a New Alliance was an impressive event last week, and I was glad to have the opportunity to attend. Between companies sharing their own cases on sales and marketing alignment and the planning frameworks, examples and data from SiriusDecisions analysts, it was a three day information firehouse.

Underlying the content I saw a common thread: sales and marketing needs to serve prospective customers. Here is my view on how a service attitude towards prospective customers underlies three of the key messages from SiriusDecisions. [Read more…]

Social Media Success Starts with Commitment, Not Pilot

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One of the biggest differences between social media and most other marketing channels is the idea of developing an audience. As a marketer, this may not seem all that new at first — you have a marketing database already, right? But an audience isn’t a database.

An audience chooses to listen to or engage with you. You earn your audience, by listening and engaging, by entertaining or by providing value. On Twitter, @comcastcares, @oatmeal and @thisissethsblog are good examples of each of these. More importantly, unless you are @charliesheen, developing an audience takes time. It takes hours (and hours), but it happens over weeks, months or more. And there is the rub for marketers.

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Why B2B Marketing Is Not Social: An Unexpected Insight from SiriusDecisions

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The most important thing I learned at this week’s SiriusDecisions Roundtable in Portland was not something Jonathon Block or Jay Gaines shared, and it wasn’t from a conversation with another attendee. It was the silence of Twitter. 

Mind you, this was an event about social media and website optimization. Half of the content was focused on how to use social media throughout the sales cycle and the increase in demand this drives. [Read more…]

Making Your Social Media and Your Garden Deliver

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IMGP0854 - vege gardenYou slave over getting it started. You carefully tend to it as it grows and matures. Then you realize it isn’t big enough to feed you. What you harvest is great, but is isn’t enough to make a difference in your budget.

Yes, your garden. That corner of your yard dedicated to growing edibles. It has a lot in common with your corporate social media program. It is nurtured as it grows, everyone loves seeing results, but it just isn’t enough to drive your business.

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Your Audience is Gold

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Stack O'Money!Marketers must become media companies. In B2B, where thought leadership is nearly every marketers goal, it is even more critical. But B2B marketers are responding slowly. Rather than publishing great content and developing an audience that wants to hear from you, you blast your message to the limited audience you have and rely on media to distribute your message.

Stop. The limited audience you have developed, and often mistreated, is gold. Don’t believe me? Let’s put some numbers on what marketing to your audience is worth.

[Read more…]

LinkedIn is the New B2B Media Powerhouse

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LinkedIn announced 100 million members (with a great infographic) earlier this week and look to be on track for an IPO in the second quarter. The company is profitable, growing, and for the moment, on top of business social media networking. For B2B marketers, LinkedIn cannot be ignored.

Does LinkedIn have a defensible advantage as a B2B media player as they go into an IPO? Will the advertisers driving marketing revenue (approximately one-third of LinkedIn’s revenue) see results and continue investing?

Across multiple clients, LinkedIn has consistently performed well. One thing that has stood out is the engagement of LinkedIn traffic. Whether measuring page views per visit, time on site, or registration rate, LinkedIn has delivered above average results every time.

Here are five reasons I believe LinkedIn has performed well, and what it means for LinkedIn’s future as a B2B media powerhouse. [Read more…]