The 4 Cs of Social Media
Social media is a paradox: it is the physical representation of a revolution in the way consumers obtain (and create) information. At the same time, it is just another marketing channel. The reason I believe marketers are so confused about social media is because of this paradox.
And the reaction of many is to rush into the technology. This misses the point, of course, since social media is about customer relationships and not really about the technology at all. In the past, I have written about the challenges of Social Media and The Brand, the power of Integrating Social Media and Search and asked Why Do You Tweet? Social Media And Your Personal Brand. So I thought it was best to identify a clear framework for marketers to use to create successful social media strategies.
Social Media and The Brand
There has been a lot of discussion lately about Social Media and Branding. Brands are valuable assets that companies create, nurture and maintain with great care, right?
But how do you measure brand value in the social age? And what role do marketers play in cultivating the brand and maintaining some level of consistency in our brand image?
9 Essential Social Media Resources
Whether you are just beginning to dip your toes into the “social media” waters or are a seasoned professional, there is something for everyone. These resources include everything from how to get started, tips for building a social media community and how to calculate key social media metrics – just to name a few. Read more
Tweet Chats: Organized Chaos or Untapped Marketing Opportunity
While tweet chats can appear to be organized chaos from an outsider’s perspective, they are a fantastic way to enhance your experiences on Twitter by connecting and sharing with other individuals interested in the same topics. For those that are unfamiliar with tweet chats, they can be defined as prearranged discussions that happen on Twitter through the use of a predefined hashtag. The chat hashtag is used to link the tweets together in a virtual conversation so that all participants can follow along. Formal Twitter tweet chats are arranged in advance and occur at a specific time. They also may include a formal agenda with a specific leader/speaker/moderator or they might involve a free flowing discussion between all participants. Read more
What Is Marketing Acceleration?
What is marketing acceleration and why is it even worth discussing? In the larger context, acceleration refers to the increasing pace of change. In B2B Marketing, we are experiencing an unprecedented amount of upheaval in what defines our success. We not only need to be fast, we need to get faster. We need to be speed racers.
While we are being impacted by the rapid rise of social networks and the use of mobile technologies to connect business professionals, we are also being asked to produce more with less. More leads. More sales. Greater awareness. Less money. Less People. Fewer tools.
Whatever Happened to Marketing Strategy?
The realities and pressures we all face in today’s economy are not easy. Too many times, the reaction of B2B Marketers is to pull out the fire house and start fighting the latest fire. I think one of the most important factors to success in B2B markets is simple: Strategic and Integrated Marketing Plans.
Oh and that means thinking ahead. (Disclosure: as a dedicated rant, this post is full of copious amounts of sarcasm).
Holy Cow! That Is A Lot Of Time Spent Online Using Social Media
Yes, that was my reaction to this online consumption study by the good folks at Nielsen. (Disclosure: I am a former employee of the Nielsen Company). To me this was the biggest news of the week. Bigger than Lindsay Lohan. Bigger than “The Bachelorette” finale. And bigger than the Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston breakup (I know, crazy right?).
Americans spend a ton of time on social networks and the growth is a bit startling. What we do online is changing. But what does this mean for the B2B Marketer?
Integrating Social Media and Search
Social media as a B2B Marketing technique is an evolution of the marketing tools that preceded it: organic search engine marketing and paid search advertising. But combining these techniques can provide tremendous uplift in results and ROI.
My sister blog B2C Marketing Insider recently ran this article called Where Search Meets Social: Integrating Social Media into Organic and Paid Search Can Generate Exponential ROI written by Kent Lewis, President and Founder of Social Media and Marketing agencies Anvil Media and Formic Media. The article has become one of the most popular we have ever done. And so with the author’s permission I am summarizing it here for our B2B audience.
Why Do You Tweet? Social Media And Your Personal Brand
I am an advocate for social media marketing and personal branding which I believe can help to benefit both your company and your career. And so I am often asked why I tweet, why I blog and why I participate in both online and offline social communities and events.
Despite the huge press coverage around social media, I am still surprised at how many marketers and other market-facing professionals resist the call to participate in social media and to be brand ambassadors. To me, social media is all about personal branding. Grow your personal brand, with respect and proper attribution to your company as an ambassador, and the company benefits through the greater exposure of a positive voice out to the market it serves.
Lead Generation Programs That Work
On July 13th, 2010 I presented on a webinar sponsored by Focus entitled “True Lead Generation Stories” moderated by Craig Rosenberg and co-presented by an esteemed colleague Chris Waldo who runs Demand Generation for Ingersoll Rand.
During my presentation titled Lead Generation Programs That Work I walked through the 5 Steps to Achieve Lead Generation ROI. I defined the top tactics for driving leads in today’s environment and listed those that aren’t working as well as they used to. I concluded with a discussion of the tactics to consider in future demand generation efforts.
