Show me the CNNMoney!

Filed under Discussion, Resources, Soap Box by Allan Schoenberg on 31 March 2010 at 11:47 {no comments}

Yes, I’m riding the coattails of Jerry Maguire, but when it comes to marketing and communication sometimes we really do need to show management the money. After all, they’re running a business and we need to help them do that — whether that’s driving revenue or building our reputation (Shannon Paul has a great post on this topic Social Media and the C-Level). One growing area where all of us in B2B communications continue to learn is in the area of social media, and sometimes I think we forget that showing good examples doesn’t mean we have to create them.

I blogged on B2B Voices last year about the value of StockTwits as an investor relations tool. Well, once again the team over there has given another example of how to show the value of Twitter to monitor what is being said. Last month the company partnered with CNN Money to integrate a real time stock conversation widget powered by StockTwits. Check it out for yourself - CNN Money Real Time Tweets.

There are some key takeaways from this if you are at an agency working for a publicly traded company or work for a B2B company this is a listed company:

1. You should create an account at StockTwits and learn how to use the platform. As a side note, I often find the StockTwits platform more reliable than Twitter or Tweetdeck.

2. Send the CNNMoney link to your investor relations team. While they may not be using Twitter or may think that StockTwits is a fad they should see the value in CNN Money as a key source for the impact of Twitter and real-time conversations. It may spark an interest from them and give you a way to leverage an internal relationship to promote your efforts. I mentioned why getting internal buy-in for social media is important last year.

3. Keep looking for outside sources and third parties to build into your communication plan. We have a great relationship with StockTwits and continue to work with them to meet our objectives. Who are you using?

What are your thoughts? Do you use StockTwits? Have you partnered with outside resources? Tell us your stories.

Finally, a comprehensive B2B social media study

Filed under Discussion, Resources by Allan Schoenberg on 25 March 2010 at 17:13 {10 comments}

I like studies and research. Maybe it’s the inner economist in me who likes to constantly explore behaviors. Maybe it’s because I like to read various points of view. Or maybe it’s just because I’m always curious and trying to learn.

One thing I continue to notice is the lack of B2B research available on social media. That’s why it’s refreshing to read this study from Business.com entitled 2009 B2B Social Media Benchmarking Study. Written by Ben Hanna of R.H. Donnelley Interactive , It’s a very comprehensive look at social media from 3,000 North American professionals who are using (or not using) social media and why. You can download your copy here after you register.

The study isn’t breaking news (it was released in November 2009), but it clearly focuses on what I want to know. In fact, here’s a listing directly from the report as to what you will learn:

  • To what social media sites do business people turn when seeking the information they need to do their jobs on a day-to-day basis? And what are they looking for?
  • What do people consider to be the most useful social media resources for business information (and, therefore, the most valuable social media sites on which B2B companies should participate in order to reach their target audience)?
  • What are the most popular types of social media initiatives among B2B companies, and is the impact of these initiatives visible in business results?
  • How do B2B companies judge social media success?

[Source: Business.com’s 2009 B2B Social Media Benchmarking Study (http://www.business.com/info/b2b-social-media-benchmark-study)

I won't give away any surprises, but all of us at B2B Voices would be happy to discuss in the comments section your thoughts. In the meantime, you can follow Business.com on Twitter and read their blog here.

Business.coms 2009 B2B Social Media Benchmarking Study

Business.com's 2009 B2B Social Media Benchmarking Study

The New Social Media App: F2F

Filed under Application, Discussion by Allan Schoenberg on 17 March 2010 at 00:05 {7 comments}

 

Last week I attended one of the leading events for our industry down in Boca Raton, Florida. It was a four day excursion and the social media landscape has certainly matured in the past 12 months since I was last there. But for as much as I enjoy promoting the exchange on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, there’s just something about not being able to replace face-to-face encounters. Here are three things I’ve learned over the years about leveraging conferences and meetings without the use of social media:

  • Attending Sessions:

My general rule for panel sessions is either sit in the front row or stand in the back. If I sit in the front row I tend to stay tuned in to the discussion and pay close attention to what is said. Since I typically write or type notes from the events this is my best vantage point. It’s also a great location for wanting to talk with the panelists after the discussion (NOTE: Since few people sit in the front it’s also a great place to find an unused power outlet). If I’m not in the front the only other place you’ll find me is standing in the back. For me it’s a great vantage point for eyeing who is in the audience to talk with after. I can also see who is coming and in and going out of the discussion (NOTE: It’s also great for a quick exit).

  • Drive-by Meetings

Probably some of the best meetings I had during the event were the random, out of nowhere meetings in the hallway, lobby or conference tracks. Years ago while working at an agency I learned that walking around the conference center will provide me with more opportunities to find people. One could argue that sitting in one place could accomplish the same thing, but those who know me know that I hardly sit still. I would rather venture into various high traffic areas and find that random encounter.

  • Socialize

After hour events provide a chance to mix and mingle, but who are we kidding — this is all about networking just in a more relaxed setting. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Jim Binder whom I’ve become friends with. Jim, in turn, was able to introduce me to several people. It was also a time for us to compare notes from the conference. During another time I had the chance to talk with one of the exchange’s directors about both work and family, but I took the opportunity to learn about what is going on in his department.

 

I would be remiss to not mention how social media has also changed the way I’ve now approached industry conferences and events.

  • FlipCam

We continue to experiment with FlipCams at the exchange for internal and external purposes. This year Iwas able to quickly interview each person from the exchange who particpated on a panel discussion. On the last day of the conferece we had posted the videos to our intranet for employees (as of the end of business today we’ve had more than 1,000 views of the videos by our approximately 2,000 employees). I have come to appreciate the portability, ease of use, and quickness of these cameras. Kate talked more about how B2B companies can use video here.

  • Blogging

We took the opportunity during the event to officially launch our blog (Open Markets). This was another important step in our social media strategy, and while we made the announcement at the conference we were able to promote in real time to our stakeholders via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and our web site.

  • Twitter

Real-time collaboration is one of my favorite aspects of Twitter, especially when I’m trying to find people like Diane Saucier at an event (she was in the lobby since that was the best WiFi area) or people trying to find me (like John Lothian who knows I respond faster to Twitter than email).  We also used Twitter to promote industry news from the event and provide as much information to our followers as possible. And although I doubted she was actually at the event, I did run into Dorothy Friedman because I saw her tweets and found her.

 

Now here’s the hard part for you: Think way back (months — maybe even a year or two if you’re a veteran) before the days of FlipCams, Facebook and Twitter and share what non-social media tips you have for networking and leveraging relationships at conferences.

More Reasons to Like Posterous, especially in a B2B setting

Filed under Toolbox by Kate Brodock on 11 March 2010 at 18:53 {6 comments}

I recently wrote about using Posterous as a tool for social media marketing, and I wanted to take some time to comment on why it’s a great tool specifically for the B2B space.  Three of the nine reasons I had given really stand out to me:

  1. SEO. Whether you’re a cutting edge research firm that only transacts with other businesses, or you’re in a more traditional industry like manufacturing, there are just plain fewer opportunities to really leverage SEO… people aren’t necessarily searching for you in the ways that B2C organizations get searched on.  The concept of outposts comes into play heavily here, and the simple fact that having more places for people to search for content related to you – and ideally from you – the more opportunities you have to associate that content with your website, and the more qualified traffic you can drive to your site.  You can very appropriately (and deliberately) assign keywords to your content that is directly linked to your website, and thus your company.
  2. Inbound linking. Many B2B companies also don’t have a lot of opportunities for inbound linking, especially in the more traditional industries  or instances when you may be just one piece of a long supply chain.  Inline with SEO opportunities, Posterous allows a pretty easy inbound linking opportunity….and one of high authority.  If you’re on a fledgling website strategy and need to boost that inbound link count quickly and effectively, Posterous is a great way to do that.  Additionally, these types of young or underdeveloped websites may have a low authority, and supplementing that with Posterous inbound links can do a lot for your organic SEO.
  3. That means more thought leadership potential. See, it makes a nice little equation, doesn’t it?  With higher SEO, more content sharing opportunities and more inbound linking, it means all of your valuable content is all pointed back to your brand.  If you’re good at what you do – which you probably are – and you identify effective internal content to share, this could mean the start of some great thought leadership opportunities.  And this is where people in more traditional industries can have a big advantage…. if you’re among the first to start really thinking about this equation, you can make huge and long-lasting strides ahead of competitors who aren’t as “up-to-snuff.”

I also wanted to throw out a technical note on calls-to-action.  Again, in the B2B setting, calls-to-action can be a lot more difficult to achieve.  It’s not like someone wants a new pair of running shoes from you.  By using outside content on Posterous, and providing a link of some sort – preferably in the form of “For more information on X systems….” – you can still drive people to your own products or services related to the content you’re posting.  As long as the content is relevant to your company, this is still a good way to be found by qualified leads.

So, a couple To-dos for B2B Posterous users:

  • If you have a blog, post every post up on Posterous, with a link back to the original.
  • Think about calls-to-action, and make sure that every post has one that brings your products/services to the readers’ attention.  These don’t need to be overt (and really shouldn’t be), but can be very effective.
  • In some of the more traditional industries, it may actually be better to have your call-to-action right at the top.  If someone is searching for “copper tracer wire” and really just wants a quote or a price (which is usually the case with a purchaser behind the desk) and they come to your Posterous page in their search results, make it really easy for them to get that done…. through you. They may not have the patience to read through your entire post….
  • Use outside content, and find a way to incorporate an association to your company.  This is an easy one, as the fundamental goal of content production is to provide valuable information to your audience.

What else have you found helpful about Posterous in the B2B setting?  Are there any other To-Dos you have? Do you have a Case Study you’d like to share with us?

Social Media Won’t Kill Your Brand – Just Be Strategic

Filed under Discussion by Aaron Pearson on 4 March 2010 at 21:07 {3 comments}
I wanted to respond to this video from Loren Feldman at 1938 Media, at least from a B2B marketing standpoint. It’s provocatively titled, “Social Media Will Kill Your Brand,” though that isn’t quite what he says.  His premise, however self-serving, actually seems to be that a) social media is only a tool, and b) if you’re driving traffic to Facebook or some other place, you’re not driving traffic to the web site your brand owns, and therefore you’re letting that social network control your brand.

To be sure, Loren is right that social media is overhyped. I suspected we’d see the social media bubble pop a little in 2010 and in fact early signs give me confidence in that prediction. He contends that these various social network channels are just tools.  This is unquestionably true. We have not found a silver bullet to neverending sales and marketing nirvana, to solve all our customer relations challenges, to connect with all potential buyers through the magical bonds of Internet conversation. Yet read the breathless tweets and blog posts of many social media experts, and you’d think it were not so. Suddenly, the 4 Ps of marketing – product, promotion, place and price – have been replaced, as I’ve read, simply by People. It’s kind of an interesting concept (and 4 Ps as a concept is simplistic itself) but it isn’t true.

There’s no silver bullet, my friends.  Especially in business-to-business marketing, accept that different communications sources, different tools, each play a role in moving someone from need awareness through brand awareness and interest, through purchase, and hopefully brand advocate. Twitter might play a role somewhere along that journey, but Twitter isn’t a marketing strategy. A blog isn’t a sales strategy.  You need to start with a strategic assessment of your market opportunity and your competitive position and creatively arrive at an approach that will help you capitalize on that opportunity, and it’s at least conceivable that there’s no social media component.

But I doubt it, and this is where the video rant goes too far.

The fact is that social media should probably find its way into most B2B marketing programs in some way or another. Loren says, “If you are focusing so much on social media, you are making a big, big mistake.”  Now how does he know?  Just because it’s not a silver bullet doesn’t mean social media can  be discounted as a potentially critical component of the communications mix.   

I’m kind of skeptical of Facebook for most B2B environments because Facebook has generally become a place for personal and consumer conversations (though anyone doing B2C should note a real sales corrolation in this Harvard Business Review study resulting from a Facebook site). But it’s not because Facebook destroys brands. New BPO analyst firm Horses for Sources was able to launch itself this week in part because of its powerful 9,000 member forum of BPO experts and executives called The BPO and Offshoring Best Practices Forum.  It’s hard to see how using social media to better listen to your customer needs will send your brand off course.

Twitter is a little different in that it isn’t really a destination and, in my opinion, shouldn’t really be compared to Facebook. It’s a network of people exchanging information via scores of user interfaces and devices. They may not want to go to your web site. But they’re also not so cynical that you can’t establish trusted relationships with them through social media channels.  In fact, taking Loren’s argument to its logical extreme – that you should only work to drive people to your web site – it’s therefore a waste of time to secure a New York Times feature story profiling one of your customers because the traffic goes to NYTimes.com.

Here’s the big issue the video misses, I think: You don’t really own your brand anyway. A colleague of mine reminded me that it’s really customers and employees who own the brand. It’s true, and they can build it up, reinforce it, grow it, or tear it apart and show it to be lacking in integrity or value. Coming up with a brand message doesn’t make it true. Making a cool web site doesn’t mean your customer service is any good. If your employees think your ad campaign is full of crap, their silent abstention from supporting your big mega marketing campaign online will be deafeningly obvious. But if it rings true to them and to your customers, they will heartily, voluntarily reinforce it. Without even asking.

So let’s get over our breathless excitement over social media as marketing messiah, fine. But make no mistake, we can listen to customers and other stakeholders better than ever before, faster, less expensively. Customers can unleash their own power as advocates – or badvocates – far easier than ever before. That’s not something email marketing or Google Adwords campaigns can do.

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