Social Media for B2B Marketing and Sales
A common question I get from business to business focused marketers and sales professionals is: “Does social media marketing and social networking really work in the B2B space?”
I posed this same question to Jeff Booth CEO of Builddirect.com and here was the answer he gave me:
“Social media is not really about B2C or B2B it’s about P2P or person-to-person communications and adding value.” – Jeff Booth CEO Builddirect.com (the worlds largest online wholesaler of building supplies.)
The reality is that the majority of decision makers or their direct influencers use the web to find information on a vendor and the individual employees they are dealing with. I have compiled a short list of resources and blogs that you may find useful in deciding is social media marketing will work for your organization.
Here are some statistics and quotes regarding social media in the commercial space:
…69% of B2B buyers use social networks “primarily for business networking and development.” (About.com)
…Stereotypes may have C-level executives delegating research to others, but the study reveals that 53% prefer to search the Web and locate information themselves. – Google and Forbes Insights Study (2009)
Social media is not a separate silo or discipline, in fact, companies in the Business-to-Business space like Builddirect.com, Oracle, SAP, Intel, Accenture, GE, and Siemens have found that is most effective when integrated with existing sales and marketing processes. They also have found it has given them a significant advantage over their less socially engaged competitors. (An entire engagement study can be found at http://engagementdb.com )
B2B Social Media Reading and Resources:
- Video: “Vital Statistics for B2B Marketers”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXQdy-22TXM“
- 20 Support Cases for Using Social Media in B2B Marketing” http://www.savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog/entry/122161/20-support-cases-for-using-social-media-in-b2b-marketing
- “A fascinating B2B Social Media Success Story” http://businessesgrow.com/2010/06/20/a-fascinating-hardcore-b2b-social-media-success
- “5 B2B Social Media Success Stories” http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2010/05/b2b-social-media-success.html
- “30 B2B Social Media Resources” http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6379/30-Awesome-B2B-Social-Media-Resources.aspx
- “The Definitive Case for B2B Social Media Marketing” – Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com/1665075/the-definitive-case-for-b2b-social-media-marketing
- “7 Reasons Why Social Media is for Sales” – http://bettercloser.com/7-reasons-social-media-sales/
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Social Media Calendar
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There are many aspects to success in social media. Having a solid goal, knowing your core target market and of course monitoring social media conversations and your brand. Producing great content and engaging community are also vital. All of this has to be grounded in a solid implementation plan in order to work over the long term. A goal, great content, and community engagement are not enough to succeed using social media as a marketer, sales person or entrepreneur. We also need to ensure that we are consistent in our approach, message and community involvement.
Today’s podcast is about the importance of a social media calendar for individuals and organizations. I have also provides a social media calendar template that Jay Levinson and I developed for Guerrilla Social Media Marketing.
Have a listen, download the sample social media calendar and then let me know how it works for you.
Download the sample social media calendar here in Word format and here in PDF format
Social Media Calendar
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10 Best Practices in Social Media for Social Causes
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There are dozens of organizations out there that are effectively using social media in the not-for-profit and charity sectors. I have truly just begun to understand and study all of the fantastic case studies and success stories from events like the annual Blogathon to some of the great stuff that organizations like the Redcross have achieved through online funding.
Today’s podcast is not about some of these global examples but a very local one I had the privilege to be part of. In a 24 hour period Anthony Caridi of KasuFunding.com and I along with a very committed social media community here in Vancouver raised over $12,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation. Almost 100% of the donations came from Twitter or FaceBook connections.
Here are 10 things we discovered that worked (some of them we implemented and others we will implement next time):
1) Organize your collateral material early for each stakeholder group
2) Make your content easy to share, cut and paste
3) Integrate the offline with the online and get influencer buy-in early
4) Have multiple platforms for RSVP’ing for events
5) Get donors with big lists and big reach to not just cut a check but use that influence and reach to promote your cause
6) Contact people individually and ask them to do something easy
7) Use a fundraising platform like KasuFunding.com that makes it easy for people to Tweet, share and forward information about the cause.
8) Work close with the Charity
9) If you are a charity leverage your stakeholder groups when social media marketing instead of using internal resources
10) Keep your message really simple.
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Special Thanks to:
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How the World’s #1 Online Building Supply Company uses Social Media
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Today’s podcast is an interview with Rob Jones the Marketing and Social Media Coordinator for BuilDdirect.com. BuildDirect sells more building supplies online than any other company on the planet. Rob and I discuss how they have used social media to augment their online marketing efforts.
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Why Social Media in the C-Suite is Vital
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Why executives must invest in understanding and driving social media use in their organization.
Social media is not just another tool. It can be, but it’s a lot more for those organizations that embrace it. The challenge is it’s also not just about learning a new technology, it’s about changing the way we communicate with customers, stakeholders and staff.
This is a corporate cultural change, it’s also about embracing one of the most powerful word of mouth tools ever invented. There are huge inherent risks and opportunities presented by this. For that reason social media or online engagement initiatives in general have to be driven by the C-suite, the people who can hold others accountable and sponsor change in their organization.
In today’s social media podcast I talk about the following:
- Senior executives and their need for buy-in
- What and who to invest in
- The importance of a corporate social media policy
- How soft steps lead to ROI
- Why most social media marketing fails:
- Lack of a goal
- Poorly defined market
- No listening
- No real launch plan
- Quitting too soon
The bottom-line is that social media is too important to compartmentalize or see as a pet project.What do you think?
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Podcast Interview: What They Don’t Teach You At Stanford Business School – Larry Chiang
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Photo Credit Terry Chay
Today’s podcast is an interview with Larry Chang author of What They Don’t Teach You At Stanford Business School. Larry is also a seriously Sociable! guy and can be found organizing after parties at some of the biggest social media and cultural events from South by South West to conferences at major universities across North America. In fact Larry may be the 3rd best party guy and networker I have met. (Sociable! Book Launch Party). In this interview Larry and I talk about topics you don’t learn in business school such as Man Charm, how to land a super star mentor and sales skills.
Larry’s book sold out it’s first printing on Amazon but you can register for updates at Amazon by clicking on the book below:
What They Don't Teach You at Stanford Business School
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Podcast – Helping salespeople get smarter with digital assistants and technology
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Amacus
Today’s podcast is with sales technology thought leader John Cousineau who is President of Innovative Information the creators of Amacus. John and I have had a number of coffee chats and debates around why and how to use technology and social media to improve sales performance and customer experience. The nexus of sales and social media seems to be happening in the CRM and Social CRM space. The question is it happening fast enough and making things more efficient or is it just giving sales people more buttons and buzzwords to worry about.
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Podcast: 10 Things That Will Not Change About Social Media in 2010
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Today’s podcast is about 10 Things That Will Not Change About Social Media in 2010. There have been 1000’s of bloggers who have put fingers to keyboard and pounded out their predictions for social media in 2010. While there’s many predictions about future technology advancements, new demographics and debatable Twitter growth there are many things that are not going to change. So here is a summary of my thoughts that are on the podcast:
10 Things That Will Not Change About Social Media in 2010
- It’s about the conversation
- It belongs to everyone
- It can’t be controlled only lead
- It works best integrated
- It doesn’t fit in the marketing ROI box
- It’s an investment
- It’s never been about the tools but those who wield them
- It’s not going away, it’s not a fad
- Experimenting with your clients money is a bad idea
- Success belongs to the storytellers
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Why Social Media ROI is NOT as Important as ROR
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Today’s social media podcast is on social media ROI or return on investment and why it’s not nearly as important as ROR. ROR is a term introduced to me by Darcy Rezac author of Work the Pond. From a social media perspective and a general marketing perspective most people are nearsighted and have serious tunnel vision when it comes to social media ROI. ROR is about return on relationship and not just winning clicks but winning hearts, minds and loyalty. Most people talking about social media ROI have only been studying it for 24 months or less. Some don’t even use social media actively as an engagement and relationship building tool. I discuss this and many other aspects of ROR and ROI for social media in today’s podcast. Any and all feedback on this podcast would be welcome and appreciated.
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Dr. Denis Cauvier author of Hired 2.0 Podcast Interview with @shanegibson
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Today’s podcast interview is with Dr. Denis Cauvier bestselling author of the ABCs of Making Money. The podcast interview is on his new book “Hired 2.0 – Recruiting Exceptional Talent at the Speed of Light” and explores how social media, social networking and Generation Y has changed the way we need to approach recruiting, hiring and keeping great staff. Denis is a long time associate and friend of mine who has spoken to audiences in 45 countries on the topics of hiring and retaining great staff.
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Serendipity and Intuition are Not Random
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Today’s podcast is on the connection between serendipity and discipline as well as the connection between training and intuition. I’m also going to talk about why very few people experience high levels of positive serendipity or tap into their intuition because they quit too soon. I’d love your feedback and thoughts on this topic. This applies to social media, sales, traditional marketing and even networking activities.
Looking for a social media speaker for your next conference?
You can contact us or take a look at Shane Gibson’s bio.
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