Marketing Interactions

How Does Your B2B Brand Reflect On Your Buyers?

I've been reading a lot of posts lately about making emotional connections with B2B buyers, along with reminders not to forget their personal side. But this doesn't mean to start looking at them as B2C consumers - even though they are when they're away from the office. In professional mode, "personal" is a bit different.

And for all of you wondering - this does not mean that 2 dogs and a house in the suburbs is information that will help you.

Personal attributes for a B2B buyer are still related to the role they play at work. Some of the most basic questions of a personal nature that cross B2B buyers' minds include:

• How will this decision affect my career?
• Will this decision help save my job during the reorganization that will happen with the upcoming merger?
• Will solving this problem help me earn a promotion?
• Will this decision increase the value my company sees in me?

But when you look beyond those considerations, how does their perception of your brand influence their thinking? Is what they come across representative of the way you want your brand to be seen? Is their experience consistent across channels?

Could the way you represent yourself across channels be costing you business?

Below are a few situations to consider:

• What will my peers and colleagues think if I choose them?
• They're too hip and cool for our conservative culture. Will my executive team believe there is really enough substance?
• They're really conservative - will they bring the innovative ideas I'll need in the future? Then again, I can probably trust them not to take a flyer...
• They have some really smart people working for them - their blog is awesome - but every time the corporate Twitter handle Tweets it's about sports stuff or product discounts. Given how much the solution we're looking at costs, if my CFO ever sees that...
• I asked a sales guy an industry question he couldn't answer yesterday. Today he sent me a link to a great thread where thought leaders were weighing in. It wasn't even produced by his company. I like this guy!
• My friend just emailed me a link to a LinkedIn discussion where a gal at a company we're considering buying a solution from got defensive about something one of my colleagues posted. Uh oh...
• I'm so tired of webinars that are really sales pitches. When they don't provide the value they promise on a webinar, will they deliver if you buy? It makes me wonder if they'd always be trying to upsell me if I became their customer.
• Every time I get an email from this company I can't wait to see what they sent me. It's always great stuff. And if I can't use it, I know someone who can and forward it along. They make me look good.

Are any of these happening at your brand? Obviously, I've painted a picture that includes good and bad stuff. Even exagerated some of it to make a point. But this stuff actually happens. I've heard versions of most of these brought up in meetings. I've been forwarded links to stuff with WTF? notes from my clients and colleagues.

The truth is, social media and user-generated content and channel proliferation has created a version of reality that often reminds me a lot of high school. Operating in this environment is a lot like working under a microscope. But, if so, we need to adjust - and fast!

The truth of the matter is that you'll never be a fit for everyone. Making sure that your brand is aligned with your target markets is the best a company can hope for. Still a big task, but made more manageable. Putting buyers at the center of what you do also helps.

But this reality is also a rallying cry for working together. For breaking down silos and opening the lines of communication to help get everyone on the same page. Sure, they'll be outliers, but when each of us is by extension representative of the brand we're affiliated with, more thought needs to be given.

If the social media team isn't talking to the demand gen team who isn't talking to the web marketing team or the events team or the PR team and none of them are talking with the sales team - what are the chances that your brand is being perceived by your buyers in a way that's costing you sales?

When will we "get" it?

Step into your buyers' shoes and go take a look at your brand from the outside-in. Go look at all the channels through the experience your buyers will have. What do you think?

Are you inspired? Energized? Intrigued? Or are you disappointed, even alienated?

What one thing can you do today to shift the status quo?

Just take one step and then work on the next one. Once you recognize the issue, it's often taking that first step that's the hardest. You can do it. I have faith.

Is Social Selling in Need of Sales Enablement?

In my last post I wrote about some of the ways Marketers could benefit from LinkedIn in relation to the report Jill Konrath and I released recently, Cracking the LinkedIn Sales Code.

Today, I’d like to write about some opportunities that surfaced during our analysis of the data that point to the need for sales enablement that can help your company’s social selling initiatives, as many salespeople appear to be struggling to find the value.

• The fact that only 4.9% of the 3,094 survey respondents are identified as Top Sellers is a wake-up call.


• The idea that gaining access to InMail is critical for being able to “pitch” more people directly – as expressed in many comments from the survey – is a wake-up call.


• The conclusion that, since prospects don’t like to be pitched to via LinkedIn means that LinkedIn is not a valuable tool for the sales process is also a big, fat wake-up call.

Comments like these sum up the need for a bit of intervention:

“[I] don't have the right content and approach yet to really engage with potential customers on LinkedIn to gain new prospects, thus new sales.”

“I send InMails ongoingly and the majority [of them] are ignored. I'm beginning to think it's a waste of time....”

LinkedIn Has a Bit of a Learning Curve

I’ve been using LinkedIn so long and so much that the idea it’s not easy to grasp and use effectively was a bit of a surprise to me. Although it shouldn’t be. I see crappy stuff posted out there all the time. But I also see great stuff!

The thing that’s bugging me a bit is that the majority of marketers asked in numerous research studies say they’re using content marketing. Many of them say they know their prospect audiences well. Many of them maintain blogs for their companies. And, many of them participate on social media. Heck, social media has been in the top 3 for marketing priorities in most research reports I’ve read for the last couple of years.

If marketers are actually doing all of the things stated above, I’d submit that they are  in the perfect position to create a “social sharing” support program for their sales teams.  And it doesn’t have to be difficult.

Create a weekly primer that includes:

• Relevant groups for sales reps to join based on who they sell to, what they sell and their specific area of expertise or industry knowledge
• A list of appropriate content resources based on the above point; include links, a summary of key points, and suggestions for discussion prompts they can use
• Ideas that promote sharing expertise or asking questions to stimulate discussions

Include a tips section that includes ideas that will help them gain proficiency with the tools that LinkedIn has to offer. Just one or two tips per week that they can master quickly is plenty. I’d start with Signal and give them some keyword phrases to set up so they can easily keep track of what’s going on in their area of focus so that they can more easily join in on relevant discussions.

For those of you thinking – wow – that weekly primer thing is going to be a lot of work, stop and think about it.

• You know what content you’re publishing and online events you’re scheduling
• You know what the key points are
• You have the links – or you should

If you’re using other social networks you’re already curating content that aligns with the story you’re sharing, right? So include those links, too. After all, social sharing isn’t just about your company’s content.

Sure the group recommendations will take a bit of effort, although not so much if you’re already tracking them for insights that inform your marketing programs. And I’d stipulate that you should be doing this.

And the tips for tools may also take some thought and experimentation if you’re not using them, but you should be doing this, too. The benefits are profound.

So, ultimately, creating a social sharing support program is a win-win situation in the end, right?

Both of you can learn together and you can help to ensure that the story being shared in LinkedIn by your sales team aligns with the story marketing is sharing. And that’s pretty huge!

Once you get the primer format down, it’s a simple process to update it each week to ensure your sales team has fresh content and ideas to share. And, it’s important to remember that appropriate sharing and participation are two of the habits that Top Sellers rely upon to drive the generation of opportunities on LinkedIn.

If you haven’t downloaded your copy of Cracking the LinkedIn Sales Code, go get it!

And don’t forget to download the companion eBook (Link in the report) to read the stories that top sellers shared with us about what’s working for each of them. You may find some ideas you haven’t thought of.

And, for fun, see my Madlibs post on Funnelholic where I predict that sales enablement will be the next hot thing for marketing. Seriously!

Cracking the Code on LinkedIn is For Marketers Too

Jill Konrath and I recently released a report, Cracking the LinkedIn Sales Code, that details what we learned from a survey of 3,094 salespeople about their use of LinkedIn as a sales tool. As a marketing professional, I found the responses fascinating and began thinking about how the data crosses boundaries to inform the marketing side.

In the report, we looked at two sides of the coin; Salespeople who could attribute lots of sales opportunities to LinkedIn (Top Performers) and the others who generated a few—or none at all. The differences were quite striking—as was the admission by 58% of respondents who said they lacked an understanding of how to use the capabilities of LinkedIn.

LinkedIn provides a wealth of tools and insights about our markets. I nearly live on the site most of the time because it contributes so much to the work I do.

In this post, I’d like to pull out a few key findings from the report and discuss them from a marketing perspective. And I’d also like to add a few insights of my own that may help marketers find more value in LinkedIn.

Establishing a Professional Presence

41.3% of Top Sellers rate their profile as well done,
compared to 15% of all other respondents

One of the things about LinkedIn that’s not necessarily true about other social platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, is that marketers cannot hide behind their company logos. Whatever you do on LinkedIn is tied directly back to your personal profile. This puts a lot of pressure on marketers who can only talk knowledgeably about their products and their jobs, but not necessarily about the needs and priorities of their customers.

While I see a lot of marketers on LinkedIn participating in marketing-focused groups and learning to improve their skills or asking and answering marketing-related questions, I don’t see a lot of them involved in effective engagement with prospects. Posting a link to a blog post in a group without adding commentary designed to initiate a useful discussion, doesn’t count—and “useful” relates to the value seen by the group’s members.

Things to consider:

• How many groups do you belong to and participate in where your prospects hang out?
• How many times each month do you share relevant content or participate in discussions?
• Starting a group related to what your prospects care about
  
  One respondent to the survey told us, “LinkedIn is an extremely valuable part of my career. The group I moderate has now become an inbound ‘business opportunity’ marketing machine.”

Why it’s important:

• Your participation is a reflection of your company’s value
• Uncovering qualified sales opportunities is part of your job
• What if you could establish engagement and introduce a warm lead directly to a salesperson?

The Market Research Tool You Shouldn’t Ignore

 

LinkedIn is probably the best prospect research tool I’ve ever come across. Marketers need much more insight than is made available through buying lists or sites that only provide demographic information. LinkedIn is a community of real people who share their perspectives about what they do and what they value and the jobs they do. While some people still use the site as a boring resume exercise, others provide a wealth of insight previously unavailable to marketers.

For every project I do, I use LinkedIn as a source of insight. Some of the tasks I frequently perform include:

• Using advanced search to find a list of prospects who could be representative of my clients’ target markets. I review hundreds of profiles to uncover insights, priorities, aspirations, and more. Granted, I use the professional version which allows me cool ways to filter lists, but it’s worth every penny. This research not only helps me understand how to conduct persona interviews, but also helps keep me updated on trends as time passes.
  
  
• I use Signal (under News in the navigation) to do searches on keyword phrases, such as “oil production” that I need for insights about a project I’m working on. I also have searches saved for subjects, such as “content strategy,” to keep up with my own industry.
  
  
• When I’m reviewing profiles, I always look to learn about which groups potential prospects belong to and check them out. One of the best things LinkedIn did was make it possible to open up groups – and many have taken advantage. This removes the conundrum about how to qualify to gain access to specialized groups and allows me to learn about the trends being discussed among the members.

Using LinkedIn for research can help you identify market trends, prospect priorities and topics that will resonate with different groups. Just like it doesn’t work to create one-size-fits-all content, it doesn’t work to post the same links to a bunch of groups and hope for the best.

Next post I’ll share insights to sales enablement that relate to the report.

Download your copy of Cracking the LinkedIn Sales Code

The Painful Reality of Social Spam

I've been writing a series of posts lately trying to dispel B2B Marketing Buzzwords. This isn't exactly a buzzword, but it's becoming a problem and should be a source of embarassment for those who do it. Yes, this is a rant. You've been forewarned...

You know who I'm talking about? People who are abusing the InMail feature of LinkedIn to spam their contacts.

I don't know about you, but I'm receiving lots of InMail promotions every week from contacts who should know better - and as you'll see below, people who aren't contacts but have learned to "game" the system.

Just this week, in addition to valid personal exchanges, I've received:

• A blanket invitation to a webinar
• A couple of conference announcements
• A handful of straight-on, blasted-out sales pitches
• And six invitations that were direct sales pitches from people I'm not connected to

The first thing I'd like to say to these misguided individuals is that LinkedIn is not your ESP or your sales database.

What surprises me the most about this is that LinkedIn is supposed to be a professional networking system where you can develop relationships with people you know, or would like to get to know better - hopefully with mutual benefits as a result. In other words, it's a relationship opportunity.

Many companies still buy lists and spam people who have never opted in to their databases, but this is even worse. This has your name on it. You. Your personal brand is now labeled with the equivalent of "desperate spammer."

Have you thought about that?

I received an email from a new connection and fairly new user of LinkedIn this week who asked me if the primary purpose of LinkedIn was to gain as many connections as possible without ever having any meaningful interactions via InMail. He said that he only hears from people via InMail when they want something.

That set me back. I had to really think about it. I probably have a handful of dialogues with contacts each week via InMail - but soon we move to email as it's easier to correspond directly.

My response to my contact was to point him toward discussion groups. That's where I think most of the conversations happen on LinkedIn that are useful. Good group moderators are trying their best to manage the spammy promotional junk and maintain the integrity of the conversations taking place. And many of the groups are valuable exchanges of information.

The difference to me with spam in discussion groups and spam via InMail is that the discussion group spam can be easily ignored. The InMail spam is more of a personal violation, in my book. Even though both methods are those of the unimaginative and self-focused.

And BTW - for those of you who preface your InMail abuse with "if you don't want to be bothered with this information, just ignore it" that is NOT an acceptable mea culpa.

A couple of things to think about:

• LinkedIn (as in all other forms of digital communications) will be as valuable as the level of trust and credibility you create with your participation.
• What can you do to have a meaningful interaction with a prospect or contact via LinkedIn? One that isn't focused only on what you want?
• A meaningful dialogue must be relevant to both sides.

If you want to open the lines of communication, here are some steps you should take. Warning, they take a bit of work. But, for the love of puppies, get hold of some initiative!

• Take the time to do a bit of research for each communication you want to initiate.
• Make it relevant to the person you're sending it to. Heck, their profile is a click away. How hard can it be?
• Don't make it all about what you want. You can have your turn later - once someone decides they think it might be worth their time to talk to you.
• Think about what you're putting your name on. Is it worth it?

Spam doesn't work. It never has and it certainly won't on a professional networking platform. Although I'm irritated, it hurts you much more than it hurts me.

There are so many ways to communicate and engage people that this shouldn't even be a feasible option.

Okay - I feel better now. You?

Marketing Beyond the Chit Chat in Social Media

I was just reading a post written by Margie Clayman, Myth: Marketing consists of just talking to people (or what is social media marketing?). Margie asked her community the question What is marketing? to begin to get at the premise for social media marketing beyond those vague terms of "engagement" and questioning how just "talking to people" (if that's the definition of social media marketing) can actually impact the outcome of selling stuff. This is a great topic! Of course, Margie always comes up with great topics for discussion.

Margie's post had me flashing back to the reactions of many people to social media when it first hit the web waves. I remember people saying that they didn't care if someone just ate a PB&J or that they didn't want to hear what their favorite jeans (brand) thought on a regular basis.

That stuff is still out there but I see a lot of evolution in the way people "talk" to people on social media. Then again, I see a lot of people talking for the sake of talking - mostly to themselves, so who knows?

I think that in order to answer the question, What is social media marketing?, we have to back up a bit to why people go online in the first place. Since I focus on B2B marketing, I'm going to limit my perspective to people interacting online for business reasons.

The Quest for Information

Research shows that pretty much all business people start online with search when they are looking for information. If we start there, then we realize that the next step is a query.

A query is based on a question the person want's answered. How they arrive at the answer depends on what phrases or keywords they type into the search field. But it's also critical to understand that "search" has changed with the availability of social platforms. For example, those of us on Twitter often search by hashtags, such as #contentmarketing or #B2B.

On LinkedIn or Focus.com we may ask questions of a community of people interested in the topic on our minds. That's also become a form of search enabled by social platforms.

Social Media Marketing Benefits from Q&A

As human beings, we learn through asking and answering questions. As business people, we have priorities to address and problems to solve to meet objectives. When faced with a problem, the first thing most of us do is ask, How do I fix that? What are my options? Or even, Why should I fix it? Do I really need to?

Robert Rose wrote a fabulous post on How Asking "Why" Can Get You To The Larger Story over on the CMI blog. I also talk about the role and value of questions in my post on content marketing where I wrote about theory vs. practice. Note that questions are way too valuable to only be applied to one facet of marketing. In my opinion, you can use them for just about anything related to marketing and sales.

Applying human nature to social media marketing, B2B marketers will accomplish their goals if they match up their use social media to answering the questions the people who could buy from them are asking.

This takes social media marketing beyond just "talking to people" to actually providing useful information that helps them solve problems by learning what they need to know to do so successfully.

It's the quality and helpfulness of the "talking" that makes the difference, as well as the intention behind it. Although the end goal of marketing must be to sell stuff, the execution must be about providing value your prospects recognize in order to achieve it — whether that's in social media or takes other forms.

Of course, this is only my perspective. What's yours? What does Social Media Marketing mean to you?

Relevance is Not an Option

B2B marketers are focused on lead generation more than they are on lead nurturing. The problem is that without the nurturing, generating leads is merely an exercise in trying to scrape the 10% who may be ready to buy and then dumping the rest into an afterthought category.

Likewise, 78% of marketers say that they're ramping up their social media use this year. One of their main metrics is the number of followers, likes or RSS feed subscriptions they can amass.

The problem with all of this isn't the number of people who click to follow, it's how marketers are going about engaging them.

Take a look at what happens when your messaging isn't perceived as "relevant":

• 49% unsubcribed to email streams they'd opted into previously
• 43% have "unliked" a company on Facebook, 38% due to irrelevance
• 52% have unfollowed a brand on Twitter

[See the report The Social Media Breakup]

Part of what causes this is that companies make assumptions about what customers want via a relationship on social media. A new study by IBM found that the perception gap is likely wider than you think:

 

The study recommends that, "Instead of asking why your company should engage in social media, ask why a customer would choose to interact with your company in a social platform. Recast social interaction strategies to focus on giving customers the value they seek and the customer intimacy will come."

In other words, whether social media, email, blogging, articles, white papers, eBooks, videos, podcasts, etc., the perceived value of the content is what you're being judged on every time. In all cases, just showing up is not going to work.

Before you set your expectations too high, consider that many customers in this study said they chose to interact with brands that they already had a strong relationship with. Perhaps the ramp up strategy for social media should actually be customer nurturing instead of new lead generation. Or, maybe it means using it later in your lead nurturing programs to create cross-over between channels once you've started building that relationship.

Those are just a few things to think about.

But the gist is that we do need to think about them. We need to listen and plan before we engage. We need to decide on which goals are the most appropriate for our company to pursue, given what we hear. And we need to make sure that the experience we offer across all our channels is consistently, well, relevant.

After all, 75% of executives say they believe that reaching out to customers via social media will improve customer advocacy. Unfortunately only 38% of customers agree.

I'd say we have some work to do.

The Biggest Question When Using B2B Social Media

Sometimes I become a bit skeptical when I see the huge uptake in social media by B2B marketers. In fact, recent research by Junta42 and Marketing Profs finds that use of social media is the top B2B tactic in use as identified by 79% of 985 marketers. Unfortunately, only 31% of those marketers said they found it effective.

In a recent Harvard Business Review Analytic Services study, only 12% of 2,100 executives say that their companies are using social media effectively.

So what's the biggest question to ask when using B2B social media in marketing?

Will it blend?

It's this disconnect that needs to be corrected before B2B marketers will begin to generate the results that social media--used well--can help them to achieve.

Social Media is Content Marketing.

It's not some offshoot that sits in a silo like a toy to be brought out and used when it suddenly occurs to you:

Oh, I should go Tweet that!

Or post it on Facebook or share it with a LinkedIn group, etc.

Just as there is art and science in creating contagious content that your prospects' value, the same should be applied—in parallel—to social media.

When you create an article or a blog post or any content asset worth sharing, you should also create Tweets and snippets for sharing via your social media accounts. Do it intentionally and during the development of your content.

Look at how it flows from your outward-facing profiles. After all, that's how many people will evaluate whether or not they want to follow you. The click through and scan what you're posting to see if you're—wait for it—interesting and relevant to them.

It's a solid practice to Tweet things more than once as the common theory is that Tweets have a shelf life of about an hour to drive response. However, considering it from a profile perspective, which leaves a better impression:

The Biggest Question When Using B2B Social Media + link [posted 6 hours ago]

The Biggest Question When Using B2B Social Media + link [posted 4 hours ago]

The Biggest Question When Using B2B Social Media + link [posted 2 hours ago]

OR

The Biggest Question When Using B2B Social Media + link [posted 6 hours ago]

Will your social media blend? + link [posted 4 hours ago]

Only 12% of executives say social media is effective - Here's how to change that. + link #HBR [posted 2 hours ago]

You'd be surprised how many profiles look like the first version. Even with a few other RTs and original Tweets, when someone scrolls your profile to evaluate your potential value to them as a news filter, the first version is immediately recognizable and smacks of self-interest.

Imagine what it looks like on your Facebook page if you have your Tweets sync'd to post in both places. Yikes! Facebook is different than Twitter. It deserves a different posting treatment. In fact, be very careful that you don't take the lazy way out and automate all your social media accounts to broadcast the same stuff simultaneously. It's obvious and lazy.

Each destination should have a unique twist, style and presentation. And this can work even if you're posting links to the same content on several platforms. It just requires a bit of thought and planning rather than executing social media as a fait accompli each time you publish new content.

Social media will drive results if you treat it with respect rather than as just another megaphone. Really, no one cares. You need to show them why they should. And that means your social media participation needs to be an inclusive component of your content marketing strategy.

How do your audiences differ from one platform to another?

Or even within the same platform? Are you posting the exact same thing to all 18 groups you belong to on LinkedIn, for example? Some people likely belong to more than one of the groups you do. Have you thought about the impression that makes?

Twitter restricts what you can say to 140 characters. Facebook doesn't. Each group in LinkedIn is created around a specific topic. Establishing the right context is important on all of them.

Oh, and social media is definitely content marketing. Now that marketers are becoming publishers working without a net and outside of our "controlled" web environments, everything we post online is content, leads to more content and is responsible for having an impact on the perception of our company's reputation, credibility, intentions and humanness.

Go take a look at how you're using social media just as others will. Does it blend?

Writing is a Critical B2B Marketing Skill

I was reading an article written by Denny Hatch (a long-time copywriting expert) discussing why professional copywriting is critical for marketing where he shared this story he recalled:

"What do you do?" a guy at a cocktail party was asked.

"I'm a brain surgeon," was the reply. "What do you do?"

"I'm a writer."

"Ah," said the brain surgeon. "I've often thought that when I retire I'd like to try some writing."

"And when I retire," said the writer, "I plan try a little brain surgery."

The story resonated with me for a lot of reasons, but one of them is because I see a lot of B2B marketers without the passion or skill for developing content. I'm not talking about branding or corporate positioning as such. I'm talking about content creation and development that keeps pace with the demands of prospects and customers across their buying process or lifetime relationship with the company.

Writing is a skill. It's a skill that gets rusty if you don't practice it...a lot. The last few years, the role of marketing has changed from that of a conductor to the need to become an active participant. Instead of coordinating external sources for short-term campaign execution, marketers need to take real-time action. That means writing.

Things like blog posts, commenting in discussion groups, sharing on social media, creating articles for nurturing programs, email messaging and more. Sure, you can still outsource writing projects, but some of these arenas for participation require real-time content development with a personalized touch.

For example, if an immediate informational need arises and your agency says - sure, I can have that for you in two weeks - you've just missed an opportunity if you can't step up to the plate and write engaging content that can be published now.

[If you don't believe me, David Meerman Scott just published a book about Real-Time Marketing. Ann Handley's book Content Rules has also just been released making it a bit difficult to ignore the momentum heading in this direction.]

The other consideration is that there are certain mediums that require you to paricipate directly, without the help of a writer. LinkedIn is a case in point. Although not formal, the way you write is still a reflection on both you and your company.

All of this said, here are 4 things I think may be stopping marketers from improving their writing skills:

• Thinking every content asset must be a masterpiece of formatting and graphic design.
• Lack of understanding that short article formats work well if the content provides meaty, useful insights. An 800 word, tightly-focused article is more than ample for engagement and asks for less time than a bigger piece. Your prospects and customers are crazy-busy. You know that, right?
• Not knowing buyers and customers well enough to write for them — being unsure how to flip focus from company and products to address their needs can be a huge obstacle marketers need to overcome.
• Unsure of where to start. Think of this as blank-page syndrome that results from a lack of content strategy.
• Being crazy-busy yourselves.

Yes, that last one will likely rise to the top. But here's the thing. Writing isn't optional. If marketers are going to succeed with content marketing and marketing on the Internet, we're going to have to close the writing gap and step up.

Marketing is driven by content. The Internet, publishing technology and social media will only demand more fuel (content) to feed the beast. Your best plan of action is to start tuning up your keyboards and flex those writing muscles. You're going to need them in top form to create competitive advantage for your company.

B2B Lead Nurturing and Social Media

I'm hearing a lot of questions and conversations about Social Media as something that's a stand alone from lead nurturing and demand gen. I'm getting really irritated by all the people who say they can't 100% prove it works so therefore ROI doesn't exist.The basic contention being that there's a lot of activity going on, but not many results to be seen.

In a LinkedIn discussion, I posted this response a few months ago to try and lay out a more integrated way of looking at the role I see social media playing within an integrated marketing strategy. I thought it might be useful to share it here.

See what you think:

If I might suggest an alternative way to look at lead generation and social media. Social media is more of an awareness and interest generator, than it is a lead generator. This said, I think determining contribution depends on how far back you can monitor.

For example, LinkedIn is one of the top referrers to my blog. It's right up there with Twitter and Facebook. I have generated a number of very nice deals in the last two years from prospects who contact me after reading my blog. When I speak with them I learn they originally received exposure to my work through one of these networks.

The best strategy is linking everything you (your company) do together. It's not so much about one interaction/distribution option as it is that they all work together and eventually lead prospects back to your own web properties - whether blog or website (or both). The kicker is to have the right content available at all locations that encourages them to seek out more of your content and then encourages them to inquire to learn more.

Social media is only one ingredient of lead generation. If you use it as a stand alone, I doubt you'll see much success. But, used in concert with other vehicles, I've seen it produce great results.

If you look at connected pathways, you may be surprised at how leads actually find you.

A simple scenario of what this looks like:

• A Tweet promotes a webinar I'm giving.
• A prospect sees the Tweet and signs up for the webinar.
• After the webinar they request a connection on LinkedIn and I agree.
• While at Linkedin, they see a link to a blog post they find interesting and click to read more.
• While at the blog they like what they see and subscribe to the RSS feed.
• After a while, they see something that makes them curious and post a comment asking a question in reference to a blog post.
• I answer them.
• They visit my website and fill out the contact form to request a conversation.
• We speak and I earn a new project. (I've actually earned several new projects in the last year that reflect variations on this scenario)

**one qualifier, the above happens over time even though it doesn't read that way.

So what gets credit for the lead? Twitter, the webinar, LinkedIn, the blog, my website?

Before you ask - no I don't have sophisticated software that tracks this stuff. I ask questions to learn how this happens. I'm seeing more and more of this as time goes on. This said, some of my clients do have the tools and we're seeing some nice momentum building in their pipelines from the incorporation of social media into their marketing programs.

Perhaps as a way to measure, you might set benchmarks for your programs without social media and then add it in and see what changes. If your traffic, lead quality and revenues are going up, that just may have something to do with it.

 

How to Get More Social on Twitter

For some B2B marketers, Twitter isn't intuitive. I could come up with a list of reasons why not, but you can probably do that on your own. The thing is that many B2B companies want to establish a social media presence. They want to get their companies on the social media map so they don't miss an opportunity. The kicker is that it's not always as easy as it looks.

Earlier this week, I wrote about 5 Things to Consider BEFORE Using Social Media. Today, I'd like to offer some tips for what to do once you get started - if you choose to engage on Twitter.

Through some very unscientific experience, I've discovered a few things:

• Using Twitter handles in Tweets gets more Re-Tweets.
  We are, after all, people. People like seeing their handle in a Tweet. It will go into their mentions where they will see it. They'll include you in their Thanks Tweet or RT your Tweet with a "Thanks" - giving your Tweet more exposure. Others also identify with Twitter handles they recognize and are more likely to click the link you share or Re-Tweet.


• Always attribute.
  I can't tell you how many Tweets I see with the title of a post and a link. That's it. And, you know what? That's lazy. If you want people to notice and respond to your Tweets, include the name of the blog, person, company or other identifying characteristic so those you Tweet about know you have and so that others are more likely to recognize why they should click.


• Be Creative.
  Don't always use the title of a blog post or article when you Tweet. Find something interesting to say, ask a question or something else that will entice people to engage.


• Add a little something personal.
  When you Tweet or RT, add a phrase or word that puts your spin on the Tweet. Yes, some people use all their characters requiring us to restructure their Tweets to fit in our comment, but it can be done with a bit of thought. Just keep the main idea, the link and the attribution handles. If you want to become known as a relied-upon resource, add your $0.02 to show people why they should follow you for access to great content they find useful.


• Ask for Help.
  Putting a "Pls RT" at the end of your Tweets can help encourage people to do so. I wouldn't suggest doing this all the time, but sometimes we have something really great we want to share. Asking will encourage even lurkers to take action and help you spread the word.


• Be humble when you Tweet about YOUR stuff.
  Do not be a sleazy, self-promotional putz. You know what I mean. The kind that posts about a "GREAT MUST READ" article, but after the click your audience sees it's your own stuff. Just put it out there to share with the best hook you've got and set it free. If it strikes a chord, people will RT your Tweet. And it's okay to RT with thanks once or twice, but don't do it every time. Do make sure to acknowledge people with a "Thanks for the RTs" Tweet or by direct message.


• Use Hashtags.
  I forget about this one often myself, but many people have columns set up to follow hashtags (e.g. #marketing, #B2B, etc.) so you can gain a lot of additional exposure to those who may not be followers by using them. Do a bit of research and find out what tags the audience you want to attract is following. Then, make sure your Tweets are really relevant to that tag.


• RT someone you don't know well.
  Look for new people who are Tweeting great stuff that aren't on everyone's radar. Help them get exposure and they'll repay the favor. Plus, it feels good to share a new find! And, the person you RT will feel good, too. I've met a lot of new people with great ideas by reaching out.

I think one of the things that gets confusing about Twitter is that the stream moves so fast. It can feel overwhelming and become a time suck if you let it. I was speaking with Trish Bertuzzi (@bridgegroupinc) one day and we joked that we should only Tweet while eating in order to limit our time! Of course that didn't work, but it sounded good at the time.

Instead of just grabbing things to post and moving on, take the time to put some thought into what you post - even if you post less. Remember that when we Tweet for business we've got goals to accomplish. What you choose to Tweet and how you choose to do so should be built around those goals.

Take the time to search for a Twitter handle, to create a great message and to construct it so that you leave 20 characters available for someone to easily RT. It'll pay off.

But we all need to remember that it's not just about the links. Sometimes it's about sharing a thought or idea or answering someone's question, responding to their ideas. Keep an eye out for those opportunities. They can lead to some amazing exchanges.

What would you add to my list above? Anything you disagree with?

Oh - and please follow me on Twitter @ardath421, if you're so inclined.