B2B Marketing: Reasons to Adopt Social Media Marketing

In recent weeks I met with a B2B company to discuss marketing options. The topic of community and social media came up and I was reminded of how difficult it has been for the B2B segment of businesses to grasp a hold of the power in social media when one business is marketing to another. The value has still not been understood. They still view this type of marketing as not relating to them, when in actuality social marketing is becoming one of the most effective ways to market online.

In today's economy B2B companies are decreasing their marketing dollars and spending more online. A recent survey by B2B Magazine revealed that over 48% of those surveyed were increasing their online marketing spend.

Why is there such an effectiveness in social media?

Truth is, so many people are tired of "marketing speak." Social media allows companies to relate to one another and bypass the fluff.

Let's take a look at what the online definition of social media, I've chosen to use the definition from wikipedia since it is user generated.

Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other. Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. Popular social mediums include blogs, message boards, podcasts, wikis, and vlogs.

The definition alone should reveal to you how important it is that B2B companies explore social media marketing channels.

In a recent study done by KnowledgeStorm of B2B technology decision makers the following statistics were revealed:

• 90% Participate in Video
• 80% Participate in Blogs
• 80% Participate in Wikis
• 69% Participate in Social Networks
• 53% Participate in Podcasts

In the same study it was shared that of 69% of B2B buyers use social networks "primarily for business networking and development."

At a minimum B2B businesses should at least be involved in communities and social network where there customers already are. Explore the opportunity to reach out to key influencers in your target market and optimize your content and social media applications for syndication.

I know that stepping out into social media can feel somewhat daunting for more traditional marketing team, but it doesn't have to be difficult to be successful. Chose a few initiatives that will work well for your company and gain you incremental success until you are more comfortable in really delving into the social media and applications.

Social media enables you to :

• Share your expertise and knowledge
• Tap into the wisdom of your consumers
• Enables customers helping customers
• Engages prospects through customer evangelism

Can you really afford to continue to dismiss social media has a marketing vehicle?

The Top Ten Social Bookmarking Sites on the Web

What are social bookmarking sites? Basically, these are sites that allow users to post their favorite sites, using tags (or keywords) to categorize and organize them; then other users can take these bookmarks and add them to their own collection or share them with even more users. Here are my picks for the top ten social bookkmarking sites on the Web - the sites that consistently deliver some of the best content you'll want to share, discover, and store.

1. del.icio.us

del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site that has rapidly taken off even more in popularity since being purchased by Yahoo. I use del.icio.us probably the most out of all these top picks, particularly to post interesting sites that I've found around the Web. I also subscribe to quite a few del.icio.us tags, such as popular and reference, and I get all the sites tagged with these keywords in my RSS reader of choice, Bloglines.

2. Digg.com

Digg is social bookmarking and social networking gone a little crazy due to the fact that anyone can submit a Digg (site), and then anyone can comment on those same Diggs. For me the most interesting feature of Digg has to actually be the comments on the sites and stories, since the Digg community is not shy about letting folks know how they feel about a particular Digg. Primarily focussed on geeky, technology-type items.

3. Reddit

Reddit is a social bookmarking Web site that works much like Furl and del.icio.us: you register a username and password, and then start submitting and sharing your bookmarks. Reddit is similar to del.icio.us in that users are encouraged to vote on the links and stories that they feel are deserving of being in the top dog spot: it’s kind of a popularity contest, so to speak.

4. Furl

Furl gives users the ability to save copies of any Web page, search within your own personal archive of Web pages, and share what you find. People use Furl to create their own personal shopping lists, real estate directories, job searches, student research papers, etc. This may just sound like a fancy way of saying bookmarks; but the thing about Furl is that you can access it from any computer, which means that your Favorites will go with you.

5. Clipmarks

With Clipmarks, you can clip the best parts of web pages. Whether it's a paragraph, sentence, image or video, you can capture just the pieces you want without having to bookmark the entire page.

6. StumbleUpon

The beauty of StumbleUpon, to my mind: you are able to take advantage of a vast network of dedicated Web searchers who are finding utterly brilliant sites and sharing them with you. I do have to warn you, though – StumbleUpon is an incredibly addicting way to search the Web. I found myself up till 1:30 AM one weekend, blearily clicking the Stumble! Button over and over again, because the quality of the sites are just so amazing; you just keep on coming across stuff that instantly merits a bookmark of your own.

7. Newsvine

At Newsvine, you can read stories from established media organizations like the Associated Press as well as individual contributors from all around the world. Placement of stories is determined by a multitude of factors including freshness, popularity, and reputation. Contribution is open to all, and editorial judgement is in the hands of the community.

8. Mixx

Mixx offers up an eclectic mix of all sorts of bookmarkable content; anything from videos to news to popular stories can be found here. Just pick a category and you'll be able to find lots of stuff that might merit a bookmark of your own.

9. Diigo

Diigo is one of my newest favorite Web tools. Not only can you use Diigo to save your favorite Web bookmarks, yalso ou can use Diigo to put sticky notes on websites, highlight stuff you like, comment, and more.

10. Propeller

The way Propeller works is very similar to other social bookmarking sites such as Digg or del.icio.us. Users find stories, submit them, and other Propeller users can vote and comment on those stories, with the most popular stories rising to the top.

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12 Keys to Successful Forum Marketing: How to market your business using online forums

Forum marketing is a great way to make your online business stand out from the crowd. Forum users are generally net savvy and open to making online purchases. Many forum users are also respected experts and bloggers in the specific topics covered by the forum.

Forum marketing is a high ROI strategy because making a good impression in front of this savvy and influential audience can help your marketing message spread far and wide.

Follow this step-by-step guide to effectively use forum marketing as a part of your overall online marketing strategy and avoid some common mistakes.

1. Find the right forums

Not all forums are worth your time. Successful forum marketing means finding the right community for your business.

Look for popular forums that cover your niche topic. Start by asking your employees, suppliers, and customers which online communities they hang out in. Also try searching forum hub sites such as Board Reader, Big Boards, and Board Tracker using niche-specific keywords.

Narrow your list to 5-10 forums that will be worth your time using the following criteria:

• Look for forums that have at least 1,000 members and 10,000 posts.
• Make sure the forum gets at least ten to fifteen new posts on a daily basis.
• Ignore forums that are overrun by spam.
• Avoid forums hosted by your direct competitors.

2. Create an account as soon as possible

Seniority is important in forum communities. Users with older registration dates are given more deference than newer users. Some forums even prevent new users from posting for the first few days after their initial registration. Given the tremendous advantage of early registration, you should create your forum accounts as soon as possible.

Effective forum marketing means that it is part of your long-term strategy. Think of forums as apermanent marketing channel for your business, instead of just one of many targets to blast your hot new advertising campaign.

3. Check the user agreement and posting guidelines

During the registration process you will be asked to agree to the forum's user agreement and posting guidelines. Read these rules and guidelines carefully. There is a lot of boilerplate legal language in these documents, so it is tempting to just skip over them and click yes without reading. However, many forums have unique guidelines that you need to pay attention to. Some of the most important issues to look for include:

• Are users allowed to place links in their posts?
• Are users allowed to promote their own businesses?
• Are users allowed to post commercial messages in their signatures?
• Are users allowed to contact other members for commercial purposes?
• What restrictions are placed on new users?
• What special privileges are given to veteran users?

4. Pick a good user name and avatar

Your user name and avatar are the first things other users will notice about you. Pick a user name that is easy to remember and pronounce. Using your real name might be appropriate, especially if your name is closely identified with your brand. Stay away from bizarre number combination or weird misspellings. Do not pick user names that only have meaning for you but would otherwise be nonsensical to everyone else (e.g. your favorite grade school teacher's initials).

Avatars are small pictures attached to all your posts. A good head shot of yourself or cute pictures of your kids or pets make the best avatars. Avoid using any pictures that might be considered offensive or controversial.

5. Create a compelling profile

A good profile can help you establish credibility on the forum. Provide a solid description of your expertise and experience. Feel free to add in a couple of personal tidbits to humanize your profile. Information like your hometown, your pet's name, or your favorite sports team are good ways to break the ice. Stay away from sharing potentially polarizing information such as political or religious affiliation.

Provide contact information so other users can get in touch with you if they are interested in learning more about your business. A lot of spammers and identity thieves search through forums for personal information. Therefore, you should only share information you wouldn't mind being made public, such as a throwaway webmail address.

6. Introduce yourself

Many forums encourage new users to introduce themselves to the community by making an introductory post. This is usually done in threads especially designated for welcoming new members. These threads are usually called some variation of "Say Hi Here," "How Did You Find Us," or " New Members Check In Here."

Your introductory post should include a brief description of your expertise and an explanation of why you joined the forum. Let the other users know that your main goal is to contribute to and learn from the community. Do not make any marketing pitches in your first post. If you try to sell anything in your first post you will very likely get banned.

7. Spend some time lurking

Resist the urge to start posting right away. Forums are tight-knit communities that tend to shun and haze newcomers. Spend some time reading the forum to get a sense of the community's special quirks and cultural norms. Figure out who the influential users are and note which topics are perennial favorites. Learning this information will help you fit in more quickly.

8. Make valuable contributions to the community

This is the key to successful forum marketing. Whenever anyone asks a question related to your products or services, dazzle them with incredibly useful answers. These situations are opportunities to demonstrate your expertise and to generate good will. Backup your advice with links to trusted sources, and respond to follow up questions quickly.

Leave out your sales pitch in the beginning. Any hint of bias in your initial posts will erase all your hard work. By keeping your answers objective, the entire community will start thinking of you as a trusted expert. They will soon start asking you for your recommendations. When you get direct inquiries for recommendations you may then safely mention your business without appearing biased.

9. Put your website's address in your signature

Forum signatures are blocks of text or graphic that are attached to the end of all your posts. Most people use signatures to display their favorite quotes or links to their favorite websites. Some forums also allow users to use signatures to promote their own websites. If you are in a forum that allows self-promotional signatures, make sure you take full advantage of this opportunity and create a forum marketing signature that works.

Do not abuse this opportunity by putting flashy images or long advertising messages in your signature. An accurate, short description of your business and a link to your website is the best way to go. 

10. Stay away from drama

Do not get drawn into heated arguments. It would be a shame to get banned just because you started arguing whether Han shot first with some 14-year-old kid from Scranton. Here's how you can avoid the drama:

• Constantly remind yourself that your mission here is to build good will for your business.
• Stay away from charged topics like politics or religion.
• Resist the urge to respond to criticism. If you have to answer, at least give yourself a couple of hours to cool off before responding.
• Use emoticons to indicate when you are being facetious.
• End discussions the moment you sense that it is getting contentious. Just say you agree to disagree and that you want to move on to other more pleasant topics.

11. Create win-win marketing campaigns

Once you have the respect of the users you can start more aggressive marketing campaigns. Focus on marketing techniques that provide a benefit for the forum community. For example, offer the forum members special discounts, free samples, or fun contests. Be sure to get the permission of the forum's moderators before you start these campaigns.

12. Be careful how you outsource forum marketing

Many marketing firms use bots or low-skilled foreign workers to spam forums. This is not the type of marketing you want. Forum spam may bring in a little temporary traffic to your website, but in the long run these campaigns can seriously damage your reputation. When you hire a marketing firm, make sure they understand that you will only accept ethical marketing practices that will enhance your image.

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Social Media Overview : What and Where is Social Media?

Social media is an umbrella term that describes websites that connect individuals somehow. A hallmark of social media is the user generated content. This model contrasts with the editorially controlled style of old media. Social media is sometimes called Web 2.0.

Major types of social media:

Social News

The distinguishing feature of this type of site is users submit links to Web content (articles, podcasts, videos, etc) that they find interesting. Think of these sites as social filtering, so that the best, most interesting content floats to the top.

Examples of social news sites include Digg, Reddit,StumbleUpon, and Mixx.

Further reading:

• 6 Reasons Why Social News Marketing Matters

Social Bookmarking

A social bookmarking service lets users store, categorize and tag, and search bookmarks. The "social" aspect comes when the services uses the aggregate collection of bookmarks to recommend new sites to users. For example, the service could show the hottest bookmarks of the day or recommend webpage to me based on what other people like me have bookmarked.

The largest service, by far, is the original social bookmarking site -- Delicious (owned byYahoo! and formerly spelled del.icio.us). Check out the Delicious popular page for webpages that a lot of other people have bookmarked today.

Other social bookmarking sites include Faves (formerly Blue Dot) and Diigo.

Social Networking

The distinguishing feature of a social networking site is the ability to upload a personal profile. These sites usually focus on the individual.

A few years ago, social networking was limited to teenagers at sites like MySpace andFriendster. Today, adults have joined the social networking bandwagon with more useful sites like LinkedIn (social networking for professionals) and Facebook (social networking for everyone, it seems).

Photo and Video Sharing

One of the most popular types of social media sites are the photo and video sharing services. Even though social networking sites like Facebook allow users to upload photos and videos, the standalone services are still immensely popular.

For photo uploading and sharing, there is Flickr and Zooomr.

For video sharing, there is YouTube, MetaCafe, Daily Motion, and Vimeo.

Lifestreaming / Microblogging

Sometimes called "presence apps", these services let users post very short messages (kind of like blogging), and easily keep up with what their friends are posting (that's where the social media aspect comes into play).

Twitter and Plurk are two of the most popular microblogging services. Both services limit you to 140 characters per post, and let you follow a set of users ("friends") from one dashboard.

FriendFeed is a service that aggregates your various Web activity -- from posting on your personal blog, to what you voted for on Digg. Because many internet users are on more than one service, FriendFeed has come to replace the traditional blog as the quientessential "lifestreaming" service.

Social Reviews

Local business review site Yelp! shows how social reviews can make or break a company.

User submitted reviews at Amazon and the feedback system at eBay are two other examples of social review that can make or break a company (or product).

Social Media for Everyone

Social media has broad implications for businesses -- online or otherwise. There is at least one social media site for everyone:

• If you're a professional blogger / content publisher, you might pay attention to social news sites like Digg, Reddit, Delicious, and Stumble Upon.
• If you're a freelance designer/writer/whatever, LinkedIn is a social networking site that can help you land gigs.
• If you're a main street retailer or restaurant, you live and die by the reviews on Yelp!.
• And once the work day is over, you may want to kick back and catch up with your friends on Facebook.

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