Here are the top links to external sources that we tweeted this past week:

• A one-stop shop from Google for consumer trends, marketing insights and industry research. - #digital #marketing http://t.co/RS8dECdU
  
  
• Marketing Interactions blog by @ardath421 well worth a look for #b2b marketers - get a psychic pizza http://ow.ly/7kUXU #b2b #marketing
  
  
• A stats round-up of mobile commerce in the UK - good section on obsatcles - http://ow.ly/7kV54 Via @Econsultancy #mobile #marketing
  
  
• "Survey Finds a B2B Content Gap" - interesting, good stats on lead times, online frustrations and social media too - http://t.co/6KeOn9uD

For more links like these follow @WhatWorksOnline on Twitter

Here are the top links to external sources that we tweeted this past week:

• Trying to link social media and #email? This post is a good place to start (random share buttons is not) ow.ly/70wHq #b2b
  
  
• 10 informative B2B marketing infographics via @Econsultancy - j.mp/r4dN4u
  
  
• Marketers building a funnel - A good resource to have is this guide to lead nurturing from @Eloqua ow.ly/71P9Q #b2b
  
  
• Following closely the Storyboading & #UX series on @johnnyholland - Part 1 ow.ly/6ZAmR and Part 2 ow.ly/6ZAwH so far...

Here are the top links to external sources that we tweeted this past week:

• "Amateurish photoshoppers like I - Grab a copy of this, one page of useful shotcuts - ow.ly/6XgtL #design"
  
  
• "Reaching an audience on the move? This infographic on designing emails for mobile should help - ow.ly/6XfXM #b2b #email"
  
  
• "Need to swat-up on social media? This collection of @slideshare presentations is a good place to start - ow.ly/6VTuy #b2b #sm"
  
  
• "Increasing product engagement using #email - Good case study, relevant to #b2b products/services @MarketingSherpa - ow.ly/6UIvh"
  
  
• "Interested/intrigued by mobile ads? @Mojiva have a great showcase of mobile ads by type http://ow.ly/6SfDd #b2b #mobile"
  
  
• "Considering using infographics? Learn the 4 different types and what each is good for here - http://ow.ly/6SfyE Via @Eloqua #b2b"

In researching for our own forays into Facebook marketing here at Reed Business Information, I came across this brilliant list on Social Media B2B, a collection of 75 references to useful articles on the subject, organised into nice clear sub categories. A good first port of call for marketers wanting to get familiar with the platform.

Read it here: 75 of the Best B2B Facebook Marketing Tips

Making connections with the right people to get those all-important business contacts and sales leads is a lot like working the room at an event. You have to be able to approach the right people in the right way at the right time.

Finding the right room
The first thing you need to do is find the right room in which to work. LinkedIn is the obvious place to start, but there are also other places, such as specialist groups on Ning and on industry magazine community groups. On LinkedIn try searching the groups for specific keywords and check along your networks of customers for the groups they have joined. Also check your industry recognised magazine websites for the forums and community groups and see which ones have frequent interaction and conversation.

Starting the conversation
Now you are in the right room whatever you do, don't rush up to your customer with your business card and start giving them the sales pitch. It's not what they want to hear and it won't do you any favours. In a similar way to being at an event you need to have good conversation about the topics of that event. In this case you will be in a group around a specific subject, which you should know about. There are three stages to starting the conversation:

1. Listen - Start by listening to what people are talking about and are interested in. This will give you the information about what you need to brush up on and who are the current key contributors.
   
   
2. Respond - Answer questions and comment on people's posts, starting the interaction and slowly work your way into the group.
   
   
3. Create the conversation - Start conversations around relevant, interesting topics. These can be simple comments and questions about recent industry news or common problems faced by the industry. It doesn't have to be cutting edge, so long as it invites people to comment and is relevant and above all not selling something.
   
   

Soft sell
It's all about the soft sell, increasing your contacts and building up a reputation in that circle, so that when someone does need something, they come to you. Once established you can also start to approach people and arrange meetings offline to get a chance to finally deliver your sales pitch. It might seem like a lot of hard work, and it will be to begin with, but if you are looking for that extra 10% to reach your sales figures, then it's worth it.

Further information

• If you are going to try LinkedIn, then this guide is recommended - How to use LinkedIn for Business
• If you want to find potential people on Twitter try using the search tool, Tweetadder
• Ning is a good place to look for groups around specific industries.
  

Industry magazine community groups:

• Caterer & Hotelkeeper - Table Talk
• Community Care - Care Space 
• Farmers Weekly - FWi Space 
• Estates Gazette - Talking Property 
• Flightglobal - AirSpace 
• Hairdressers Journal - HJi forum 
• New Scientist - The Last Word 
• Personnel Today - HR Space 

At the beginning of this week, I had the chance to speak at the RICS Social Media Conference 2011 - essentially an introduction to social media for the property profession. 

A good social media policy is one that delivers user value while extending your brands reach. The interplay between someone's social media profile and your brand is so important as a positive endorsement requires an investment of time and enthusiasm. Most companies now have an element of social media on their sites, but here are some tips on extending your brand's reach.

1. Social integration - as social interaction gains ubiquity across the planet, plugging all activity into the social web is essential, allowing users to navigate between content and their social profile. From a technological perspective, social integration can take two key forms, both essential in reducing the barriers to a good social experience:

• At the most basic level, make sure your content links in effectively with the major social media platforms, either through widget plugins or through more complete integration. For example, Facebook now offers the ability to link in your comments with their functionality, seamlessly linking a comment and a Facebook profile.
• Adhere to open standards such as Oauth and Open ID to make sure users can link content between their social media profiles and your website using a single login.

Both these measures allow users to have a seamless experience between your brand and their own social media platforms. The ubiquity of sites such as Facebook means that this interaction is essential, the key caveat being is be sure you have ultimate control of your site's data, as this can be a big part of your business strategy,.

2. Profile building - make sure you advertise your relevant social media channels throughout your site, increasing user awareness while reinforcing the notion that your site is social.

3. Social campaigns - can you use those brands to push a marketing campaign or to interact with your users, whether through a simple Q&A or competition.

4. Push content - sometimes users just want your content delivered in a way that is most convenient to them. If they exclusively use Twitter for example, push your content out to them and segment it into a way that informs both the more general and more engaged users of your brand.

5. Social support - fully integrated support functions that allow users to get immediate feedback on a problem.

6. Social interaction - at the most basic level, social media is about showing the human side to your brand. Therefore the more you do it the more transparent your brand can be.

7. Think to the future -the landscape of social media trends changes so quickly that it is important you stay informed about growing trends. For example the growth of mobile is fundamentally changing the levels of access and interaction with your brand, with sites such as Foursquare using location as a social layer to capitalise on.

This video from Salesforce is a great case study for using online video. Youtube is now the second biggest search engine behind Google and Salesforce here show how, with a budget and a careful strategy, video can be an unparalleled medium for reaching customers and prospects.

I recently read one of MarketingSherpa's guides on integrating social media and email strategies to improve results.

The special report  features two case studies, one B2B and one B2C, which clearly show what they did and the staggering (in some cases) results they got.

 

 

View this article by Lawrence Mitchell (RBI-UK) at:
http://blogs.rbi.co.uk/information-marketing/2010/08/13-essential-b2b-b2c-social-ma.html