BLOGGING AND BEYOND:

B2B SOCIAL MEDIA

AMA B2B SIG

January 20, 2009

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– Web 2.0 overview– Is it important for B2B?– Guidelines and applications– Case studies– Key takeaways

Today’s Discussion

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The time is now

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New frontiers

Social media turned a corner in 2008– New sources of information and influence– We are no longer in control– Authenticity and openness are essential– Business conduct must be ethical and transparent– Social media/Web 2.0 is here to stay

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Continuing evolution

Digital divide between:– Converging marketing disciplines– Online/offline reputation management– Public and private communications– “Pros vs. Joes” (journalists and bloggers vs. anyone with

a computer)– Companies that get social media… and those getting left

behind

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Today’s reality

– Youtube.com is the new TV– Podcasts are the new radio– Blogs are the new newspapers– It’s all changing fast

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Social media guidelines

– This must become part of how we do business – Balance emphasis on social media with expertise in content– Incorporate social media strategies and tools into marketing

mix– Deliver the right message to the right audience via the right

medium– Unique opportunity to listen to, learn from and influence the

customer-led conversation

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Benefits of social media

– Deeper relationships with customers– Increased awareness for brand– Reach opt-in prospects who actually talk back– Better, two-way communication with audiences– Broadening of professional network– Search engine prominence– Increased web or blog traffic

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WHAT ABOUTB2B?

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Is it really for us?

– Despite the promise of Web 2.0 – 25% of respondents said they think social networks and online communities help build brand awareness – marketers face hurdles such as connecting these tactics to sales and measuring the impact of social media on buyers. (Forrester Survey, October 2008)

– Businesses of all shapes and sizes still haven’t unlocked the code for how to truly turn the hours puttered away on these Web sites into real business dollars. As with most things in business and life, half the battle is just showing up. We can debate the merits of social networking, but it’s a medium that’s here to stay. (Lawrence Walsh, Ziff Davis Media)

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– Customers can become passionate evangelists when B2B companies use social media as a channel for transparency and two-way communication

– Social media provides B-to-B companies with a chance to have conversations that you’d like to have one-on-one with every customer and prospect, but just can’t.

– Most B2B companies are optimistic but not yet optimized when it comes to social media

Can we afford to ignore it?

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Top 10 reasons to monitor social media

1. Complaints – catching something early shows responsiveness

2. Compliments – capture and share via Del.icio.us3. Expressed need – monitor key words, offer

assistance4. Competitors – reach out to customers proactively5. Crowds – watch for trends, spikes

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Top 10 reasons to monitor social media

6. Influencers – easy to identify via social media7. Crises – watch for triggers8. ROI – measure impact of efforts over time9. Audit – analyze sum of online

communications10.Threads – conversations across different

platforms

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RoadmapRole of Social Media in B2B– Monitor online conversation– Identify and reach prospects and influencers– Publish meaningful content in new ways– Experiment with social networks– Incorporate social media into communications outreach– Guide employee participation

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Blogs

– Every industry and niche has online influencers– Online buzz about a site or brand is priceless– Blogs deliver invaluable market research– Blogs can create a community of brand

ambassadors– Blogs are the number one resource for business

and trade media looking for sources and story ideas

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The big picture

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Why blog?– Serves as a home base for all social media

activity– Facilitates two-way conversation– Delivers search engine optimization benefits– Becomes powerful market research tool– Gives voice and personality to your brand– Attracts business and trade media attention– Translates into video, podcasts, e-newsletter

content

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Top B2B social networking sites

– LinkedIn> Groups> Answers> Search

– Twitter> Summize> Tweetscan> Twellow

– Ning> For niche communities

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Social networking fundamentals

– Profile– Content (think 70/20/10)– Contacts/followers– Search function– Other nuances vary by site

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CASE STUDIES

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Experience Columbus– Launch of edgy new destination marketing campaign– Goal: get local ambassadors talking and engaged– Hosted blogger event 7/31/08– Invited 50 and 35 bloggers attended – all 35 blogged– Results: overwhelming response, BUT thick skin

needed!– “The campaign may not have received four-star

reviews. But Experience Columbus certainly did.” ~Advergirl

– Results saved online at http://delicious.com/LaraK/ExperienceColumbus

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Ansell Safety Community

– First and only online networking community for industrial health and safety professionals

– Launched summer 2008 – nearly 1,000 members already sharing knowledge and networking

– Provides thought leadership opportunity, voice of customer research, opportunity to build relationships with customers and prospects

– Acts as social media hub with spokes leading to LinkedIn group, Myspace page, Facebook group, Twitter account

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GETTING STARTED

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Four Stages of Engagement

I. Listen

IV. EvaluateIII. Contribute

II. Participate

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• Create useful, meaningful content• Participate in larger conversations• Integrate into social networks• Provide a valuable service• Build relationships on and off-line

Contributing to the community

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– All in one: Whostalkin, Addict-o-matic– Blogs: Blogpulse, Google, IceRocket, Technorati– Podcasts: Digg– Twitter: Summize, Tweeterboard– Tags and Sharing: Delicious, StumbleUpon– YouTube and Flickr: Rankings/counters on-site– Forums: Board Tracker– Web Stats: Compete, Alexa, Google Analytics– Wikipedia Edits: Wikiscanner, wired.reddit

– Paid Services: Radian 6, CustomScoop, Nielsen Buzz Logic, Cyber Alert, Andiamo Systems

Monitoring/measurement tools

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Emerging PR 2.0 resources

– Blogger relations: engage with influencers > Targeted outreach via comments, trackbacks, tagging

– Microblogging/micro pitching> Twitter, Friendfeed

– Strategic use of social bookmarking sites> Delicious, StumbleUpon, Digg

– Online content placements> Yahoo, Google, AOL

– Social media news releases> PitchEngine, PRweb

– News release SEO tools> HubSpot’s pressreleasegrader.com

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Online reputation management– Google is your true home page– Show your best face online

> Check entries on Wikipedia, LinkedIn Companies

> Monitor and participate in blogs and message boards

– Respond when it makes sense> Reach out and fix problems where possible

– Remember that what you say to one person, one time online… you’re saying to everyone for all time

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1. Join – and really maximize – LinkedIn 2. Consider blogging to boost your business3. Begin social media monitoring/listening program4. Read industry blogs and join relevant socnets/communities 5. Join Twitter and try microblogging (70/20/10)

Five things to take away

QUESTIONS?Lara.Kretler@Fahlgren.com@LaraK on TwitterBlog at www.larakretler.com614-383-1618 (w)937-271-9151 (c)http://www.linkedin.com/in/larakretler