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Page 1: B2B Social Media POV

T H E O N L I N E

M O V E M E N T :

W H A T B 2 B

M A R K E T E R S

N E E D T O K N O W

Page 2: B2B Social Media POV

Our mission is to create ideas that build the fortunes of our clients. That means (among other things) staying on top of the changing

marketing and communications landscape and sharing our insights with our clients and friends. We hope you find our point of view of

interest. We welcome your thoughts and questions.

It may be time to throw away those brand books you accumulated in the 1990s. Web 2.0 has changed the rules.

And not just for the Amazons, Southwest Airlines, and Dells of the world. The online conversation has moved well beyond the retail, consumer and technology spaces. And it’s leaving businesses much more exposed than they’re accustomed to, or comfortable with. Tabling the social media discussion until next year, or the year after that, could be a costly mistake. And almost certainly will result in lost opportunities.

Online technology is growing at a thundering pace. It astounds even the most enlightened; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. No one can predict with certainty what’s next or what’s best. The only thing we know for sure is the way we communicate (and market our products and sell our services and build our brands) is very different than it was even five years ago – and it will continue to change – at an unprecedented and unpredictable speed.

It’s an exciting time in our industry. So much is possible.

“If you have a brand, you’re under threat ... and business-to-business

companies are most vulnerable.” Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, Forrester Research, Inc., Groundswell, Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

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H O W I M p O R T A N T I S T H I S , R E A L Ly ?

One thing has remained consistent over time. People – including your employees, customers, investors – love to share their opinions, ideas and experiences. They thrive on interaction. Of course, the difference today is they’re able to have these discussions online with dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people they haven’t even met before. And they are in complete control of when, where and how they will connect, and what they will experience. Individuals around the globe are logging in several times a day to learn about issues, explore industry trends, research specific brands and product benefits, and determine what companies they will do business with and/or invest in. They may never call you. They may never visit your physical facility or even your Web site. But they will form impressions of your brand. They will make judgments about the strength of your management team, the reliability of your products and the imagination of your people. They will make purchasing decisions. And they will influence others’ purchasing decisions. All from their laptop or hand-held device.

Virtually anyone can write a review, start a blog, post a comment, facilitate a discussion group, even ignite a movement. The snowball effect of online communication has shifted the balance of power. In The Long Tail, author Chris Anderson, credits the Web for “unifying the elements of a supply chain revolution that had been brewing for decades.” The Internet’s unlimited shelf space allows companies to serve niche markets with a variety of products, and do it cost-effectively. The same is true of news and information delivery. It’s not about the mainstream and the majority anymore. The Internet makes it possible for any company, news organization or citizen journalist to emerge overnight or, conversely, to spiral quickly downward without warning. The “groundswell,” as Forrester calls it, “is global, unstoppable and affects every industry … And it’s utterly foreign to the powerful companies and institutions – and their leaderships – that run things now.”

While there’s a good deal of debate over what we call it, where we house it and how we manage it, we’re here to tell you: It isn’t going away. And you really need to consider the implications and possibilities of the social Web in every aspect of your business.

85.3 percent of B2B buyers

surveyed would go online to research

purchases.

Source: Enquiro Business-to-Business Survey

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Source: The McKinsey Quarterly, “Building the Web 2.0”

Among Web 2 .0 technologies that companies use for business purposes, social networking ranks second in importance behind Web services, according to a 2008 global survey by The McKinsey Quarterly. Social networks ranked higher than wikis, podcasts, video sharing and RSS.

North America

(%)

Europe (%)

Asia-pacific (%)

China (%)

India (%)

Total (%)

Web services 57 62 45 48 58 58

Social networking 35 28 29 31 22 32

Blogs 37 21 48 35 46 31

Wikis 27 28 20 18 37 26

Video sharing 20 19 22 22 26 20

podcasts 20 20 21 7 23 18

RSS 18 17 7 15 14 16

peer-to-peer 9 13 12 22 11 12

prediction markets 7 9 5 14 6 9

Rating 7 9 7 4 9 8

Mashups 6 10 3 3 6 7

Tagging 6 6 4 4 7 6

M O S T I M P O R T A N T W E B 2 . 0 T E C H N O L O G I E S

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It’s also one of the most cost-effective research tools around. Still, fewer than 45 percent of B2B marketers have begun to use tactics like blogs, Webinars, podcasts and social networking, according to a 2009 study by Forrester. We think that number is going to rise, and rise quickly, over the next few years. We’ve all seen diminishing returns from mass advertising, the traditional trade show, static newsletters, and the one-size-fits-all press release. If our companies are going to thrive in the 21st century, we have to think and behave differently. That doesn’t mean abandoning proven strategies, but we do need to learn to use some tools differently, and think about adding a few new ones to the mix. Your customers want to know you, up close and personal. They want dialogue. They want to know that if something goes wrong, they can trust you to make it right. They want to understand the technology behind your product. They want to talk with your engineers about potential design enhancements. They want to discover new applications through your other customers. They want to know what’s coming next. And they want to feel involved in the process.

Social media allows you to connect more personally, frequently and cost efficiently with your customer (or other intended audience). Corporate brand messaging is not enough. Product information is not enough. Your customers are looking for a relationship. You know this better than we do. They want insight, thought leadership and guidance. Conventional marketing methods can’t deliver personality, perspective or credibility the way social media can.

A R E y O u T A L K I N g T O M E ?

If you are involved with your organization’s management, strategic planning, research, marketing, sales, advertising, public relations, investor relations, public affairs, human relations, legal counsel, product design, or customer service – and you haven’t at least started listening to the “conversation” – you’re missing a huge opportunity.

The best way to determine the potential role for social Web relations in your organization starts with simply paying attention to what’s being said about you online. Monitoring the conversation can give you valuable insight into your customer, alert you to product defects and other potential problems, provide usable product development ideas, arm you with up-to-the-minute competitive and market data, and reveal all kinds of other business opportunities.

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Many business-to-business marketers are projecting increases or no change in budgets for Internet-based programs, and anticipating budgets for traditional advertising to drop.

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Source: “B-to-B Marketing in 2009: Trends in Strategies and Spending,” a study by MarketingProfs Research Insight

A N T I C I P A T E D M A R K E T I N G B U D G E T

C H A N G E S B Y T A C T I C

Tactics usedMarketing Budget Changes

Decrease (%) No Change (%) Increase (%)

Company Web site 11 42 47

Search marketing 15 38 47

Online video, podcasts or rich media 16 43 42

Webinars, Webcasts 14 45 41

E-mail 11 50 39

Discussion forums, social networks or communities 11 53 36

Blogs 7 58 34

Executive breakfasts, seminars and events 25 43 32

Other Web 2.0 media 14 55 31

Inside sales/telemarketing 15 54 31

public relations 17 53 30

Online display ads: banner, pop-ups 31 42 28

Virtual trade shows 40 35 25

Direct mail 34 43 23

Radio 48 32 21

Trade shows, conferences (in person) 43 40 17

Outdoor media 54 31 15

print advertising 55 30 15

Sponsorships 40 46 14

TV advertising 51 36 13

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Then there’s the issue of transparency. Social media requires it. If you’re not transparent, you’re toast. End of discussion. The problem is: B2B marketers (and, by the way, B2C marketers as well) have worked hard and invested heavily in building their brands. A lot of research, analysis and planning went into developing message platforms. We know that consistency of message is critical. How do we manage our brand and reputation in this environment?

The sooner (and better) you understand the social Web, the sooner you’ll be in a position to make the new world work for you. Your customers are having experiences with your brand and talking about it; you can’t stop them. The same goes for your competitors. Your investors. Your employees. The media. People are going to voice – and sometimes broadcast widely – opinions about your brand. You need to listen and react to what they say. You need to figure out how to give them information and access that will enhance their brand experience. You need to correct misinformation, but also admit mistakes when you make them. We want to help you get the snowball of conversation going in the right direction. It’s a powerful thing.

W H E R E D O I S T A R T ?

While social media isn’t a magic bullet, we believe in today’s high-tech, high-touch environment; it can be an amazingly effective communications, marketing, research and relationship-building tool. But we know that with newness comes change and with change, a lot of questions. The five areas of concern we hear expressed most often are discussed in brief below.

Who’s going to do it? Where does the function belong? Who has the time?

These are fair questions. But, we all find ways to get things done when we’re committed to them and when we know they are going to help us achieve our business goals. So that’s the real question we need to ask ourselves. Will this deliver the desired business outcome? If not, don’t do it. If yes, divide and conquer.

As to who specifically participates in a social media initiative? It depends. Know this, though, the geek (and we use that term with great affection) doesn’t suddenly become the subject expert. And the subject expert doesn’t have to become a techie, either. Marketers and communicators who understand the social Web can help with things like audience segmenting, research, strategy and process development, content ideas, monitoring and analytics. But they don’t write the blog or participate in the online forum. The expert does. (Of course, in some cases, the marketing guy could be the “expert:” you get our point.)

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“Social media, done properly, is the closest thing yet to one-on-one

conversation between even the largest companies and the millions

of people they do business with ... In truth, your customers have

always “owned” your brand ... The difference with social media

is that you can listen to millions of people and learn, day-by-day,

how your brand is performing, where your company is strong,

and where you have work to do; and then, you can join in

the conversation and positively influence your brand for the better.”

Joel Postman, SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate

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What about the whole competitive issue? Why would any company want to tell anyone – let alone its biggest competitors – about its next product rollout, its proprietary processes, what R&D is working on, how they solved a customer problem, how they acquire new customers? Are you insane?

It is in the DNA of business-to-business companies to be extremely cautious about any sharing of information, particularly when it comes to customer relationships and new product development. It’s easy to treat everything as a trade secret and avoid dialogue with the public. But the direction in all business sectors is toward greater openness. Consumer behavior is changing – globally – and your customers are part of this new consumer culture. These new expectations will surely carry over to you. When you discuss information in an open forum, including ideas that may not be perfect or polished, you will build credibility with your audiences. Where you limit public access and remain closed with your information, you will build suspicion. Now is the time to make smart discriminations about what can be shared with key audiences seeking real-time dialogue with you.

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“If your products suck and your customers

hate you, you probably have good reason to

fear negativity ... For most companies it isn’t an issue ...

unhappy customers are a fact of life ... In the

same way that a ‘no comment’ is seen as

the quintessential pR dodge, refusing to

acknowledge and respond to customer concerns

is simply an invitation to more criticism.”

Paul Gillin, Secrets of Social Media Marketing

What will legal say? Will they make time to review every post and comment?

Let’s hope not! In all seriousness, we know corporate counsel can be a tough sell. After all, it’s legal’s job to protect the company from litigation and liability. It’s tough to expand your company’s exposure to the market and at the same time reduce its exposure from a legal standpoint. But there are ways to manage these issues. For example, many companies establish parameters for online comments by company associates. In the most conservative cases, there may be guidelines identifying the limits of what can be said, which areas are off limits and which are open for personal perspective, reflection or interpretation. In the case of company-sponsored forums or blogs, you can opt to review posts/comments before they’re published – especially initially, as everyone gets comfortable with the idea. Your company also has a right to remove comments that do not follow posted guidelines. Discussion groups can be by invitation only and can be password protected. A clear and pervasive mission helps, too. A company with high integrity that trusts and values its employees, customers and shareholders will be able to make the leap.

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u . S . B 2 B A D S p E N D I N g O N S O C I A L N E T W O R K S I T E S

And finally, what’s the value? What’s it going to do for me? How am I going to measure the return on investment? And at what cost? What do we have to throw off the bus in order to get on board with this?

There are technologies and service providers working hard to perfect social media monitoring and measurement. In the meantime, we can learn a lot simply from the content and quality of the conversation. The ability to know and understand your customers’ concerns and be able to respond to them personally – in real time – is certainly valuable. Further, you can very easily detect peaks and valleys in the volume of online conversation, and compare that to Web hits, inquiries, sales, advertising schedules, or any number of other metrics. Also, social media is relatively cheap – or at least has the potential to be. There’s no printing, little (if any) production, and often no charge for space. And because Web 2.0 lends itself quite nicely to targeting specific demographics, behavior and work styles, there’s very little waste. But the question of value is more complex than that. And it really requires an examination of your specific situation, audience, and desired outcomes. Social Web planning and measurement should consider – and ideally be integrated into – your overall business, marketing and communication plans.

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Source: eMarketer, August 2008

eMarketer says U.S. marketers will spend $80 million in 2009 advertising to a business audience on social network sites. The market has seen huge growth in the past two years and is expected to exceed $200 million by 2012. And by 2012, U.S. B2B social network ad spending is expected to reach $210 million.

Includes display, rich media, search, widgets, applications and other forms of advertising targeted to a business audience on any social network.

More than 80 percent of companies believe that

social media is most effective in accomplishing brand-building

goals, followed closely by goals for attracting Web site visitors.

But marketers obsessed with only tracking social media

results quantitatively are missing the point and

may find themselves employing much less effective

social media tactics for the sake of measurability.

“2009 Social Media Marketing and PR Benchmark Guide,” MarketingSherpa LLC

2007 $15

2008 $40 (169%)

2009 $80 (99%)

2010 $125 (55%)

2011 $165 (32%)

2012 $210 (27%)

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I N T E G R A T I N G

S O C I A L M A R K E T I N G

I N T O T H E M I x

listen

engage

create a content and

strategy

set objectives

facilitate and amplify

track and evaluate

identify influencers and tools

Social marketing should be considered within the context of overall business, marketing and communication goals.

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Description Owner Risk Reward

Social Networking (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook)

Active listening, reading and commenting on blogs, message boards, forums, chat rooms, microblogs and other user-generated content

LinkedIn has more than 38 million members in over 200 countries, representing 170 industries

Facebook is used over 34 million times every day

Industry-specific networks are gaining popularity (e.g., Toolbox, LawLink and the ACS Network)

Marketing, public relations, customer service, HR, product development – virtually anyone (everyone) in the company

Exposure

Lack of conversation control

Builds relationships with customers, prospects, employees and other key stakeholders

Helps you monitor issues – making you smarter about your business, industry, customers, competitors and other key influencers

Allows you to identify and correct problems or misperceptions and respond to customer concerns in a timely fashion

Sparks ideas for product development

Blogs (Authoring)

Personal journal of “posts,” usually with links and photos

Should be updated regularly – at least once per week, ideally more often

CEO, product designer, engineer, marketing manager, HR – anyone with passion and ideas who can represent your company well

May have multiple authors

Requires time from committed person(s)

Requires transparency and does not permit a lot of corporate oversight

Must be open to criticism

Lets you connect regularly, easily and inexpensively with customers and otherconstituents

Positions execs as experts, company as thought leaders

Humanizes the organization, building credibility

Can showcase products, etc. Helps SEO

S O M E O F T H E p I E C E S p A R T S

We’ve talked about the social Web in fairly abstract terms. And there’s good reason for that. One of the big benefits to communicating in the social Web space is the ability – in truth, the requirement – to personalize. Your approach will be necessarily different from other companies with different audiences, brands, objectives, budgets, histories, cultures, CEOs ... the list goes on. But, it’s worth taking a look at some of the more commonly used tools, platforms and technologies associated with social media.

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Description Owner Risk Reward

podcasts Regularly scheduled and updated online audio programming

Audio can be downloaded to a computer or MP3 player

AV, marketing or communication professional

Time and cost associated with content development, production and driving traffic

Educational opportunities

Completely control the message

Mobile

Constant, flowing news/information

SEO

Webcasts Broadcast Internet using streaming media technology

AV, Web, marketing or communication professional

Time and cost associated with content development, production and driving traffic

Simultaneous interaction between users

Great educational tool

Lead generation

Online Video, presentation and photo Sharing (e.g., youTube, SlideShare, Flickr, myebook)

Company-created videos, PowerPoints and images uploaded to the Internet, available for simultaneous viewing

The audiovisual counterpart to blogs

AV, marketing or communication professional

Time and cost associated with content development, production and driving traffic

Brings ideas to life, i.e., a picture is worth 1,000 words

Great for education, demonstration and interaction

Potential to become “viral”

SEO

Description Owner Risk Reward

Instant Messaging

Web applications serving as real-time, text-based instant communication between two or more people on the Internet

Web, marketing or communication professional

Immediate response required to questions and requests

Allows personal and real-time conversation

Forums, Message Boards, Chat Rooms

Online discussion that allows people to participate when and how they choose

Your company can facilitate and/or participate in discussions hosted by others

Facilitators are most often chief marketing officers, product managers/developers, division heads, chief engineers/scientists, industry administrators

Time investment

No conversation control

Provides a platform to monitor issues, trends and customer sentiment, allowing you to quickly flag and address potential crises before they evolve Provides opportunities for insight and testing Demonstrates your technology prowess and interest in industry

Virtual Trade Show(e.g., unisfair)

A temporary, live, virtual space allowing similar users to connect with one another without travel, via the Internet

Marketing or communication professional

Less personal interaction with target customers/ audiences

Simultaneous live interaction between users on multiple levels

Opportunity to connect with key audiences

Lower cost and time commitment than traditional trade shows

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Description Owner Risk Reward

Wiki (e.g., Wikipedia)

A Web site updated and modified by various levels of users, including readers, editors and administrators

Web, marketing or communication professional

Accuracy of information

Time investment

Effective knowledge/data sharing tool

Sparks collaboration

Web Apps(e.g., widgets, iphone applications, Facebook applications, etc.)

Applications on a browser or other platform blog designed for a specific function – examples include news feeds, weather guides, quizzes and games

Web, marketing or communication professional

Time to create Expansion of online community presence

Encourages Web visits, interaction

Potential to become “viral”

Real Simple Syndication (RSS)

Notifies blog subscribers of new postings and site updates

Web, marketing or communication professional

Time to create/update

Allows key audience members to receive news/ information updates immediately

Creates a following of people interested in your organization

Description Owner Risk Reward

Microblogging (e.g., Twitter, yammer)

A combination of blogging, instant messaging and news feed. Can be an open or private network

Limited space for posting updates available – in most cases, 140 to 160 characters

eMarketer reports 12 million are tweeting in 2009 and projects Twitter users will jump to >18 million in 2010

CEO, marketer, product manager, HR, customer service – anyone with knowledge and dedication to your organization

Must have the capacity to actively listen and participate in real-time conversations

Requires time and transparency

No conversation control

Facilitates easy, immediate, frequent communication with audience

Provides a face/personality behind the organization and builds personal relationships with stakeholders

Provides a platform for customer service

Helps drive traffic to other social networking platforms and Web sites

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Organic

• Pay-per-click

Techniques to help your brand(s) come up early and often in search engine keyword searches

Organic SEO is done through Web site structure, content, social networking and internal and external links. (Organic search results are used 74 percent more often by B2B buyers than paid results)

Paid SEO (also called pay-per-click) guarantees placement, much like paid media advertising

Unpaid: SEO professional/team, Web master or interactive team member

Paid: Preferably a certified SEM professional working with interactive team

May be con-sidered costly, depending on industry, selected keywords and strategy employed

Paid search is short-lived

Ensures prospects, customers and other key constituents find you when they are in decision- making mode

Increases awareness

Positions company as leader and executives as experts

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Description Owner Risk Reward

Tags Keywords attached to a blog post or Web site, working to distinguish your post from other information on the Internet

Web, marketing or communication professional

N/A Helps search optimization

Online Advertising

Internet real estate designated for promoting online business and driving consumer traffic

Web, marketing, media communication professionals

Cost

Less credibility

Drives traffic to company site and increases visibility on the Internet

Builds brand

Can be highly interactive and/or educational

Maintains control of message, design and delivery

R E C O M M E N D E D R E A D I N g

We hope we’ve convinced you to take the next step. Even if it’s just listening. Or reading a book, or a blog or two. Following are some of our personal favorites:

Forrester Research, Inc., Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, 2009 – the bible, as far as we’re concerned

Jeremiah Owyang (Forrester), www.web-strategist.com/blog

The Society for New Communications Research, www.sncr.org

SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate by Joel Postman, 2009

Scott Monty (Ford), scottmonty.com

Paul Dunay, buzzmarketingfortech.blogspot.com

Charlene Li, blog.altimetergroup.com

The NewPR/Wiki, www.thenewpr.com

Seth Godin, sethgodin.typepad.com

Secrets of Social Media Marketing by Paul Gillin, 2009

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[email protected]

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