9 Memorable Quotes in 2013from

Leaders in B2B Social Media

“Content marketing is one of the most cost effective methods of generating B2B leads.

When you turn off the funding you still continue to get leads for a long period of time. Unlike traditional advertising – when you stop advertising, the leads stop pouring in.

Same if you’re doing outbound lead generation – cold calling. If you stop, the leads stop.

With content marketing, not only is it cheaper up front, but once you have it in place, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Content Marketing: “The Gift That Keeps On Giving”

Greg Bardwell, CEO – the B2B Content Engine

“For strategic account managers, mostly guys over 40 doing high-level sales, it’s just not something that comes naturally to them. They want to sell you something, rather than get on social, answer questions and help others. They laugh whenever I say the word ‘Twitter’ in a sales meeting… it’s just off the map.

Social media offers some very inexpensive ways to get in front of people. It’s just a new way to engage and message and talk to people. And the time to do it is now.”

Why Older Salespeople Avoid Social Media

Chris McGovern – President, Emerging Marketing

“Social selling is a new area for salespeople; it was new for me 19 months ago. I just decided I was going to figure this out. I worked hard at it, and finally cracked the code. And when the code was cracked, the sales came.

Our job is to help people know we’ve been there. There’s a map we can draw. There are people there, and fabulous lands, and ways of doing things. And you can get results in sales dollars.

And the spoils are going to belong to the companies that want to get in front of this. On top of that, if you don’t get good at this, there will be a day you will be irrelevant.”

“The Spoils Belong to the Companies That Get in Front of This”

Sander Biehn – Principal Thought Horizons

“Social media is very time consuming and some of the tools can really help. But before you jump into the tools, you need a clear strategy and a good process behind it.‘Here is my plan, here are my goals, here’s the time I’m going to allocate to it, this is when I’m going to engage…’.

Once you’ve got a process in place, then you can choose the right tools to support the process. You might start off doing everything manually initially – and then use tools to speed up the process.”

Social Media Tools: “Before You Jump Into Tools...”

Ian Cleary – CEO Razorsocial

“If I told you 10 years ago that you could have your own TV show and broadcast anywhere in the world for free – would you? YouTube is not just kids with skateboards and talking cats; now it’s a channel like a TV network.

Would you rather go to a movie or read a book? Read a 25-page white paper or watch a two-minute video that tells you everything you need to know – and also shows you what you need to know?

Video is the next best thing to being there.”

“Video is the Next Best Thing To Being There”

Doug Lehman – Video Brand Ambassador

“Before I can teach someone what to do or how to do it, they need to understand why.

Why they should do it? Why it is in their best interests to do it? My program at Oracle starts with educating the sales professionals on the change in the buying process and helping them understand the buyer today is very different than the buyer 10 years ago.

Today’s buyer is digitally-driven, mobile, socially-connected, empowered with unlimited access to real-time information about business problems, products, companies, competitors. That’s why we start with the ‘why’… really helping these sales professionals understand, ‘Yes I get it’.”

How to Train 23,000 Salespeople In Social Selling

Jill Rowley – Social Selling Evangelist at Oracle

“Whether you’re big or small, consumer or B2B, it’s about being relevant to your customer.

Ultimately, what do the people you are trying to reach want to hear or learn about? How can your company take part in that conversation in a relevant and authentic way?

Social is not a perfect science. Our approach was to give people the tools and the guidelines, and they have the opportunity to leverage it. It’s not something you can really force upon somebody, they have to have an interest. But it’s relevant, especially for a digital company.”

What B2B Social Marketers Can Learn from Yahoo!

Robin Zucker – former head of social marketing at Yahoo!

“It’s significant how many conversations are happening online with your buyers right now. If sales people just turn their attention a little – maybe 30 minutes a day to social – they’ll find a lot more fruitful conversations, a lot more contextual conversations, are happening online.

Five years ago, the contact rate over the telephone was still north of 20%. Recent data shows it’s hovering around 10%. So you have to go where the buyers are, and it just happens that its social media.

Go where the dollars are. Frankly, if you are not going online and adding value to your buyers you’re missing the mark completely.”

Social Selling: “Go Where the Buyers Are”

Amar Sheth – Principal at Sales for Life

“Communities used to be a strategic initiative. We’ve fallen back into thinking of them as a marketing program.

Communities are being used to broadcast information, as a marketing tool, not as an opportunity for relationship building.

Due to the current failure rate - about 70% according to Gartner - we’re coming back to the future. Organizations are now starting to say, ‘Hey, this isn’t a tool. Communities are part of our strategic footprint. They’re a part of our customer and partner relations’.”

Online Communities: “Back to the Future”

Vanessa DiMauro – CEO, Leader Networks

A Big “Thank You” to the B2B Social Media Experts

To say I learned a lot by interviewing these experts in 2013 would be a huge understatement.

You can check out the full-length interviews at:

B2BMarketingPortal.com

The #1 Secret to Success inB2B Social Media?

The shortest, surest path to success in B2B social media is to learn by example. Learn from others who know what they’re doing.

That’s what B2B Social Media Masterminds is all about:

- Share case studies and success stories- Ask questions, get in-depth answers- Shorten the learning curve and avoid common mistakes

To find out more about B2B Social Media Mastermind groups, go to:

B2BMarketingPortal.com

B2B Social Media Masterminds