4. Interesting stats Source: Stelzner, M. (March 2009), WhitePaperSource. Social Media Marketing Industry Report . 72% of marketers have either just started or have been using social media for only a few months.
5. Interesting stats Source: Stelzner, M. (March 2009), WhitePaperSource. Social Media Marketing Industry Report . 64% spend 5+ hours weekly on social media & 39% 10+ hours
6. Social Media Marketing Benefits Source: Stelzner, M. (March 2009), WhitePaperSource. Social Media Marketing Industry Report .
7. Most common tools Source: Stelzner, M. (March 2009), WhitePaperSource. Social Media Marketing Industry Report .
In Summary: From a B2B Marketing Perspective, as Mike has shown, your prospects are out there and more accessible than ever before. Now, more than ever you have a greater opportunity to reach them. So in summary, you need to be there when your customers begin to search. This case study has been an example of how creating viral buzz, boosts search results, which ultimately drive greater traffic and sales. We do this by extending our “reach” Become a resource to your buyer Provide constant relevant, valuable content – such as a survey report In the B2B environment, its important to think about content for every step of the buying process Also, by using a variety of formats (video, email, tweets, reports, whitepapers), your reach becomes even greater – because every buyer consumes information differently 2) Next, elicit Response : The most interesting part is what happens after you reach the prospect and they respond. Allow them to respond more easily by removing locks via forms. Track responses on an anonymous level Continue to provide high-value content for eventual conversion 3) Develop Relationships : (As Mike has shown, through his success with the survey, you need to develop relationships, not just with prospects but also with influencers) Through lead nurturing, blogging and community involvement, you can deliver timely & personalized messages based on prospect profile and behavior From a long-term perspective, become a destination / resource and continue to deliver valuable content over time (which solidifies your expertise) You ultimate goal is to drive revenue, but you need to prove that what you’re doing is in fact driving revenue. If you’re lead nurturing prospects that you’ve acquired via social media, it must feed sales. If it doesn’t then its hasn’t fulfilled its promise. So, how do you track whether or not its feeding sales? You need a system in place that determines when a prospect demonstrates potential buying behavior, and you need a tool that allows you to track social media conversations (through tweets, blog posts etc.) all the way through to sales.
Notice, above the funnel, there are all sorts of activities happening– this is where the high-level content comes into play. Providing the right kind of content for your prospects at every step in the process. To the left of the funnel, you’ll notice these elements are relevant throughout the entire process– including post-sale. On the right, are all of the necessary components to convert a prospect from an anonymous visitor, through to a sale. In order to achieve this, a few things need to happen. Providing great content is not enough– you need to have a mechanisms in place, like web forms to capture personal information, once a prospect is read and willing to take the next step. You need to have a mechanism in place to help carry the buyer through the process. A marketing automation system is ideal for helping to nurture buyers through the process. It is crucial to be able to identify qualified prospects and get them into the hands of the appropriate sales rep in a timely manner.
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