This document discusses why social media is important for businesses. It notes that most business buyers now use social media as part of their research process before contacting companies. As such, businesses need to participate in social media to engage with prospects early in their decision making. The document provides an overview of common social media platforms and advises businesses to establish a presence on the major sites using their company or brand name to represent themselves and monitor what prospects are saying online.

1. A

2. Marketo

3. Workbook
www.marketo.com

4. Why

5. Should

6. I

7. Read

8. ?
Social

9. media

10. is

11. here

12. to

13. stay. This

14. guide

15. shows

16. you

17. how

18. to

19. use

20. social

21. media

22.
to

23. drive

24. new

25. business

26. and

27. revenue.

28. Whether

29.
And,

30. while

31. consumer

32. marketers

33. may

34. have

35.
taken

36. the

37. lead

38. in

39. harnessing

40. its

41. power,

42. B2B

43. social

44. media

45. plan,

46. this

47. guide

48. is

49. your

50. go-­‐to

51.
handbook.

52.
As

53. discussed

54. in

55.
,

56. B2B

57. buyers

58. are

59. spending

60. a

61. lot

62. more

63.
-­‐
of

64. social

65. media

66. opportunity

67. out

68. there.

69.
Like

70. it

71. or

72. not,

73. social

74. media

75. plays

76. a

77. huge

78. role

79. in

80.
the

81. new

82. B2B

83. decision-­‐making

84. process.

85. As

87.
a

88. B2B

89. marketer,

90. you

91. need

92. to

93. learn

94. to

95. leverage

96.
©

97. 2010

98. Marketo,

99. Inc.

100. All

101. rights

102. reserved. 03

103. Part

104. One
What

105. is

106. Social

107. Media

108. and

109. Why

110. Does

111. My

112. Business

113. Need

114. It?
©

115. 2010

116. Marketo,

117. Inc.

118. All

119. rights

120. reserved. 04

121. Part

122. One

123.
What

124. is

125. Social

126. Media

127. and

128. Why

129. Does

130. My

131. Business

132. Need

133. It?

134.
Because

135. prospects

136. are

137. more

138. likely

139. to

140.
Before

141. Google,

142. the

143. primary

144. way

145. a

146. prospect

147. click-­‐through

148. to

149. third-­‐party

150. reviews

151. or

152. blog

153.
-­‐ Types

154. of

155. Online

156. Sources

157. Visited

158. for

159. Company,

160. Brand

162.
by

163. engaging

164. directly

165. with

166. a

167. sales

168. person.

169.
(which

170. in

171. turn

172. makes

173. social

174. content

175. more

176.
tradeshows,

177. PR

178. and

179. print

180. media.

181. Direct

182. mail

183. their

184. way

185. to

186. your

187. company

188. website,

189. they

190. will

191.
typically

192. contact

193. your

194. company

195. only

196. when

197.
all

198. new

199. leads

200. –

201. hot

202. or

203. cold

204. –

205. to

206. the

207. sales

208. team

209. way,

210. social

211. media

212. leads

213. present

214. a

215. unique

216. lead

217.
for

218. follow-­‐up.

219. nurturing

220. challenge,

221. and

222. a

223. huge

224. opportunity

225.
companies

226. started

227. to

228. focus

229. on

230. search

231. engine

232.
marketers

233. keen

234. to

235. build

236. brand,

237. buzz,

238. and

239.
awareness

240. –

241. and

242. generate

243. leads

244. –

245. are

246.
such

247. as

248. whitepapers

249. and

250. webinars

251. to

252. convert

253.
sales,

254. and

255. invested

256. in

257. lead

258. scoring

259. and

260. lead

261.
the

262. rest. prospects.

263. It

264. starts

265. by

266. sharing

267. relevant

268.
channels

269. before

270. they

271. ever

272. give

273. you

274. their

275.
names.

276. These

277. changes

278. are

279. already

280. having

281.
LinkedIn,

282. YouTube

283. and

284. SlideShare

285. drive

286. a

287.
challenge.
web.

288. According

289. to

290. Forrester

291. Research¹,

292. 77%

293. of

294.
social

295. media. “The

296. Social

297. Technographics®

298. Of

299. Business

300. Buyers”

301. report.
©

302. 2010

303. Marketo,

304. Inc.

305. All

306. rights

307. reserved. 05

308. Part

309. One

310.
What

311. is

312. Social

313. Media

314. and

315. Why

316. Does

317. My

318. Business

319. Need

320. It?
important

321. to

322. decide

323. what

324. your

325. social

328. –

329. view

330. search

331. engine

332. results

333. more

334.
represent

335. your

336. brand.

337.
relate

338. to

339. your

340. brand

341. to

342. see

343. what

344. others

345. are

346. Alert

347. for

348. your

349. company

350. name.

351. You

352. may

353. get

354.
company

355. name

356. or

357. brand

358. name

359. (as

360. opposed

361. to

362. saying

363. about

364. you.

365. Here

366. are

367. a

368. few

369. of

370. the

371. most

372.
names

373. on

374. the

375. social

376. sites

377. you

378. want

379. to

380. use.

381. If

382. people

383. are

384. saying

385. about

386. you

387. at

388. no

389. cost.
someone

390. has

391. already

392. reserved

393. the

394. name

395. you

397. –

398. search

399. for

400. your

401. brand

402. or

404.
want

405. to

406. use,

407. you

408. may

409. be

410. able

411. to

412. get

413. it

414. back

416. –

417. a

418. more

419.
7

420. to

421. 10

422. days–older

423. tweets

424. are

425. lost

426. unless

427. you

428.
simpler

429. to

430. choose

431. another

432. name.

433. engine.

434.
To

435. see

436. if

437. your

438. preferred

439. user

440. or

441. company

443. –

444. search

445. all

446. public

447. content

448. across

449. many

450. social

451. media

452. channels
name

453. is

454. available

455. across

456. many

457. sites,

458. use

459. a

460. including

461. everything

462. posted

463. in

464. public

465. fan

466.
personal

467. pages

468. may

469. restrict

470. what

471. you

472. can

473. see.

474.
usernamecheck.com). Social

475. media

476. monitoring

477. tools,

478. such

479. as

480. Visible

481.
A

482. company

483. account

484. using

485. a

486. company

487. name

488.
tends

489. to

490. be

491. used

492. for

493. the

494. purpose

495. of

496. sharing

497. annual

498. fee.
and

499. industry,

500. and

501. how

502. people

503. responded.

505.
Social

506. media

507. monitoring

508. will

509. also

510. help

511. you

512.
case

513. studies.

514. These

515. corporate

516. accounts

518. –

519. many,

520. like

521. Google,

522. capture

523. decide

524. where

525. to

526. get

527. started

528. when

529. beginning

530.
prospects,

531. partners

532. and

533. customers.

534.
be

535. hard

536. to

537. use

538. due

539. to

540. sheer

541. volume

542. of

543.
results.

544. Search

545. engines

546. may

547. not

548. display

549. blog

550. number

551. of

552. customers.
©

553. 2010

554. Marketo,

555. Inc.

556. All

557. rights

558. reserved.

559. Part

560. One

561.
What

562. is

563. Social

564. Media

565. and

566. Why

567. Does

568. My

569. Business

570. Need

571. It?
How

572. to

573. Customize

574. Social

575. Sharing According

576. to

577.
The

578. challenge

579. with

580. social

581. sharing,

582. especially

583. for

584. content

585. in

586. e-­‐mails

587.
your

588. CRM

589. system,

590. you

591. can

592. respond

593. to

594. them

595. or

596. and

597. on

598. landing

599. pages,

600. is

601. customizing

602. the

603. message

604. that

605. is

606. going

607. to

608. be

609.
shared.

610. This

611. means

612. sharing

613. more

614. than

615. a

616. URL

617. by

618. adding

619. the

620. content

621.
On

622. average,

623. nurtured

624. leads
pass

625. them

626. to

627. sales.

628. This

629. is

630. called

631. “Social

632. CRM”

633. produce

634. a

635. 20

636. percent

637. increase

638.
and

639. is

640. discussed

641. in

642. further

643. detail

644. in

645. the

646. “B2B

647. that

648. share

649. your

650. content

651. in

652. social

653. media

654. are

655. easy

656. to

657. create.

658. This

659. can

660. be

662. versus

664. done

665. in

666. e-­‐mail

667. or

668. landing

669. pages

670. for

671. many

672. social

673. media

674. sites

675. including

676.
nonnurtured

677. leads.

679.
Social

680. media

681. also

682. makes

683. it

684. easy

685. for

686. others

687. to

688.
share

689. your

690. content.

691.
A

692. simple

693. way

694. to

695. make

696. your

697. website

698. and

699. blog

700.
social

701. media-­‐friendly

702. is

703. to

704. use

705. a

706. plug-­‐in,

707. such

708.
as

709. ShareThis

710. or

711. AddThis.

712. These

713. sites

714. add

715. a

716.
small

717. bar

718. or

719. picture

720. to

721. a

722. blog

723. post

724. or

725. web

726.
page

727. that

728. allows

729. content

730. to

731. be

732. distributed

733. to

734.
hundreds

735. of

736. sites.

739.
©

740. 2010

741. Marketo,

742. Inc.

743. All

744. rights

745. reserved. 07

746. Part

747. One

748.
What

749. is

750. Social

751. Media

752. and

753. Why

754. Does

755. My

756. Business

757. Need

758. It?

759.
overcomes

760. B2B

761. buyers

762. when

763. trying

764. to

765. solve

766. a

767. other

768. users

769. will

770. start

771. to

772. think

773. likewise.

774.
You

775. can

776. also

777. use

778. widgets

779. on

780. your

781. web

782. pages

783.
comments

784. –

785. all

786. in

787. the

788. spirit

789. of

790. openness

791. that

792.
characterizes

793. social

794. media.
help

795. increase

796. their

797. credibility

798. and

799. allay

800. their

801.
resource

802. for

803. marketers,

804. displays

805. tweets

806.
about

807. an

808. upcoming

809. conference

810. on

811. the

812. home

813.
that

814. you

815. value

816. transparency,

817. are

818. open

819. to

820. page

821. of

822. the

823. conference

824. website

825. –

826. unsolicited

827.
feedback,

828. and

829. can

830. be

831. trusted

832. as

833. a

834. vendor.

837.
One

838. way

839. that

840. Marketo

841. incorporates

842. social

843.
press

844. stories,

845. blog

846. posts,

847. case

848. studies

849. and

850.
company

851. website

852. to

853. these

854. “favorites.”

855. By

856.
widget

857. on

858. a

859. web

860. or

861. landing

862. page.

863. If

864. you

865. use

866. doing

867. so,

868. prospects

869. can

870. quickly

871. and

872. easily

873. see

874.
content

875. on

876. your

877. web

878. or

879. landing

880. page,

881. users

882. product.

883.
©

884. 2010

885. Marketo,

886. Inc.

887. All

888. rights

889. reserved. 08

890. Part

891. One

892.
What

893. is

894. Social

895. Media

896. and

897. Why

898. Does

899. My

900. Business

901. Need

902. It?

903. –

904. such

905. as

906. status

907. updates

908.
that

909. praise

910. your

911. product,

912. fan

913. pages,

914. etc.

915.
market

916. based

917. on

918. demographics,

919. behavior,

920. or

921. a

922.
but

923. highly

924. targeted

925. because

926. the

927. social

928.
network

929. can

930. use

931. demographics,

932. behavior

933. or

934.
With

935. millions

936. of

937. unique

938. visits

939. taking

940. place

941. on

942.
there

943. are

944. interested

945. eyes

946. ready

947. to

948. look

949. at

950. their

951.
audience.
that

952. currently

953. shows

954. no

955. signs

956. of

957. slowing

958.
down.
audience

959. is.
Many

960. social

961. media

962. sites,

963. such

964. as

965. LinkedIn

966.
business.

967. These

968. programs

969. are

970. very

971. similar

972.
banner

973. ad

974. promotes

975. your

976. company.

977. You

978. pay

979.
for

980. impressions

981. or

982. click

983. throughs

984. generated

985. by

986.
your

987. ad.
©

988. 2010

989. Marketo,

990. Inc.

991. All

992. rights

993. reserved.

994. Part

995. One

996.
What

997. is

998. Social

999. Media

1000. and

1001. Why

1002. Does

1003. My

1004. Business

1005. Need

1006. It?
out

1007. your

1008. company

1009. rather

1010. than

1011. the

1012. other

1013.
way

1014. around.

1015. Take

1016. a

1017. look

1018. at

1019. the

1020. graph,

1021.
which

1022. represents

1023. the

1024. raw

1025. lead-­‐to-­‐oppor-­‐
tunity

1026. conversion

1027. rates

1028. that

1029. Marketo

1030. has

1032.
Of

1033. course,

1034. the

1035. real

1036. value

1037. lies

1038. in

1039. the

1040. number

1041.
that

1042. leads

1043. generated

1044. from

1045. word-­‐of-­‐mouth

1046. KEY
and

1047. other

1048. inbound

1049. leads

1050. result

1051. in

1052. far

1053. more

1054. Inbound
al
inbound

1055. lead

1056. lies

1057. in

1058. its

1059. inherent

1060. higher

1061. level

1062.
of

1063. interest,

1064. because

1065. the

1066. lead

1067. sought

1068. out

1069. your

1070.
company.

1071.
these

1072. valuable

1073. inbound

1074. leads

1075. because

1076. it

1077.
the

1078. risk

1079. or

1080. the

1081. hassle

1082. of

1083. making

1084. a

1085. change.

1086. He

1087. cares

1088. about

1089. who

1090. you

1091.
know

1092. and

1093. what

1094. other

1095. people

1096. will

1097. think

1098. when

1099. he

1100. tells

1101. them

1102. what

1103.
risk.

1104. Social

1105. media

1106. provides

1107. the

1108. buyer

1109. with

1110.
The

1111. opportunity,

1112. then,

1113. is

1114. not

1115. to

1116. insist

1117. that

1118. your

1119. customers

1120. get

1121. more

1122.
leads.
them

1123. what

1124. they

1125. need.”

1126.
©

1127. 2010

1128. Marketo,

1129. Inc.

1130. All

1131. rights

1132. reserved. 010

1133. Part Two
Laying the Foundation
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 011

1134. Part Two
Laying the Foundation
Social media holds tremendous opportunities for B2B companies looking
to drive new business and increase revenue, but only if you first develop a
solid foundation and an understanding of what makes the world of social
media tick.
CHECKLIST – Is Your Company Ready for Social Media?
Don’t jump into social media just because everyone else is doing it. Here’s a checklist designed to help you
determine if your organization is ready and, if so, how to make your efforts successful.
y company has clear goals for social media. Be as specific as you can (e.g. increase lead conversion
M
rates, increase the number of qualified leads, build awareness measured by online traffic, decrease
the time needed to resolve customer service issues, etc.) and keep these objectives in mind for every
initiative you execute.
e have the human resources to commit to social media. Before you start a corporate blog or
W
Twitter account, ask yourself if you can allocate the resources needed. Social media is about real-time
response and continuously updated information—both of which require commitment and dedication.
produce enough quality content to sustain social media conversations. Content feeds the social
We
media beast. Audit your existing marketing assets and identify the educational pieces—these perform
much better in social media than traditional sales collateral.
know which social media sites are popular with our prospects and customers. Do your research
We
and focus your energy and investments where your audiences are.
ur company website is prepared for social media attention. Before you set up multiple social media
O
profiles and pages, make sure your own website is in good enough shape to handle the attention (i.e.
you’re proud of the way it looks and works). And be sure you have a plan in place to market to the
leads generated.
e’re ready to incorporate social media strategies throughout the buying process. Social media
W
is not just for the top of the demand generation funnel. It’s important to monitor and track your
prospects and customers throughout the revenue cycle.
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 12

1135. Part Two
Laying the Foundation
ACTION ITEMS – Developing a B2B Social WORKSHEET – Your B2B Social Media Plan Our Example:
Media Plan and Social Media Policy Developing a social media plan is similar to Name John Smith
Although it’s tempting to dive right into the developing any other strategy. While there is
various social media sites out there, you need no standard approach, the basic components Age 31
to develop a social media plan first. Goals and can be addressed by answering these simple Title Director of IT
metrics will help ensure that the time and questions:
Industry Commercial Real Estate
resources your organization invests in social
media are well spent. Because social media • WHO – Who are you targeting with social Buyer Role Influencer
is pervasive and easy to participate in, it’s media? Preferred communication method - Personal E-mail, Facebook, Twitter
important to have guidelines that structure • HOW – How can you deploy social media
your efforts and prevent any scenarios tactics for measureable success? Preferred communication method - Professional E-mail, SMS
that might have a negative impact on your • WHAT – What goals or objectives do you Preferred social media sites – Personal Facebook, Twitter, Digg
company. want to accomplish?
Time spent on social media – Personal 1 hour per day
Who are you targeting with social media? Preferred social media sites – Professional LinkedIn, SlideShare
This should be the easiest question to
Time spent on social media - Professional 2 hours per day
answer. Who are you targeting? Prospects?
Customers? Media? All of the above? Once
you’ve decided on the targets, flesh out
the defining characteristics of each group. Your Turn:
If you’ve already read The Definitive Guide Name
to Lead Nurturing, you know about the
Age
importance of developing buyer personas: a
fictional character who represents a target Title
group. Start by listing the characteristics you Industry
would have for a typical buyer persona, but
add a social media dimension to it. Buyer Role
Preferred communication method - Personal
Preferred communication method - Professional
Preferred social media sites – Personal
Time spent on social media – Personal
Preferred social media sites – Professional
Time spent on social media - Professional
Adding a social media dimension to buyer personas
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 13

1136. Part Two
Laying the Foundation
How can you deploy social media tactics for measureable success?
In the next section of this guide, “Social Media Tactics and Metrics,” we’ll address a number of different
tactics that you can employ to achieve the business results you’re seeking through social media. Select a few
that you think will have the most impact on your organization and start with those.
Our Example: Your Turn:
Social Media Tactics and Key Metrics for ABC Company
Social Media Tactic Key Metrics Social Media Tactic Key Metrics
Blogging • Number of posts
• Audience growth ‐ unique and returns
• umber of conversions (e.g. prospect to lead, lead to
N
opportunity, etc.)
• onversion rate (depends on your specific conversion
C
goals)
• Subscribers
• Inbound links
• Technorati, Alltop, and other directory listings
• SEO improvements
Social networks • Number of posts
• Referrals from social networks
• Reach friends from social networks
• Velocity at which friends are built
• Influence of friends from social networks
• umber of conversions (e.g. prospect to lead, lead to
N
opportunity, etc.)
• onversion rate (depends on your specific conversion
C
goals)
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 14

1137. Part Two
Laying the Foundation
What do you want to accomplish and what are your distinct action items for each As with any new strategy, try
goal? and test a variety of social media
tactics to see which has the most
Social media requires time, effort and resources. Take the tactics you’ve just significant impact on your goals.
decided on and associate clear goals, objectives and action items for each one. For more information on standard
social media tactics, objectives and
metrics, go to: http://www.marketo.
com/library/Social%20Media%20
Plan%20Template.pdf.
Our Example: Your Turn:
Social Media Tactic: Blogging Social Media Tactic:
Time Invested: 2 hours daily Time Invested:
Short-term objective #1: Increase brand awareness Short-term objective #1:
• Create blog publication schedule
• Add RSS button
• romote thought leadership through blog postings
P
on industry best practices
Short-term objective #2: Increase engagement Short-term objective #2:
• Respond to comments within 24 hours
• Add links to blog on website and in e-newsletter
• nvite relevant guest bloggers and market to their
I
networks
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 15

1138. Part Two
Laying the Foundation
Social Media Policy Set up a basic set of ground rules.
The social media landscape can feel Consider some basic tenets that you’d like
unstructured. That’s why it pays to have your company to follow when it comes to
a social media policy to guide the actions participation. Intel has a great example of this
of everyone in your organization that will in its social media policy under a section called
participate in social media. It’s also essential “Rules of Engagement”.
to monitor what’s being said and provide
guidelines on how to respond appropriately Address how employees, contractors
(without making your employees feel like and consultants should engage with and
they’re being censored). contribute to social media.
Decide how your organization will want to
A formalized document will help protect your engage as a social media participant and
company in a legal sense, while ensuring that contributor. Will your company’s social media
you’re acting consistently across all social conversations come from a single person or
media sites, reinforcing your brand and value will everyone in your company participate?
in the marketplace (a bit like a corporate style Will social media be used as a customer
guide). Here are some suggestions: service function, marketing tool or for
product marketing research? Be as explicit as
Define what social media means for your possible, and consider all the possible ways
company. that people could go wrong, without being
When people think of social media, some overly dramatic. Remember, your policy is
think strictly in terms of Facebook and an opportunity to get your company excited
LinkedIn, while others would automatically about contributing to social media sites. A great example of a social media policy (“Intel Social
add Digg and Flickr to the mix. Use your Media Guidelines” at:
social media policy to define what the term Stress the importance of confidentiality. http://www.intel.com/sites/sitewide/en_US/
means for your entire organization so there’s Encourage your company’s contributors to social-media.htm.)
no confusion as to when the social media remember the importance of confidential
guidelines apply and when they don’t. information, and to manage their social media
contributions just as they would conversations
taking place in public.
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 16

1139. Part Three
B2B Social Media Tactics and Metrics
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 17

1140. Part Three
B2B Social Media Tactics and Metrics
Social Media Tactics for Every B2B Marketer
Here’s a quick review of the major social
media applications and how you can use them
to achieve your goals. The types of social
media tools we’ll cover include:
• Blogging
• Microblogging
• Commenting
• Social networks
• Online video
• Presentation and document sharing
• Widgets
• Bookmarking
• Photo sharing
• Podcasting
• Social CRM
For a few of these social media tools, we’ll
provide you with 101-level introductions to
best practice techniques. Master each tactic
first before moving on to new approaches.
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 18

1141. Part Three
B2B Social Media Tactics and Metrics
Blogs Blogging – Key Metrics
Blogs play a key role in educating prospects for
• Number of posts
lead generation and nurturing. • udience growth—unique and repeat
A
visits
Many of your most qualified leads—whether • umber of conversions (e.g. prospect to
N
you’ve identified them or not—are readers lead, lead to opportunity, etc.)
• onversion rate (depending on specific
C
of your blog. This is reason enough to update conversion goals)
your blog often to keep readers coming back • Subscribers
for more. Your blog can be one of the most • Inbound links
powerful marketing assets – if you stick to the • echnorati, Alltop and other directory
T
listings
topics your prospects and customers will find
• SEO improvements
most compelling and avoid the hard sell.
Blogs act as a source of valuable content and
thought leadership with a “human” face. A search for “b2b marketing” demonstrates how blog
The content on your corporate website postings often yield the highest rankings in organic
focuses primarily on your company, the search results.
value of your products and services, and how
potential customers can get in touch with you.
This is all very useful and necessary, but a blog “Now visited by over 67 percent of the global
adds a human touch, especially when a blog online population…social networks and blogs…
has several contributors. It also lets you focus
on your prospect’s agenda instead of yours. have become the fourth most popular online
category – ahead of personal e-mail.”
Blogs boost your organic search engine by – Global Faces and Networked Places, The Nielsen Company, March
adding pages to your site and encouraging 2009
inbound links.
Blogs give you a greater chance of showing up
in the right search engine results. It also gives
other sites a reason to link to you, increasing Blogs offer the perfect opportunity to “humanize” the
the number of inbound links and boosting web through different voices and perspectives (and photo
your search engine rankings. thumbnails can further enhance the experience).
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 19

1142. Part Three
B2B Social Media Tactics and Metrics
Commenting Commenting – Key Metrics
You can benefit from commenting whether
• Number of comments
you’re the blogger, the commenter on • Increased number of conversions from
someone else’s blog or a participant in an commenters (e.g. new leads)
online forum—here’s how: • Increased traffic from searchable
comments
As a blogger, write interesting blog posts that
engage readers and encourage comments.
Start a two-way conversation by offering
engaging commentary that is insightful and
stimulates dialogue—then openly ask for
comments.
As a reader, only comment when you have
something valuable to say. There’s nothing
worse than a person who only comments with
self-promotion in mind.
When someone comments on something Be as engaged as your readers are with the
you’ve said, return the favor. Everyone wants conversation that you started —respond to their
to know that they’re being heard—so reply to commentary and continue the dialogue.
them with something more engaging than just
‘thank you for commenting’. You might get a
debate going.
© 2010 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved. 20