Developing a promotional strategy for B2B content: a 7-step framework

Framework B2B marketing consultant Michele Linn recently wrote a post on Savvy B2B Marketing with an interesting framework with seven steps and questions to answer to ensure that the promotional plan for your B2B content approach covers all key elements.

At Savvy B2B, we talk a lot about content creation, but content promotion is equally important.

When you want to promote your latest eBook, white paper or any other offer, there are two things to consider: where do you want to promote your offer and what message do you want to communicate?

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Filed Under: Content marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

B2B marketers in a changing world: automation instead of or on top of conversation?

US-based lead management specialist Genius recently published the results of a survey in a report titled ‘B2B Marketing Skills Survey’. In this report, Genius takes a look at the evolving role of the B2B marketer.

It is evident that this role is evolving. It is even inevitable with the increasing focus on customer-centricity, the rise of social media, and the shift in buyer behavior. However, the economic changes along with the growing attention for the ROI of marketing, cause changes as well.

The survey, which Genius carried out in cooperation with BtoB Magazine, points out that B2B marketers generally make little use of tools to expand their reach and build (online) relationships with customers and prospects.

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Filed Under: Research Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The role of display advertising in an inbound marketing world: what makes a brand?

J-P De Clerck looks at the role of display ads in the inbound marketing and social media era. Please share your thoughts.

Next month, IAB Europe organizes its annual Interact Congress, this time in Barcelona. As you know, the IAB, in Europe at least, is predominantly about interactive advertising (yes, it’s in the name of the organization).

For a few years, I’ve been posting now and then on the blog of the event and, after a break, I started again this year. But what was I going to write about, especially in regard to the more traditional forms of interactive advertising like display ads and even search engine ads (do you still spend PPC budgets on AdWords? I rarely do, CPL too high). What is, in  fact, the role of online advertising, and more specifically, display advertising in a world where inbound marketing increasingly rules?

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Filed Under: Engagement & relationship marketing, Inbound marketing & lead generation, Word-of-mouth & viral marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Word-of-mouth in the digital age: introducing “word-of-mouth equity”

Recommendations One of the “marketing techniques” that thrived in the recession year 2009, was word-of-mouth marketing. Word-of-mouth is a natural human phenomenon, word-of-mouth marketing is a set of techniques and strategies to strengthen and induce it.

There is a lot of confusion about the differences between viral marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, buzz marketing, connected marketing and even social media marketing. 

However, as I explained in previous posts, word-of-mouth has always been around, as well as word-of-mouth marketing.

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Filed Under: Word-of-mouth & viral marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thoughts on anonymous blogging, personal branding and social media marketing noise

Blog My little blog has a nice crew of contributors. Some contribute a lot, many do it for the fun and passion of sharing, some do it a while (I guess until their Pagerank is up or they seek incoming links somewhere else), some do it now and then and some allow me to take what I like from their blogs.

There are all kinds of people, all kinds of reasons to do things and they are all welcome.

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Filed Under: Blogs & blog marketing, Just my two cents Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Setting up a social media marketing strategy: what do you want to achieve and where do you stand today?

People marching In a previous post about setting up a social media marketing strategy, I looked at the first step in defining it. As promised, back then, here is a first follow-up post for all of you out there trying to find some simple answers to some simple questions that unfortunately become complex in a jungle of social media marketing opinions. For the record: my look at setting up a social media marketing strategy is an opinion as well. All I can promise is that I’ll try to avoid the hype and keep it simple yet relevant, deal?

In case you didn’t read the first post in this developing series, I advise you to do so. Here is the link. Come back later?

OK, last time I talked about the decision to start with social media marketing, the importance of having a strategy and how to compose a team to define that strategy. I also talked about the role of that team.

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Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Is social media really connecting us?

In the last five years, something truly amazing happened online: people started talking. On digital channels, that is. People have always been talking of course.

Websites popped up with the sole promise of connection, bringing people together through social profiles, chat-based applications, and providing almost every users out there with a PC or mobile device, internet connection, and time to spare the opportunity to connect with people from all over the globe.

The endless expansion of social media saw hundreds of websites and social networks created, each with a focus on a different type of connection. Some were interest-based, others were region-based, finally, a number of websites were designed without any focus on specialization, leading to the major social media platforms we know today. And let’s not forget how people started talking by creating their own websites: blogs.

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Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Social media marketing: retain social connections by being consistent and offering value


On social media there are quite some marketers and “entrepreneurs” that rush to provide a solution to problems that exist in the now. They sometimes end up succeeding. Earnings rush in and everything appears to be golden.

Of course, there is a downside. For short-term thinkers and instant entrepreneurs, that downside is the quick fall-off that comes with short-term income. Social media marketing isn’t about short-term quick wins, of course if your business wants to use social media in a professional way. It is about long-term strategies and relationships.

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Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Social media marketing: all you need is love (I mean voices, ears and stories)

Socialmediamarketingpeople If you don’t have the channels to allow people to connect with you, they will not communicate.

If you don’t look at what people are doing online, listen to what they say, talk to them and touch them, you will not be able to read their digital footprints, smell the digital signals they send out and ultimately go beyond simple social media connections to build valuable relationships and communities.

In social media marketing you need to have an integrated marketing approach, using all your channels and social media ‘voices’ and of course you also need to listen.

Besides those omni-channel, multi-channel or cross-channel marketing ‘voices’ and ‘ears’ you need stories.

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Filed Under: Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

All about social media and emerging marketing technologies for marketers

Ebooksocialmedia In this digital and social media era, marketers are increasingly embracing digital technologies and try to stay up-to-date with emerging trends. This is a difficult exercise because as a marketer you tend to lose yourself in technologies, media and channels and tend to forget the bigger picture.

The real exercise is not to fully understand all digital channels (although I encourage you to do so) but to understand how you can use all these new social and other media for marketing purposes.

I am often asked, when writing for other blogs about social media marketing, to describe social media in simple terms or to tell people how to get started. I always try to answer, but it is a huge exercise.

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Filed Under: Research, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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