Pinterest for B2B
You’ve heard of Pinterest. It’s the social media tool that people use to “pin” interesting items to a virtual bulletin board, sharing them with friends and followers. It’s quickly gaining popularity and despite the fact that Pinterest is still invite-only, this month they surpassed Twitter as a generator of referral traffic. With all that momentum behind it, marketers should be wondering how to harness those referrals and turn them into customer engagement. Here are some easy ways B2B marketers can get Pinterested. - By design, Pinterest exists to connect individuals with a shared interest. Fill your pin-board with details that are too specific for broader media. - Because posts take the form of
Put a fresh (smart!) face on your business.
Encourage employees to maintain current profiles and let your talent shine. Many corporate websites today give readers a chance to “meet the team” through profile pages that blend professional background with snippets of personal information and photos. What’s the business value and how far should you take the trend? Including profile pages on your site is your first chance to present the human face of your company. Whether you’re recruiting new employees or making a new business pitch, people will be more interested in working with a smart team that is dedicated to the company – and shows it. Encourage your team to network and highlight their experience on LinkedIn, where every employee
Use cross-channel campaigns to target top executives worldwide.
In the B2B marketplace, reaching top decision makers is often critical to making the sale, but breaking through with your message can be difficult. New research from the Financial Times and Doremus indicates that top-ranking executives in the Americas, Europe and Asia are consuming media 24/7 to stay informed and that they are using multiple formats including digital,social media and print. The lesson here is that cross-channel brand and advertising campaigns are still the most effective way to reach global executives. Additional findings include: Respondents who read traditional print publications do so, for the most part, in printed formats. Those under age 45 were more likely to read online. Executives are viewing online
Squeeze more sales out of fewer resources
Have you been wondering when you're going to get your marketing budget back? Analysts are beginning to say that a number of sectors, including manufacturing, technology and the food industry, are all on the rebound. That's great news -- but doesn't necessarily translate into loosening marketing budgets. Marketers whose budgets were disrupted at the onset of the recession are still feeling the squeeze to do more with limited resources and prove their impact on revenue. Here at Boomm, more of our clients are beginning to explore the strengths of marketing automation as a means to affordably drive and nurture more and better leads. Want to get your head around the basics
Add a gaming element to your marketing and score points with your B2B customers.
B2B marketers who are looking for new ways to engage customers are exploring gamification -- which is the technique of adding game dynamics into business activities to drive new behaviors and outcomes. It's easy to spot examples in the consumer world and now, more examples are arising in the B2B realm. Check out this video clip posted on Forbes.com to see how software firm, SAP turned everyday sales functions into an engaging new activity. Download the report Interested in learning more? Our friends at Bunchball are sharing a white paper about the basics of using gaming to motivate behavior. Get it here: Gamification 101: An Introduction to the Use of Game Dynamics to Influence Behavior