BMA-Minnesota to Explore the Use of Social Media within the B2B Marketing Arena

A panel of social media experts will discuss how business-to-business organizations can effectively use social media strategy to help achieve business goals

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Minnesota chapter of the Business Marketing Association (BMA-Minnesota) will host a panel discussion on how business-to-business (B2B) marketers can use social media to boost their performance metrics and support a customer-centric business model. The session will be held on March 11, 2009 at the Metropolitan Ballroom & Clubroom in St. Louis Park, Minn. from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Featuring local social media experts, the session will provide an overview of social networking sites, search engine optimization and emerging new media to watch for as well as discuss what’s working, what’s not and what’s here to stay within the social media universe. Moderated by Beth Fischer, market research advisor from The TCI Group, panelists include:

• Mark Palony, marketing manager of SAP Solutions at SoftBrands
• Jared Roy, president of Risdall Integration Group
• Tom Pick, author of WebMarketCentral.com and marketing executive at KC Associates, LLC

“We’ve all heard about business-to-consumer companies joining Facebook, Twitter and blogs to generate consumer business and brand loyalty but there is little discussion about how the same strategies can be applied for B2B companies,” said Chris Schermer, president of BMA-Minnesota. “This panel will dispel the misperception that social media can’t be applied in the B2B arena by illustrating how tools like Twitter and blogs can be applied to monitor, communicate and engage audiences.”

Sponsored by Minnesota’s only professional organization dedicated exclusively to the needs of business-to-business marketing professionals, the event will be held at the Metropolitan located at 5418 Wayzata Blvd, Minneapolis.

The program will run from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. with registration and continental breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. The cost of the event is $25 for BMA members and $40 for non-members. Attendees can register online at www.bmaminnesota.org through March 10. A limited number of walk-up registration is available.

About the Panelists

• Beth Fischer. Beth Fischer, PRC is Principal of The TCI Group. Over the past 30+ years, she has taken her 53 year “young” marketing research firm to new levels by partnering with her clients as a trusted advisor, helping them know more, get close and stay connected to their customers better than any of the competition in their marketplace. The TCI Group offers a total spectrum of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, including methods that harness the power of technology. Currently Beth is on the University of St Thomas’s College of Business MBA Adjunct Faculty, a trainer for Optum, a United Healthcare Division, and serves on a number of boards for local non-profit organizations.
  
  
• Tom Pick. Tom helps clients—independently and through B2B technology marketing and PR firm KC Associates—increase visibility, credibility and business success through interactive marketing and PR activities. He has helped dozens of B2B clients improve their online business results through search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) programs. Tom has also created successful interactive marketing and PR programs including video, blogging, podcasting and social media optimization. His blog, WebMarketCentral.com, has won several accolades, including a MarketingSherpa Readers Choice award, and is among the top marketing blogs as ranked by Advertising Age. Get to know Tom at: http://twitter.com/tompick and http://www.linkedin.com/in/tompick
  
  
• Mark Palony. As a global marketing manager for SoftBrands, Mark is responsible for all aspects of marketing, communications and public relations for the SAP Solutions division of the global enterprise software provider. With approximately 5,000 customers in more than 60 countries, SoftBrands is a leader in providing software solutions to the manufacturing and hospitality industries. Mark manages all aspects of the social media strategy -- including the blog, Twitter, podcasts, videos and KPIs. Get to know Mark at: www.linkedin.com/in/markpalony, www.twitter.com/markpalony and www.fourthshiftedition.com/blog
  
  
• Jared Roy. Jared believes in the power of connecting brands with consumers in new and innovative ways. As President of Risdall Integration Group Jared focuses on leveraging the strengths of Risdall Marketing Group's divisions to develop solutions for clients that harness the power of integrated marketing. Jared’s focus is on managing the convergence of traditional and new media to effectively influence, inform and engage key audiences. On a daily basis, he develops integrated digital and social marketing campaign strategies to help achieve client objectives. Get to know Jared at: www.linkedin.com/in/jaredroy, www.twitter.com/laskaroy, www.friendfeed.com/laskaroy, and www.jaredroy.blogspot.com/

About Business Marketing Association

Business Marketing Association is the leading professional resource for business-to-business marketers and communicators. The organization develops and delivers services, information, skill enhancement, and networking opportunities that help its members grow, develop and succeed throughout their marketing careers. For more information on BMA-Minnesota, visit www.bmaminnesota.org.

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technorati tags: BMA-Minnesota, events, social media, b2b marketing, Business Marketing Association, Beth Fischer, The TCI Group, Mark Palony, SoftBrands, Jared Roy, Risdall Integration Group, KC Associates, Twitter, Chris Schermer, Tom Pick

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Social Media Isn't Only for Virtual Events

Note: this is a guest post from Cece Salomon-Lee, social media relations expert and author of the PR Meets Marketing blog. Cece has previously guest-posted here on best practices in PR and blogging outreach.

Virtual events have received a lot of attention recently as an effective way to communicate with your audiences without the costs associated with an in-person event. One argument against virtual events is that you would lose the intimacy that face-to-face interactions provide. Proponents state that social networking technology can help promote similar interactions in a virtual environment.

I recently wrote that virtual events aren't necessarily the answer to replacing physical events. The same goes for social media technology. In this case, social media isn't only for virtual events. For example, the TED and South by Southwest (SXSW) events are known for their innovative use of technology to engage audiences—both in person and online—with the events themselves.

Three factors for success

Before you start using social media technology, first consider why these conferences were successful to begin with. I believe these three factors contributed to their success:

• Know Your Audience: These organizers know their audiences are invested in the content and success of the events. They also know that their audiences are early adopters of technology to receive, consume and communicate information to each other. If your audience prefers pen and paper to a keyboard and computer screen, then social media technology may not be appropriate for your event.



• Use Technology to Enhance the Experience, Not Replace it: SXSW is where Twitter gained its prominence as a way for people to stay in touch with what was happening throughout the whole venue. This past year, SXSW allowed people to vote on the panels they wanted to hear at the conference. This increased the level of participation and ownership that audiences had with the content and speakers, as well as forced speakers to plan months before their actual presentation date. With TED, they started posting videos of the presentations online to share the knowledge with individuals unable to attend. And they did it for FREE. This doesn't cannibalize on their paid registrations. Rather it enhances the experience for those attending the conference.



• Build a Community: Conferences tend to be unsatisfying one night stands. You get excited to go to the event, you see everything in three days, but you never hear from the organizer until they're ready to promote the event again. The difference with TED and SXSW is that they created a sense of community over time. While not every conference will be an instant community, I do believe that the "traditional" ways of marketing and driving attendance to an event have changed.

So You're Ready for Social Media

If the above doesn't daunt you, then how do you begin incorporating social media into your event? Here are four ways to start incorporating social media for your next event:

• Promote engagement before the event: Look at how technology, such as microblogging, blogs or group pages, can increase your engagement with audiences, as well as connect people with one another. As I mentioned above, SXSW solicited input on speakers and panel topics as part of the call for papers process.



• Provide a channel for communications during the event: Conferences are ceasing to be one-way presentations to audiences. Rather, there are back channel conversations happening throughout an event. Look at how you can tap into these conversations to help enhance live presentations or to promote discussion with your attendees. For example, use Twitter to solicit feedback and questions from the audience during a live panel discussion.



• Consider different avenues for distributing your content: Conference proceedings are typically provided to only paid attendees. Consider how to leverage the different ways to distribute your content—photos, video and audio—not only to paid attendees but key audiences who become interested in your event due to the "buzz" online. For example, post presenter slides on Slideshare.net in advance of the event. Attendees can provide feedback or questions which can further enhance how the speaker presents at the conference. The preso also serves as a promotional vehicle to drive registrants to your event.



• Continue the conversations after the event has concluded: This may be the most difficult part of social networking. If your event is targeting an audience that doesn't have an existing community or your event is unique enough, then you may be able to create a community. The tendency is to create a proprietary platform for your community, but your audience may dictate using an existing platform, such as MySpace or Facebook.

Conclusions

Like any event, social media takes time and patience. There is no magic technology or technique for success. Rather it takes strategic planning, time-consuming execution and constant evaluation to find the right mix for your event. If you're willing to put in the time and effort, then your social media efforts will succeed.

The key thing to keep in mind is that social media is to help promote communications not only with you and your audience but also amongst the attendees as well.

About the Author

Cece Salomon-Lee is the author of PR Meets Marketing, which explores the intersection of public relations, social media and marketing. Her blog is ranked on the Ad Age 500 and other top ranked PR lists. If you're interested in learning how Cece can help your programs, she can be reached at cece.lee[@]gmail[dot]com.

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technorati tags: Virtual events Social media TED SXSW SouthbySouthWest Twitter MySpace Facebook marketing engage community

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Where Savvy Marketers Go to Become Savvier

Note: this is the first of two guest-posts from customer loyalty expert Nisha Prasad at IQPC. Read on to find out how you can get special pricing for IPQC's upcoming customer engagement and loyalty event.

You’re a marketing star. You have more creativity than Jeff Koons, your plans are impeccable and your campaigns are the stuff of marketing Hall of Fame.

But are you hitting the mark where it counts? That is, are you engaging and retaining your customers, as well as marketing to them?

We all know the positive business impact of keeping our customers loyal but its often difficult to implement and execute a customer-oriented marketing plan that a) wins C Level Support b) is compatible with current business processes and c) uses financial resources wisely.


IQPC has put together the Customer Engagement and Loyalty Summit (November 17-19, 2008, Hilton Miami, FL) to address these real marketing issues. The two-day conference brings together successful business oriented leaders to share their customer strategies and secrets. No fluff, no mirrors and lights, just straightforward answers and opportunity to benchmark in an open, engaging format. It may be the most valuable conference you attend this year.

Some of the most relevant topics in customer engagement and loyalty include:

• Sales and Marketing Integration for Customer Retention and Loyalty
• Analyzing Customer Feedback
• Translating Loyalty into Financial Impact
• Generating Word of Mouth
• Using Technology and analytics and finding out which is best for you
• Changing Employee Behavior to enhance customer engagement

In addition to the ready-to-use takeaway strategies, the event provides great networking opportunities to discuss and share your own successes and challenges with peers. Zappos, Best Buy, Borders, Mastercard Worldwide, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Telllabs, Canada Post, Abbott Labs, and Charles Schwab will also be speaking and sharing their customer expertise.

Go on over, check out the website at www.iqpc.com/us/CustomerLoyalty.

Finally, a conference for marketers that addresses the important issues head on: customers and business impact.

p.s. And because you’re reading this blog, you automatically get a perk (your boss will love that!): 2-for-1 conference pricing when you mention code: IUS_WMC_001. Great price, great speakers, great topics, great networking, great takeaways—the Customer Engagement and Loyalty Summit is for you.

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Branding & Entertainment? Web 2.0? Pick an Event, a Coast and a Discount

Being the most informed and sophisticated marketing and PR executives on the planet, readers of this blog know that WebMarketCentral is the place to find a comprehensive calendar of live and online marketing events. However, in that wealth of content, it's easy to overlook something. Here are two events that deserve special attention.

For brand marketers, the L.A. Office RoadShow runs September 16-18 in Hollywood. There's no other event like this one for meeting the "players" and making connections in the entertainment industry. RoadShow is a global event that brings brand marketers together with 100 marketing execs from 40 top entertainment companies. Brands of all sizes can discover and capitalize on entertainment tie-in opportunities. It's a unique annual event where brand marketers can meet the right people and develop valuable industry partnerships for brand promotion.

The people behind RoadShow are offering WebMarketCentral readers extended special pricing on advance registration—a $200 discount to marketers who call (310) 275-2088 and register before August 31st with the promo code RS08-RD. To find out more information about the event, including present companies, current attendees and travel information, check out www.RoadShowHollywood.com.

On the other side of the country, the Web 2.0 Expo will come to New York City September 16-19. Tim O'Reilly and TechWeb take this event, connecting the builders of the web with the brightest minds, hottest ideas, and most useful tools, to the East Coast for the first time. Web 2.0 Expo will bring together executives from the big brands and big industries in New York with the creative minds behind the next generation of the Internet, to learn, share, network and shape the future. This event will bring together the thinkers behind and builders of the next generation web: designers, developers, entrepreneurs, marketers, business strategists, and venture capitalists. Together, they'll share experiences, lessons from failure, ideas for what's next, and how to practically apply new web technologies. Web 2.0 is about creating more business value while providing a more meaningful experience for customers, delivering relevant information and increasing collaboration.

Interested? Use discount code webny08bd17 to receive either $100 off the conference or a free Expo Pass when you register at web2expo.com/ny.

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technorati tags: comprehensive calendar of marketing events, L.A. Office RoadShow, entertainment industry, brand marketers, advance registration discount, Hollywood, New York, Web 2.0 Expo, Tim O'Reilly, TechWeb, next generation of the Internet, customer experience, collaboration

del.icio.us tags: comprehensive calendar of marketing events, L.A. Office RoadShow, entertainment industry, brand marketers, advance registration discount, Hollywood, New York, Web 2.0 Expo, Tim O'Reilly, TechWeb, next generation of the Internet, customer experience, collaboration

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Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

Hear About PR & Social Media at the B4B Conference

The Blogging for Business (B4B) Conference coming up in Salt Lake City on June 6 will feature an intriguing lineup of speakers, including:

• Brian Critchfield of Navel Marketing on how the consumer revolution is driving transparency in marketing;


• Charlie Craine, Director of Interactive Media for the Deseret News;


• Christopher Barger, GM's Director of Global Communications Technology (who recently did a great podcast with Albert Maruggi);


• Cyndi Tetro, VP of Products and Marketing at NextPage and co-founder of the Marketing Executive Forum;


• Dave Bascom of SEO.com;


• Jake McKee, Principal and Chief Ant Wrangler at Ant's Eye View, a Dallas-based customer collaboration strategy practice, and former Global Community Relations Specialist for the LEGO Company;


• Jason Brown, blogger and co-founder of Brown Lures;


• Intellectual property attorney and blogger Rand Bateman;


• A panel discussion on "Pitching to Bloggers: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What Will Get You in Trouble" featuring Naked Jen of the New York Times, Mommy Blogger Shannon Johnson and Laura Moncur of Starling Fitness; and


• me - talking about how PR practitioners can optimize their use of social media in a session called, for now at least, "Approaching Bloggers and Engaging Audiences."

Conference organizer Matthew Reinbold has once again put together an event that will provide invaluable information for marketers and PR pros on how to effectively engage their audiences online.

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technorati tags: Blogging for Business Conference, B4B conference, PR, social media, bloggter, Brian Critchfield, Navel Marketing, Charlie Craine, Christopher Barger, Albert Maruggi, Cyndi Tetro, NextPage, Marketing Executive Forum, Dave Bascom, SEO.com, Jake McKee, Ant's Eye View, Jason Brown, Brown Lures, attorney Rand Bateman, Naked Jen, New York Times, Mommy Blogger Shannon Johnson, Laura Moncur, Starling Fitness, Matthew Reinbold

del.icio.us tags: Blogging for Business Conference, B4B conference, PR, social media, bloggter, Brian Critchfield, Navel Marketing, Charlie Craine, Christopher Barger, Albert Maruggi, Cyndi Tetro, NextPage, Marketing Executive Forum, Dave Bascom, SEO.com, Jake McKee, Ant's Eye View, Jason Brown, Brown Lures, attorney Rand Bateman, Naked Jen, New York Times, Mommy Blogger Shannon Johnson, Laura Moncur, Starling Fitness, Matthew Reinbold

icerocket tags: Blogging for Business Conference, B4B conference, PR, social media, bloggter, Brian Critchfield, Navel Marketing, Charlie Craine, Christopher Barger, Albert Maruggi, Cyndi Tetro, NextPage, Marketing Executive Forum, Dave Bascom, SEO.com, Jake McKee, Ant's Eye View, Jason Brown, Brown Lures, attorney Rand Bateman, Naked Jen, New York Times, Mommy Blogger Shannon Johnson, Laura Moncur, Starling Fitness, Matthew Reinbold

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

Possibly the Coolest Tradeshow Toy Ever

More crowd-pleasing than a premium trinket give-away, more alluring than booth babes, even more powerful than free beer—Danish advertising film agency viZoo has teamed with engineering firm Ramboll developed what may be, thus far, the ultimate tradeshow gadget: a giant 3-D holographic projector. Check out the movie here:

http://vizoo.com/showreel_wmvs/EPK_Cheoptics360_XL.wmv

Scott at the MediaPost blog said it gave him a "nerdgasm," a term I find deeply disturbing, but nonetheless, you've got to see this.

The 3-D projector is available in various sizes from a relatively compact 5x5x5 foot unit up to a massive 30x30 behemoth, with prices ranging from 85,000 Euros (about $100K) to 575,000 Euros (close to $800,000). Both indoor and outdoor models are available.

You can more about the Cheoptics 360 XL here or check out the online brochure (PDF).

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technorati tags: Ramboll, viZoo, Cheoptics 360 XL, trade show marketing, 3D holographic projector, 3-D, MediaPost

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The web marketing resources portal: WebMarketCentral.com

The only Minnesota-based marketing, PR and SEO agency exclusively focused on B2B IT clients: KC Associates

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

New-media seminar in Minneapolis: Using podcasting and online video to improve your business communications

Curious about what podcasting can do for your business? Check this out. The experts at Twin Cities marketing agency Provident Partners are offering a hands-on presentation and workshop on video and podcasting. This session will save you time and help you understand how new-media formats such as audio podcasts and digital video are being used as powerful tools in the marketing mix.

The seminar will be led by Albert Maruggi, who's been recognized by ClickZ and many other sources for his expertise in new media. He is among the first marketers in the country to actively host a regular podcast, the Marketing Edge, and he advises dozens of organizations on new-media strategies.

The seminar will cover topics such as how podcasting works, how to develop podcast content, how to measure podcasting results, using podcasting in your marketing mix, and the PR opportunities of podcasting.

Details of the seminar:

Thursday, November 30, 2006
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
790 Cleveland Ave. S., St. Paul, MN

The cost, including lunch, is $100 per person -- but be sure to ask for the WebMarketCentral discount when registering.

To sign up, call 651-695-0174 or email amaruggi@providentpartners.net . Guests should register in advance as space is limited. The registration deadline is November 20 (though you might be able to sneak in later if you mention this blog post).

Also, check out this recent podcast from Albert: The Great Blog Debate. Joined by Mike Keliher of Provident Partners and John Havens of About.com, Albert provides an excellent guide to the possibilities, and risks, of business blogging.

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Terms: Provident Partners, St. Paul marketing agency, Minnesota ad agency, podcasting, how podcasting works, Albert Maruggi, Marketing Edge podcast, John Havens, About.com

The Internet marketing advertising portal: WebMarketCentral.com

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentral.com

Survey: Lead Generation for Professional Services

The experts in professional services marketing at RainToday are conducting a survey among professional services firms regarding lead generation. All survey participants will receive a complimentary executive summary of the final report (due out around January), as well as 50% off the group's current research report, “How Clients Buy: The Benchmark Report on Professional Services Buying and Selling from the Client Perspective” in the RainToday store. Click here to participate in the study.

The current report addresses services selling challenges in a variety of vertical segments (e.g. accounting, legal services, information technology consulting, marketing) and answers questions such as:

- What can you do during the business development process that will have the most influence on the decision maker?
- Which methods are buyers most likely to use to identify professional service providers?
- Do buyers attend seminars, conferences, and webinars (and, if so, how do they find out about these events)?
- Do purchasers of professional services visit service provider websites? How influential are those websites in the purchasing process?

The new survey will supplement this research, and the executive report is free to participants. If you market or sell professional services, taking this survey is a quick, easy, and free way to gain some valuable insights.

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Terms: professional services marketing, how to sell professional services, RainToday.com, business development for services, marketing information technology services

The marketing Internet portal: WebMarketCentral.com

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentral.com

RainToday Releases "The One Piece of Advice You Can't Sell Without"

The experts in professional services marketing at RainToday.com recently released a *free* report entitled "The One Piece of Advice You Can't Sell Without." But given that the report was written by 11 experts in Web marketing and sales, each of whom (natch) has distinct opinions on the topic, it should have been titled "The 11 Pieces of Advice You Can't Sell (or Market) Without."

Regardless, this report is well worth the read. Among the 11 authors are Seth Godin (his blog beat this one for the top spot Readers Choice Award from Marketing Sherpa; but, considering that he's written -- how many now? 6? 8? Best-selling marketing books, while I'm, well, just me, I was dang honored to come in with an honorable mention to Seth), Jill Konrath (author of Selling to Big Companies, and an all-around cool person), and the often-imitated-but-never-duplicated Mike Schultz.

With 11 different authors, there are, as one would expect, 11 different opinions about that "one piece of advice," but two of the most common themes are: 1) listen to your prospects and customers, and 2) companies don't buy products or services -- people do (both points made previously here).

Although the publication is targeted at sales people, it's well worth the read for marketing professionals as well. Understanding the needs of your prospects is every bit as critical in designing great marketing material as it is in closing sales.

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Terms: RainToday.com, Selling to Big Companies, b2b marketing, Jill Konrath, Mike Schultz

The Web marketing resource portal: WebMarketCentral.com

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentral.com

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Want to generate business? Write a book. (Part 2)

Mike Schultz, a principal at the Wellesley Hills Group, and his team of professional services marketing experts at RainToday.com have released a follow-up report to The Business Impact of Writing a Book, published earlier this year. Their new report, The Ultimate Guide to Publishing and Marketing a Business Book, lives up its name.

The new report not only revisits the research findings presented in their earlier report -- how writing a successful business book positively impacts both business volume and fees -- but provides step-by-step instructions on how to publish and market your book.

Topics covered include:

- How to research and approach literary agents
- How to write a proposal and pitch your book
- Tips to make the writing process easier
- How to market your book (through PR, book tours, speaking opportunities, and the Internet)
- Interviews with a number of publishing professionals

At $180, the report is a bargain if you are serious about writing a business book to promote yourself and your business. This report will pay for itself many times over in the time and aggravation it will save you.

Who knows -- maybe having this report back in 2001 would have saved me from my own ill-fated marketing book adventure (long story).

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Terms: search engine optimization tips, SEO help, relevant site links, search engine position improvement, keyword optimization, RainToday.com, Wellesley Hills Group, Mike Schultz

The portal for Internet Web site marketing resources: WebMarketCentral.com

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentral.com

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Time to Vote for Your Favorite Blogs with Marketing Sherpa

Voting is open until midnight tomorrow, Friday June 23rd, for Marketing Sherpa's 2006 Reader's Choice Blog and Podcasting awards. Of the more than 1,000 blogs nominated, the WebMarketCentral blog was among the hundred or so across 11 different categories that made it onto the ballot. I'm not sure whether to be honored by this inclusion, or disturbed that Marketing Sherpa's standards have declined so low. :-)

***UPDATE FROM MARKETING SHERPA:

An Apology from MarketingSherpa: Many of you who've been trying to cast your Vote for Best Blog & Podcast have been bounced off our server. Here's a new link for folks who could not get in:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=803032287919

We're *extending* the deadline to Monday, June 26th, at midnight ET because so many of you could not get in when you wanted to.

***END OF UPDATE

So go vote for your favorite blogs and podcasts! You know what my favorites are. (Just for reference purposes, the WebMarketCentral blog is listed near the bottom of the voting form, one of 30 entries in the "Blogs on general [multiple topic] marketing" category.)

One more note: I had difficulty getting the ballot to appear in Internet Explorer, but it worked like a charm in Firefox.

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Terms: Marketing Sherpa Reader's Choice, blog and podcasting awards, best marketing blogs, favorite marketing blogs

The portal for Internet marketing articles: WebMarketCentral.com

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentral.com

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Want to generate business? Write a book.

If you've ever thought about writing a book and wondered if the effort would be worthwhile, a new study suggests the answer is a strong "yes." Mike Schultz of RainToday.com interviewed 200 authors of business books to find out how they did it and how it impacted their ability to do business. RainToday offers articles, case studies, and research designed to help service business rainmakers and marketers work more effectively.

The results:

- 53% of authors reported a "strong" or "very strong" influence on their ability to charge higher fees

- 76% indicated publishing a book had at least some influence on their ability to close deals

- 83% reported at least some improvement on business with current clients as a result of publishing a book

In short, consultants and agency execs seem to agree that publishing a book helps them to be seen as gurus whose services are in demand. Mike has published his findings in a report for those who are interested in learning more about how publishing impacted the authors, how to go about getting a business book published, and how to market it effectively.

A few more statistics from the report:

Management consulting, marketing, and training were the most common book subjects, collectively accounting for more than half of the 590 books published by these 200 authors. IT consulting followed with 11% of the total.




63% of authors said that publishing a book had a "strong influence" or "very strong influence" on their ability to generate new clients.


The three most effective methods of marketing were internet marketing, trade media coverage, and direct marketing to existing clients.

Go ahead, unleash your inner author. It's worked for my friends Yvonne DiVita and Jay Lipe -- it may also be a path to greater success for your business.

*****

Terms: publishing a business book, writing a book for business, book marketing

The Web marketing portal: WebMarketCentral.com

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentral.com

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How to Start in a New Marketing Role – RAPIMMR

It’s not the most elegant of acronyms, but it is a solid approach to new marketing campaigns or roles. I was recently pointed to a report from Spencer Stuart titled “A Blueprint for Top Marketers’ First 100 Days.” It’s short and worth a read, but I was expecting more of a detailed roadmap. What their advice comes down to is: talk to lots of people in your new company, establish relationships, and get them on board with your plans. That advice is solid and useful, but hardly profound.

So, here’s the roadmap I would propose, based on the acronym RAPIMMR:

R: Research. Jumping in right away with a “master plan” based on your past experience, but with no input or buy-in from your new co-workers, is a recipe for disaster. Ask lots of questions, of lots of people. What’s been done in the past? What’s worked, and what hasn’t? What’s been considered, but not tried? Ask about marketing programs, key messages, competition, and objectives. Do this both to gain knowledge as well as establish relationships. Who has great ideas? Who is really knowledgeable about certain topics?

To quote Kelly Vizzini, CMO at application virtualization company DataSynapse, from Marketing Sherpa’s case study on the firm: “When marketers go to new jobs, some say `Here’s my plan I’m going to do all these things.’ That’s the kiss of death. Why would I presume to create a whiz bang plan when I haven’t sat down and talked to my own internal audience? You have to sit down and ask them where their pain is, what works, and where are you struggling?”

Also critical is to learn about the company’s systems in place. Suppose that you want to do a targeted email campaign to existing customers in a particular industry segment; has the company even done market segmentation? Can you easily pull the list you need? Do they have tools in place to track the results once the campaign is launched? If not, you’ll need to pursue other ideas (while also working to get adequate system capabilities in place).

A: Analyze. Armed with the raw data, discussion notes and other facts from your research, what does it mean? What conclusions can you draw? What tactics are even realistic in the short term? What should you avoid? Who needs to be involved? Why am I asking so many questions? Because this analysis will be a key part of the next step, which is…

P: Plan. Based on your research and analysis of the results, develop your marketing plans for the appropriate time frame (immediate, quarter, annual). Consider messaging, medium and of course, budget. Discuss this up and down the authority change, to get the right people on board (and of course budget approval). Tweak as necessary.

I: Implement. With your plan and budget approved, now is the time to take action. Fully develop your messages, obtain lists, contact publishers, make changes to your Web site, etc. – make it happen.

M: Monitor (and modify). Track your results in as close to real-time as possible, and make mid-course adjustments as necessary. How are keywords performing; did you bid too little or too much for certain words? Tweak your bids. Are certain messages pulling better than others? If you are asking for registration or direct purchase, how are conversions; does the landing page and/or registration form need changes?

M: Measure. At the appropriate point – end of the quarter or campaign – summarize your results. Which programs did well? How does your cost per lead or sale compare across different media or campaigns? Gather all of the key information and metrics for the last stage of this cycle, which is…

R: Review. With measurement data and analysis in hand, determine what worked well, what could be done better, and what if anything failed. Review this with the key people you identified back in the first “R” (Research) stage. Share your results and get their input. This final “R” now serves as the initial “R” for you next round of analysis, planning and implementation, so that over time, this acronym actually becomes RAPIMMRAPIMMRAPIMMR… Not melodic perhaps, but (hopefully) solidly methodic.

*****

Terms: starting in a new marketing role, a marketers first 100 days, planning marketing campaigns, strategic planning for marketers, developing marketing plans

The portal for Web marketers: WebMarketCentral.com

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentral.com

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Briefly: The MIT Blogging Survey, Blog Submission

A group at MIT is conducting a survey of bloggers. I just completed it, takes about 10 minutes. It's an intriguing set of questions, and it will be interesting to see the results when posted in early July. The larger the sample they receive, the better their results will be, so if you've got a few minutes to devote to the study of blogging, click the image.



I also submitted this blog to Popdex, the Web site popularity index (probably dangerous in my case), as well as to Bloguniverse and Blogarama. I hope to make the Top 1 Billion list someday.

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