As we rapidly approach 2010, it’s hard not to consider the implications of social media’s banner year: 2009. While in some ways this may be true, I believe that the social web will in fact be more personal (and therefore more relevant ) rather than less social. Niche social networks function on the same principle: a strong focus on relevant information for a certain type of contacts. The important thing to focus on is the personalized nature of each of these components of the social web. Corporations look to scale. Social business becomes serious play. MORE >>

It was a great night last night in San Francisco with the Markies awards gala being the show highlight at Eloqua Experience. The competition was intense this year with submissions from all sizes of companies, all industries, and all regions of the world. Congratulations to the winners, to the finalists, and to all the marketers who created great campaigns, deepened their alignment with sales, or achieved new heights in their analytics. MORE >>

Lead nurturing automation tools that will support lower volume and ad hoc delivery while tracking all touch points such as phone, email, online efforts and personal contact. The measurement of nurturing results such as: Depths of contacts in sphere of influence. Contacts that “opt-in” for nurturing. Contacts that become “sales ready” leads. Sometimes in an attempt to vamp up lead nurturing efforts, misguided and well-meaning organizations simply start sending out more emails. Your content should help you become a resource to prospects. multi-modal approach. MORE >>

Not only do the disciplined integration and maintenance of a history of touches in the database aid relevancy, they open doors to tactical personalization. We know that in the complex sale most contacts do not become immediate leads so once dialogue has begun, other tactical modes should be set up to keep the conversation going. This is the sixth in an eight-part series I’m calling the ‘Lead Generation Checklist. wanted to provide a checklist that helps organizations optimize their lead generation process. As sess the number and mix of tactics required. Identify the gaps. MORE >>

According to MarketingSherpa's 2009 Social Media & PR Benchmark Guide (PDF), while 76% of marketing and PR professionals "agree" or "strongly agree" that social media marketing is changing the way their organizations communicate, the two most significant barriers cited to social media adoption were "lack of knowledgeable staff" and "inability to measure ROI." Wal-Mart and Apple have very different corporate personalities; their social media activities should reflect that). I've also seen dramatically increased interest in hiring social media consultants. Social Tagging MORE >>