If 2009 was the year many marketers puzzled over, poked at and pondered incorporating social media into their marketing mix, 2010 was the year of diving in. Forrester senior analyst Augie Ray distinguishes social media marketing success (creating online buzz, having lots of Facebook fams) from true social media success (delivering on brand promises, fostering genuine, even fanatical advocates online and off). by Green Buzz Agency. Key Metrics for a Social Media Measurement Dashboard [Best of SEW 2010 #4] by Search Engine Watch. Post on Google Buzz. MORE >>

Forrester recently released a report by Laura Ramos and Augie Ray on How to Assess the Impact of Social Media in B2B Tech Marketing. These results, along with the fact that “many B2B marketers treat social media like an outbound communications channel, and our research highlights the consequences of this choice. The report concludes by recommending that marketers use a combination of value chain analysis and total economic impact (I’ll leave the explanation of these to Forrester) to assess the impact of social media investments on B2B marketing success. Video. MORE >>

Ten reasons to blog – even if nobody reads it - grow - Practical Marketing Solutions , November 7, 2010 Building an engaged community through a business blog can be extremely difficult — sometimes impossible. Social Media in B2B Marketing - Survey Results - Everything Technology Marketing , November 16, 2010 The B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn conducted a survey earlier this year to explore the rapidly changing landscape of social media in the context of B2B marketing. Twitter for B2B Marketing - MI6 Marketing Agency , November 18, 2010 Author: Chris Herbert. MORE >>

Thursday, September 09, 2010 Forrester announces Sales Enablement Conference focused on Selling into the New Economy We were excited to hear that Forresters first Sales Enablement Conference will be focused on Selling into the New Economy. From our research we know that two economic downturns in the past decade have permanently changed how B2B solutions are bought and sold, forcing all stakeholders to focus on quantified bottom-line impacts. According to Forrester, "In todays dramatically changing world, many of you are also at a metaphorical fork in the road. MORE >>

Friday, September 10, 2010 IT Budgets into 2011 - Robbing Peter to Pay Paul? in 2010, essentially flat in 2010. The good news is that the second half of 2010, projections are in line with Gartner’s survey in the fourth quarter of 2009 when CIOs reported IT budgets would increase, on average, by only 1.3%, and spending outlooks are more positive than earlier surveys. More good news is that 2010 is far better than 2009, with a weighted global average reduction in IT budgets of 8.1% Frugalnomics in Full Effect: Forrester and Gartner. MORE >>