WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 17, 2009

Prospects no longer rely on sales people and marketing collateral for information; most of their research is now done before they ever make contact with a sales rep. As many others have noted, the rise of social media and the explosion of online content has fundamentally altered the b2b sales process.

Manticore 20

Manticore Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Automation 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 17, 2008

Respect: most people understand that if you've created a viral campaign for marketing purposes, especially in the b2b world, you're going to ask for contact information at some point. That's fine, but ask only for the information you really need.

Viral Marketing 20

Viral Marketing Campaigns Digg Youtube 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 15, 2009

Also this morning, Rebel Brown (who's got one of the best blogger names anywhere) posted an informative interview with me and Tony Karrer, the technical and creative guru behind the site and the underlying Browse My Stuff technology platform. Her post provides more details about the purpose, goals and future plans for the BMZ site.

B2B Marketing 20

B2B Marketing Planning Blogger B2B 20

WebMarketCentral

FEBRUARY 4, 2008

20 Ways to NAVIGATE to Higher Conversions by Internet Search Engine Database Writer Stoney deGeyter details how elements such as the location of navigation bars, site search functionality, contact information, image alt text and clickable links are critical to designing a user-friendly website.

Design 20

Design Marketing Websites SEM Best Practices 20

WebMarketCentral

APRIL 22, 2009

Greater availability of information requires greater transparency, but also leads to richer conversations. Professional informality —conversations used to fall reasonably neatly into two groups: public communication, which was formal (a press release, a carefully crafted "quote" from an executive, on-the-record interviews, etc.)

PR 20

PR Social Media Web 2.0 Media 20

WebMarketCentral

OCTOBER 9, 2007

Keep the contact form short. For generating B2B leads, ask for minimum amount of information necessary, such as name, company, phone and email address. Don't confuse the visitor with multiple navigation options —but do provide some. Offer an incentive for response.

SEM 20

SEM Conversion Rate Conversion Adwords 20

WebMarketCentral

APRIL 24, 2008

Blogger PR follow-up follows the same rules as initial outreach: make it personal, informal and relevant. In addition, follow-up should: Provide new or updated information, not just a rehash of the original message. Offer additional information, such as a white paper or interview with a key executive or product designer.

Blogger 20

Blogger PR Outreach Tagging 20

WebMarketCentral

JANUARY 28, 2009

Case studies are currently the most common way to deliver this information, though there is still a production cost for the vendor and prospective buyers presume that only the happiest customers will have their stories published. So, industry publications, blogs, and analyst reports carry somewhat more weight than a company brochure.

Enterprise Management 20

Enterprise Management Social Media Paid Content Marketing Management 20

WebMarketCentral

OCTOBER 22, 2008

Several examples are shown in this illustration: Sweepstakes require very little involvement; a site visitor gives you their basic contact information in hopes of winning an iPod, a trip to Hawaii, or whatever. The greater the involvement you require of respondents, the lower the quantity but the higher the quality.

Lead Ranking 20

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Leads Lead 20

WebMarketCentral

JANUARY 16, 2009

They promise to have all resumes reviewed by an experienced recruiter, who then matches skill sets with companies actively recruiting in the candidate's are and provides contact information for the actual decision makers, thereby avoiding "gatekeepers."

Resources 20

Resources PR Tagging Lead Ranking 20

WebMarketCentral

JANUARY 4, 2008

Teachers can use Pageflakes to let their students see update calendars , exam timelines, research study information, grade trackers , message boards and other resources. First, Pageflakes is working with schools and educational boards to help them organize their class schedules.

Web 2.0 20

Web 2.0 Class Tagging Studies 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 14, 2007

The growth in online advertising, the proliferation of enewsletters, the emergence of new forms of information delivery such as RSS and the emergence of social media sites have all affected CTR, so planning based on current data is crucial. The first step is understanding the average and likely range of CTRs for various programs.

Banner Ads 20

Banner Ads Click Rate CTR Banners 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 1, 2009

Conceptually the site is a bit like Social Media Today and other targeted content portals, though it's the first (that I'm aware of at least) focused specifically on providing information for B2B marketers.

B2B Marketing 20

B2B Marketing Blogger B2B Tagging 20

WebMarketCentral

DECEMBER 21, 2009

In this example (with only identifying information removed), notice that this particular site is showing up on page two of Google for a number of key terms. For the fee-based versions, pricing ranges from about $200 per year for the light (organic search data only) to $500 for the Pro (includes AdWords information) offering.

SEO 20

SEO Tools SEM Advertising Agencies 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 5, 2008

And blogs have become a key source of information for executive decision makers. Contact the blogger as the next step. Blogs help with SEO , whether you have your own or are generating links to your website from others. More than 60% of U.S. Internet users, and more 70% globally, have read a blog within the past 12 months.

Social Media 20

Social Media Media Optimization Blogger 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 4, 2008

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.

Web 2.0 20

Web 2.0 Branding Brand Identity Internet Marketing 20

WebMarketCentral

MAY 12, 2009

Buying committees look to Google and service providers’ websites for information first and repeatedly, according to Enquiro. In B2C decision making the level of perceived risk is typically low, because most consumer purchases can be returned or exchanged. After all, B2B purchasers are buying the supplier along with the product or service.

B2B 20

B2B Tagging Comparison Case Study 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 30, 2009

Social Media: This is a treasure trove of information for any Big Brother-ish entity. It isn't just overweening or Orwellian government agencies that may take advantage of the increasing amount of voluntary online exposure of personal information of course. But be careful about how much and what type of personal information you post.

Social Media 20

Social Media Web 2.0 Eye-Tracking Media 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 14, 2008

In addition, you can mix in "research" type questions that can be used to collect information for later production of a research report / thought-leadership piece. The answer, again according to MarketingSherpa, is to offer some knowledge of value free and then ask for contact information once you have the prospect's interest.

Enterprise Management 20

Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management B2B Marketing 20

WebMarketCentral

JANUARY 22, 2007

In the words of founder Eugene Belenky, "ShowMeLocal makes it easy for business owners to put their content online with simple tools.Business owners can use ShowMeLocal to publicize coupons and promotions, put up photos, general business info, job listings, and contact information.

Webcast 20

Webcast Paid Search Agency Banners Differentiation 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 28, 2008

Prioritizing SEO Tasks by Shimon Sandler A concise, easily digestible post that covers half a dozen high priory basic SEO tactics (such as title tags, H1 tags and keyword links) with links through to more detail on each.

SEO 20

SEO Best Practices Search Engine Marketing Tagging 20

WebMarketCentral

APRIL 20, 2009

12 PPC landing page tips by Econsultancy Graham Charlton presents a helpful set of tips for improving landing page conversions such as writing relevant, scannable content; giving visitors enough information to make a purchase/registration decision; and limiting navigation options.

Landing Pages 20

Landing Pages SEM Best Practices Search Engine Marketing 20

WebMarketCentral

FEBRUARY 15, 2008

The blogger also reveals himself or herself through a short bio, picture and contact information. Personality: the best blogs have a personality all their own: factual, thoughtful, helpful, smart, amusing or something else.

Business Blogging 20

Business Blogging Effectiveness RSS Aggregators 20

WebMarketCentral

JANUARY 11, 2010

Demonstrating your knowledge of their industry and their challenges, for example by tweeting your thought-leadership blog posts and white papers, makes you a resource they can go to for helpful information. Unlike a company website, Twitter is immediate, informal and personal. Twitter is a much more casual and conversational.

Twitter 20

Twitter Web 2.0 B2B Thought Leadership Business 20

WebMarketCentral

AUGUST 4, 2009

Also, it's available in full immediately for those willing to provide their basic contact information, or as a series of chapters to be distributed throughout the month of August for those who prefer to obtain the guide anonymously. The guide itself is well-researched, clearly written and highly practical.

Lead Nurturing 20

Lead Nurturing Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 23, 2009

And, tired of filling out the same information over and over for each new social networking or profile site? DandyID Another service that allows individuals to collect all of their social media profiles in one place, verify their identity, and track activity on those profiles.

Tools 20

Tools Best Practices Adwords Word of Mouth 20

WebMarketCentral

FEBRUARY 16, 2009

The tool will return a large list of related keywords, along with average volume and advertiser competition information, from which you can choose to add to your campaign. Just as this information helps you optimize your SEM spending, it also indicates what terms you should focus on in your natural search efforts.

SEM 20

SEM Long Tail Marketing Optimization Campaigns 20

WebMarketCentral

JUNE 17, 2006

It's a relatively quick read and may spark some new ideas about site promotion, although most of the search optimization information presented is covered in Search Engine Optimization Basics. This is a free service that allows you to contact the Webmasters at other sites with content similar to yours and exchange links.

Relevance 20

Relevance Generation Paid Search Agency RSS 20

WebMarketCentral

SEPTEMBER 27, 2006

If you market to marketers and want to get the word out about your products or services -- or in your quest for marketing knowledge you just want to assure that you aren't overlooking important but obscure sources of information -- check out the new directory of Advertising and Marketing Trade Publications on WebMarketCentral.

Internet Marketing 20

Internet Marketing Contact Marketing Advertisements Advertising 20

WebMarketCentral

JUNE 23, 2008

Try to think like a prospective customer—what phrases would they likely use to try to find the product, service or information you offer?—rather Not all of the terms that a keyword suggestion tool identifies as "related" to your initial list will really apply to your product, service or information.

Keywords 20

Keywords SEO SEM Adwords 20

WebMarketCentral

MARCH 4, 2009

Social media "are primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information" according to Wikipedia. It is "the use of technology combined with social interaction to create or co-create value" according to John Jantsch , a "shift in how people discover, read, and share news and information and content.a

Social Media 20

Social Media Web 2.0 Media Wiki 20

WebMarketCentral

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

Which AdWords reports are the most critical, and how you can take full advantage of the information they provide? How can you utilize rich media ads to take advantage of the coverage provided by Google's content network? How is AdWords Quality Score calculated, and how can you improve that score in your campaigns?

Adwords 20

Adwords Tactics SEM Tips 20

WebMarketCentral

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

A Small Business Year-End Web Site Checklist by Search Engine Land Search marketer Matt McGee provides an outstanding 10-point checklist of items that site owners should check (at least) annually, including domain registration, contact form operation, autoresponders and outbound links.

Design 20

Design Marketing Websites CMS Development Best Practices 20

WebMarketCentral

FEBRUARY 6, 2009

Guide the process from initial contact through closing the deal. Similarly, SEOs seek to guide visitors through a website, from initial interest, through information gathering to conversion. Compelling copy, logical and intuitive navigation, and clear calls to action are the tools SEOs use to keep this online process on track.

SEO 20

SEO Ethics Word of Mouth Sales Qualified Leads 20

WebMarketCentral

JULY 21, 2009

Where can you find such information to share? You don't have to limit your tweets to purely practical content; information or news items that are odd, unexpected or trivial can add some life to your Twitter stream, provided they aren't overdone. Tell me something interesting. Social Tagging.

Twitter 20

Twitter Web 2.0 RSS B2B 20

WebMarketCentral

JANUARY 10, 2007

Kenny Gorman sent me the following information: "Backflip indeed does work on Firefox. I'll keep you posted. ** Terms: Web research tools, Backflip, online bookmarking tools, Firefox, Safari browser, Kenny Gorman Website marketing tools, news and resources: WebMarketCentral.com Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentral.com.

Contact Marketing 20

Contact Marketing Tools Contacts Research 20

WebMarketCentral

MAY 15, 2008

Finally, Using Google Analytics to Track Email Campaigns shows you how to use campaign management features within Google Analytics to track not only the number of visitors generated by your campaign, but also the number of pages they visited, average time on your website, percent of new visitors to your website and the average bounce rate—useful (..)

Email Marketing 20

Email Marketing Marketing Analytics Tools Deliverability Marketing Management 20