Last week George Orwell’s famous “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others” line from “Animal Farm”, his anti-totalitarianism novella, came to mind in an unusual context: customer service in a “social media world”. Do you remember the days of the Pareto principle? Businesses used to look at the top 20%, generating 80% of the revenue, customers first? Special customer service treatment, dedicated account managers, better pricing, incentives, boat trips, you name it. What many businesses failed to do was identify the diamonds that were hidden in the 80%. Customer service rules. MORE >>

B2B marketers need to add video to their arsenal of skills in today’s online world. Video can sometimes tell a story quicker and easier than a written post, can humanize a company and can turn marketers into brand journalists. And a keyword-titled video seems to be more likely to show up in higher search results than a written post. There are plenty of B2B companies making high production videos to share online , but this is more about getting started and producing videos alone or with minimal help. Here are some basic tips to get you started on the path to becoming a Hollywood director. MORE >>

Three Keys to Blogging When you Are Happy. guest post by Erica Nelson. You know how your smile is written all over your face? Your emotions are imbedded in your words and how you write. Just like when you walk into a restaurant, the waiter immediately communicates without saying one word what your service experience might be like, the opening phrases of your blog or website are going to speak volumes about how you are thinking and what you are feeling. What I’m asking is that you pause before you write for your audience. Get a picture of the person reading your blog, in your mind’s eye. MORE >>

This is the first in an ongoing series of tips from experts in B2B marketing , B2B lead generation and B2B marketing automation. We’ll start off with tips from some of the experts who provide our sales lead management consulting , marketing training , marketing automation and lead-generation services. Altaf Shaikh. First up is Altaf Shaikh , our email expert. He and his team of email specialists know how to create email campaigns that get delivered, opened, read and acted-upon. Here are Altaf’s Top Three Email Tips: A/B Test Your Outcomes. Email Marketing is Not Standalone. Learn more here. MORE >>

Because of their industry expertise and history of content creation, B2B companies are often well suited for social media marketing. While it might make sense for B2B companies to start with a business-focused network like LinkedIn, Facebook certainly has its own place in B2B social media strategy. If you're curious about how, check out 25 B2B companies that have already done it well. For B2B companies looking to use Facebook as a tool for prospect engagement and lead generation, there are a few important steps they can take to maximize results. Technically, there are many ways to execute this. MORE >>