It is a common question, and starting point for (normally) friendly debate, in B2B marketing. Does X really work for Y? Does social media work for B2B? Does newspaper work for real estate? Does digital work for pharmaceuticals? Does content marketing work for local businesses? People that say “no” tend to say it doesn’t work anymore because behavior is changing (newspaper), it doesn’t work because their audience doesn’t use it (social media) or it doesn’t work because it doesn’t reach their audience (content marketing). You Are All Right! You know what? MORE >>

Blank screens are the enemy of inbound marketing. So smug. So taunting. They think they're so great with all that empty, useless space. As an inbound marketer, your job is to take that empty page down a peg or two. But you know what? page full of drivel is no better than a gleaming white screen. When you're writing content as frequently as most inbound marketers do, you're bound to stumble over a few duds. You know, where the topics you're publishing just don't seem to be hitting the mark with your audience. Find Topics That Matter to Your Audience. 1) Keyword Research. 2) Sales/Support. Great! MORE >>

Twitter can be a great place to offer “customer service”-type responses to FAQs on even on the spot questions. Problem is: are there  HIPAA violations in disclosing certain types of questions on Twitter? Engagement (especially with stakeholders) is an area where much of Pharma’s current efforts have been focused. In the case of consumers, engaging in a conversation with consumers while being aware of regulatory constraints. There is a great site to use to see what people in Pharma are tweeting about. It can be quirky, but it does provide value (when it works). MORE >>

One of my favorite bloggers, Paul Castain, posted an excellent article titled The Patience/Urgency Conundrum in Sales on his Sales Playbook website. Using the “courtship” metaphor, Paul explains that sales relationships, just like romantic relationships, have a natural timing, and that it can sometimes be counterproductive to disrupt that timing by forcing the issue during the sales process. The topic of proper timing applies in spades to the marketer or salesperson. Smart marketers understand that all prospects are not the same, and to treat them as such is dangerous and ineffective. MORE >>

[Posted by Mickael Bentz, Product Marketing Manager, Neolane] Email & web marketing 10 years ago: externalization Remember 10 years ago: a brand’s email and web marketing strategy was fully outsourced to agencies. It was a “digital silo” and because of agencies’ advertising DNA, these programs were measured according to advertising-related KPIs: visits on the website, [.]. Social Media Mickael Bentz Posts MORE >>