Although social media is seldom “easy,&# there are some distinct advantages that B2B companies have over B2C brands in the social media space.  Here’s a list of 8 reasons why B2B social media is easier than B2C: 1. It’s driven by relationships. B2C marketing is largely based on a product and its price. It tends to be a more impulsive or emotional buying decision than B2B. B2B purchasing decisions tend to be more involved and relationship driven, and that suits social media. Social media can play a big role in this process. Your practices can lead to sales. MORE >>

Last month, I led a Contagious Content pre-conference workshop at Marketing Profs B2B Forum. The marketers who attended were a great group - serious and focused on tackling best practices for content marketing to make a difference in their organizations. At the beginning of the session, I asked them to each share what their biggest challenge was with content. Nearly 1/3 of them stated a challenge related to messaging. Some of their responses include: Complexity of organization with multiple vertical messages. Relevance to prospect. Lack of simple and compelling message. That's intentional. MORE >>

A new infographic was published this past week by Get Satisfaction and Column Five Media around why people choose to follow brands on social networks. It confirmed much of what we already know about Facebook and Twitter's power, but it also led to some new insights around marketing online through social channels. Here are some key takeaways I think are especially important for marketers. Social Media Users Are Seeking Offers. of Facebook users and 43.5% of Twitter users said they connect with brands using social media to stay in the loop on special offers. The very top, or near the bottom?" MORE >>

At the beginning of the year, ITSMA released a special 47-page report that outlines the steps marketers need to take to successfully integrate social media into their larger marketing strategies. Here Chris Koch , the Associate VP of Research and Thought Leadership for ITSMA , shares insights into key points from the report. You lay out three sequential steps for the social media process: monitor, engage, and manage. Why is it important for organizations to adopt this approach? Following this process prevents companies from approaching social media from a channel-by-channel perspective (i.e., MORE >>

At SIGMA, we discovered a few truths in examining ways to improve the ROI of email campaigns for our clients. We thought sharing this info might be of use to those out there trying to run successful email marketing campaigns. The first truth is that the objectives of our lead generation email campaigns are to elicit a response, and then develop leads into a company MORE >>