They leverage channels like social media to engage customers much, much earlier in the customer’s buying journey than most salespeople would even think is possible. The best salespeople play in the places where customers are gathering information and learning…and, increasingly, that’s in social networks. Across 1,000 sellers in roughly two dozen companies, the data is clear: top sellers leverage social media to help them get in early and average performers don’t. The Buzz Lead Generation Social Mediapotentially). MORE >>

Last year I spent about a month examining the B2B social space across the globe. For context, I head up social media at a B2B software + services company, and we sell our products globally. set out to answer: what are the popular social channels (not just ‘the big three’) in certain regions of the world? Xing is very popular as a professional social network. In general, face-to-face visits rank high in German culture (need to use social media to augment face-to-face visits). Viadeo is a dominant professional social networking site. MORE >>

DIRECTORY OF SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR. SOCIAL LEARNING. SOCIAL LEARNING. Directory of Social Networks for Learning. social networks aimed at learning professionals. of networks for both educators and workplace learning professionals. Use the list to find one or two relevant networks to join. The list is ordered by name of network. name of the network creator, where known are shown in brackets. of a social network that you think should be on the list, email me, Jane Hart. Social. CONTACT. SEARCH. MORE >>

Social media has made it easier than ever to connect: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other services have greatly amplified everyone’s personal brand message. Recently, though, I’ve had some less than pleasant experiences with people who seem to be interested in professional networking, but ultimately just wanted to use me to sidle up to someone else I know. Here are some tips from me and some of my social media friends on how to connect with people (as opposed to using them): Don’t be creepy. For instance, “I met Kerry at the NASA Social in D.C. MORE >>

I had a great time at MarketingProf’s Social Tech 2010 conference today, getting a lot out of every session I was in.  The biggest eye opener for me today had to be the session on “Using Social Network Analysis to Leverage the Dynamics of Social Media Interactions Inside and Outside Your Organization.” But the message I took away is that most of us have been flying practically blind when it comes to understanding our social networks, and that’s sure not going to cut it in the future. You’re really talking about nurturing a social network ecosystem. MORE >>