Best of B2B Marketing February 2010Great stuff in February.

1. (Almost) 100 (of the) Best Social Media Marketing Blog Posts and Articles of 2009- Webbiquity, February 1, 2010
   Social media marketing activity exploded in 2009, and so did coverage of these practices. Every social media consultant , corporate marketer and PR professional was challenged to keep up with the latest writing on the topic. So in case you missed any of these, here are almost 100 of the best blog posts and articles covering social media strategy and tactics, measurement, monitoring, research, pitfalls to avoid, policies, tools and more from 2009.
2. Thought-provoking social media trends- grow - Practical Marketing Solutions, February 3, 2010
   The Economist is one of my favorite magazines. I usually read it cover to cover. So imagine my excitement when I saw their special report his week, Social Networking: A World of Connections . After I read the report, I concluded — to my surprise — that there was really not much new in the report.
3. 7 Ways to Maximize The Content Marketing Impact of Your Newsletter- Content Marketing Today, February 15, 2010
   When you publish a monthly print or electronic newsletter that targets an important audience segment, you probably invest heavily in generating the content that will make this newsletter relevant and valuable to its readers. That is obviously critical. But you can do much more to make that newsletter and its content work harder for your organization.
4. Cheat Sheet for Marketing Content Consistency- Marketing Interactions, February 16, 2010
   In my last post, Issues with Corp-sourcing Marketing Content , I suggested the idea of creating an editorial style baseline to keep your content on track with solution developers, brand stewards and legal folks. I thought it might be useful to show you why you need one and how to get started building a baseline to help you better connect with your prospects.
5. Inbound Marketing is the future, but are you ready?- Fearless Competitor, February 6, 2010
   There is no question in my mind. Inbound marketing is the wave of the future. Gentle touches mapped to buyer personas and other variables.
6. There is no social media strategy, only marketing strategy- Chris Koch, February 24, 2010
   Struggle with the issue of social media strategy.
7. Is Your B2B Company REALLY Ready for Social Media? - Modern B2B Marketing, February 23, 2010
   Social media holds tremendous opportunities for B2B companies looking to drive new business and increase revenue, but only if you first develop a solid foundation and an understanding of what makes the world of social media tick. Even those who have already started should review to see if their efforts are receiving the attention it should be making sure they have the right pieces in place.
8. Want to Fail at Telesales?- Sales Prospecting Perspectives, February 8, 2010
   I can't stand most telesales reps. I cringe when I pick up the phone only to hear a teleprospecting rep jump into a 5-minute spiel on the benefits of whatever product/service they are providing. I respect that they are trying to do their job, and I always give them a few seconds to catch my interest (mostly because of the industry I am in) but 9 times out of 10 I am itching to get off the phone after 10 seconds.
9. Conduct B2B marketing research in 15 minutes or less.- B2BMarketingSmarts, February 23, 2010
   Most good B2B marketers today know that effective marketing requires the insight of market research. Research reveals much of the critical information needed to make productive marketing decisions. This information includes the answers to: Who is the buying decision-maker?
10. Monday Marketing Term: Conversion Rate- Marketing Genius Blog, February 22, 2010
    This is a simple post covering what a conversion rate is, what defines a conversion, and a few tips to help you optimize your conversion rat
11. Assumptions Anyone?- Phoenix Rising, February 21, 2010
    There's an old old saying about assumptions. 0160; Remember? Have you you ever found yourself disagreeing with someone - wondering how in the heck they could see the situation in their way?
12. 7 Reasons Every Business Needs to be on Twitter- Webbiquity, February 10, 2010
    This post was originally published on the WebMarketCentral blog in January 2010. Despite the fact that Twitter has more than 32 million users , has received massive publicity from both celebrities and government, and produced remarkable results for companies like Dell and Zappos , many business executives still don’t “get” Twitter.
13. Research shows fastest-growing businesses pile on to the social web- grow - Practical Marketing Solutions, February 16, 2010
    A brand new study from the University of Massachusetts Center for Marketing Research compares adoption of social media over three years (2007-2009) by the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies.
14. Headlines Vital for Success of NYT, WSJ, NY Post—and Your Site- Content Marketing Today, February 23, 2010
    Your Target Customers Won’t Read Your Content without Compelling Headlines Too many websites lack effective headlines. In fact, many have no headlines at all. This void violates the first commandment of content marketing: “Think Like a Publisher.”
15. Online Lead Generation: How to optimize forms to convert “window shoppers” into leads webinar by Flint McGlaughlin- B2B Lead Generation Blog, February 12, 2010
    As I’ve written before , when dealing with the complex sale, most people aren’t coming to your website to buy; they’re coming to your site for information. And people are hesitant about giving up too much info on forms before you've earned their trust. Have you thought about your web forms?
16. Mapping marketing content across the buying cycle and personas- Fearless Competitor, February 4, 2010
    Today, Find New Customers hosted a webinar with Jon Miller, VP, Marketing at Marketo. Jon shared his “secret sauce” for lead generation . It was an excellent webinar for all of our Insiders at Find New Customers . One of the key principals he shared was the process of mapping content to the way your customers buy. Here’s an excellent ebook from www.junta42.com
17. How social media will change lead generation in B2B- Chris Koch, February 26, 2010
    The era of the sales process beginning with a lead is over. The number of B2B buyers who are ready to buy as soon as they engage with our marketing is small—and social media will make it even smaller. We have to come to terms with the fact that there is a stage of the buying process that comes before the buyers we are pursuing are ready to become leads.
18. New social media monitoring tools: easier and more insightful- B2B Web Strategy, February 11, 2010
    Most experts on the subject agree: the first thing you should do in a social media program is to monitor what’s already “out there”, meaning what’s being said about your firm or brand. It only stands to reason that what you learn from listening will help make whatever else you intended to do more responsive [...] ...Tags: Tags: B2B Web Strateg
19. Business Karma- Sales Prospecting Perspectives, February 24, 2010
    I just got back from a ski trip in the Birkshires with my wife and two boys. I love vacation time, absolutely love it. Some people use the fact that "they have not had a vacation in 3 years" as a badge of honor. While I respect and live by a strong work ethic as one of the keys to success philosophy, there is a point of diminishing return.
20. B2B Marketing: Trust + Community = ROI- Buzz Marketing for Technology, February 9, 2010
    Trust is not a new thing when it comes to marketing and communications as evidenced by one of the most awaited studies in the communications world is always the annual Edelman Public Relations Trust Barometer. Trust is not a new thing in the world of sales either – its a fact that people enjoy buying from people that they trust and in B2B Marketing part of our job is to shorten the time spent building trust so sales can have an easier time and focus on selling.
21. Deep Searches and Content Proliferation- Digital Body Language, February 4, 2010
    Sometimes, the evolution of what is available online and how buyers access it tends to form a bit of a positive feedback loop that rapidly changes behaviours, and therefore what marketers need to do. Take, for example, search. Today’s buyers are rapidly becoming accustomed to the prevalence of valuable information online , and the increasing accuracy of search engines.
22. David Meerman Scott on content marketing, social media & what's next- Junta 42, February 1, 2010
    His book was a game changer. David Meerman Scott's updated version of The New Rules of Marketing and PR promises even more.
23. Inbound Marketing: Does a 60% Lower Cost Per Lead Interest to You?- Proteus B2B Marketing Blog, February 16, 2010
    Internet marketing technology provider Hubspot recently released a study entitled The 2010 State of Inbound Marketing.
24. Five Key Questions Your B2B Competitive Analysis Should Answer- Savvy B2B Marketing, February 1, 2010
    "Watch your competitors, but don't follow them."

Hot Topics Prospect (109)

1. How to use great story-telling to engage prospective buyers, February 11, 2010
2. Unexpected – how a fresh and innovative approach can engage prospective buyers, February 22, 2010
3. 7 Reasons Every Business Needs to be on Twitter, February 10, 2010
4. Cheat Sheet for Marketing Content Consistency, February 16, 2010

White Paper (50)

1. 7 Reasons Every Business Needs to be on Twitter, February 10, 2010
2. Social Media Usage in Content Marketing Jumps 500% in Two Years, February 3, 2010
3. 7 Ways to Maximize The Content Marketing Impact of Your Newsletter, February 15, 2010
4. Seven Ways to Position Yourself for Unlimited Work, February 9, 2010

Content (143)

1. 7 Ways to Maximize The Content Marketing Impact of Your Newsletter, February 15, 2010
2. Deep Searches and Content Proliferation, February 4, 2010
3. David Meerman Scott on content marketing, social media & what's next, February 1, 2010
4. Brands as Publishers - Where's Your Content Strategy?, February 26, 2010

Three reasons why the “experts” are wrong about social media measurement, February 21, 2010