Industry Presence (trade association articles, association membership lists or directories, trade show exhibitor lists, industry analyst coverage, etc.). Paid Presence (search engine ads, banner ads on trade or publication sites, social network ads). Recent research makes clear that, for high-value consumer purchases as well as b2b procurement, being as “findable” as possible online is critical to winning the business. are they more likely to use Facebook or a specialized discussion forum? What online publications do they read? How many conversions? MORE >>

In a WPO strategy , different disciplines like public relations (PR), SEO, social media, content development, online advertising, analyst relations, and even trade show marketing are managed in a coordinated manner to maximize the total online visibility of a brand for key phrases. Being active in your industry raises your brand’s online (and often offline) visibility as well as well as creating valuable backlinks for SEO, and includes activities ranging from analyst relations to association memberships to sponsoring and exhibiting at trade shows. MORE >>

Chapter 10 in this section includes excellent examples of using calendars to sequence different tactics, for example the different types of PR and social media marketing activities utilized leading up to and then following up on a major trade show or industry event. Today’s explosion of media channels has made it simultaneously more challenging yet more vital for companies to present unified messaging and branding to their markets. Becoming a social business means change, which is never easy. Four Marketing Round Approaches. Measurement, Refinement, and Improvement. MORE >>

Yet a Bazaarvoice/CMO Club study showed that only 15% of CMOs could point to a “significant return&# from Facebook marketing efforts, while 9% report no ROI and 35% basically had no idea. Exhibiting at an upcoming trade show? The car won, but more importantly so did the students, the college, the company (which got some great press and was able to show off it’s engineering capabilities) and, ultimately, perhaps the environment. The “ROI of social media&# (or lack thereof) is a hot, and still hotly contested, topic. What should they promote? MORE >>

From a pure lead generation / ROI standpoint, this skepticism isn’t entirely unjustified; research from earlier this year showed that branding metrics (increased brand exposure, webs traffic, email subscribers partnerships)—not strict revenue or ROI measures—topped the list of benefits that b2b marketers realized from social media activities. promote events, meet up at trade shows). Though business use of social media is rapidly increasing, many executives remain skeptical of its value. Share content (your own and others’). Get ideas for product development. MORE >>